 |
1. Sorting
- The raw hair is sorted by quality, grade, and intended use.
- This sorting step determines the final quality, making it one of the most important stages in the process.
|
 |
2. Boiling
- The sorted hair is tightly bundled and boiled in a large kettle to straighten out any curl and remove natural oils.
|
 |
3. Tip Alignment
- The tips of the hair are carefully aligned with a comb.
- The hair is then separated into bundles of long and short lengths, and the root ends are trimmed so each bundle is a uniform length.
|
 |
4. Blending
- Depending on the intended use, different types of hair are combined and blended together using a comb.
- Because the hair must be blended evenly, this is a time-consuming step.
|
 |
5. Heat Pressing
- The hair is pressed between a heated iron to straighten it.
- This causes any remaining oil in the hair to rise to the surface.
|
 |
6. Ash Rubbing
- The remaining oil is worked out of the hair by rubbing it thoroughly with ash made from burnt rice husks.
- This step also helps the hair settle together, making later stages easier to work.
|
 |
7. Removing Stray Hairs
- Any reversed hairs or hairs without a proper tip are removed with a small knife.
- This step is very important — it ensures the tips line up neatly when paste is applied.
|
 |
 |
8. Setting into the Board
- The prepared hair is set onto a hinoki (Japanese cypress) board in an even thickness.
- Once set, both sides of the hair are secured with cherry bark.
|
|
 |
9. Binding
- The brush is clamped in a binding press and bound together with silk thread.
|
 |
10. Finishing
- The bound brush board is polished with a small knife and sandpaper for ease of use.
- Finally, the tip of the brush is trimmed and adjusted.
|
 |
Finished
|
Mounting Brushes
Back to top.