ANIMAL HAIR

GOAT HAIR: A very fine hair with limited elasticity. It has a natural kink that cannot be straightened. Used for short trim [2-1/8 maximum folded trim length] soft brushes. Available at Gordon Brush in natural black and white, and dyed in blue, brown, gold, green, gray, and purple.

HOG BRISTLE: Relatively scarce and expensive. This material has characteristics that set it apart as the best natural filling material for a wide variety of brushes. Each strand of bristle has a natural taper from the butt or flesh end to the tip, giving it resilience not found in other hairs. In addition, the tip end of each bristle is naturally split into two or more branches called the flag. Hog bristle has a soft to slightly stiff texture and is brown, black or gray in color. It has excellent durability and water resistance.

HORSEHAIR: Horsehair is a medium to high cost material. Tail hair is stiffer than mane hair. Its soft to slightly stiff texture gives a scratch-free dry cleaning and has very good durability. Not resistant to acids or alkalis. Used for buffing, cleaning, dusting, and finishing in a variety of brush styles: floor sweeps, shoe shine brushes, tin handle acid brushes, counter dusters, and window brushes. Heat distortion temperature is 370º F.

OX HAIR: In proportion to its diameter, ox hair is perhaps the stiffest of all soft hairs. Ox hair is particularly sought after for fine lettering, striping and marking brushes.

RED SABLE: The hair of the red sable is the most valuable of all soft hairs. It is very fine, has strong, sharp points and great elasticity and carries color well. Red sable hair makes the finest artists' brushes, being particularly suited for use with Japan colors, oil colors and heavy-bodied sign-writing materials, and is best for fine lettering.

SKUNK OR FITCH: This hair is rarely used alone. Combined with Chinese bristle, it makes excellent sign writer's brushes. Grey skunk hair from eastern and western Europe has been found to be ideal for brushes used in the manufacture of shade cloth.

SQUIRREL: This hair is divided into blue squirrel and Canadian squirrel. A very fine hair used for applying thin lacquers, Japan colors, light-bodied varnishes, and for general artwork, lettering and striping.

 

VEGETABLE

BASS or PIASSAVA: Obtained from the leaves of palm trees grown in West Africa. Two varieties of this fiber are available: Calabar Fiber, which is very coarse and britle and Sherebro Fiber which is very stiff and pliable. This fiber is light brownish red and very coarse. It is used primarily in street brooms.

BASSINE: A select grade of Palmyra fiber, stiffer, more durable and more resistant to water. A very dark brown in color. Its coarseness and good water resistance make it ideal for stiff scrub brushes and is widely used in conveyor cleaning brushes.

KITTOOL: Extremely tough, dyed glossy black for the brush industry. Used in roofing brushes and saturated felt brushes.

PALMETTO: Produced from the Florida Palmetto Palm. It is coarse, reddish in color and oil treated for wet applications. Palmetto is a quality brush fiber, widely used in deck and can scrubs, garage sweeps, whisk brooms, etc.

PALMYRA: A cinnamon colored fiber produced from the base of the leaf stalks of the India Palmyra palm. It has a medium stiff to stiff texture and is light to dark brown in color. It is finer, less stiff, more brittle, and of lower quality than bassine. Used in garage floor brushes, fender washing brushes, deck brushes, and scrub brushes.

RICE ROOT: Made from the roots of Eipcames Macecura found in central Mexico and Guatemala. This is a crinkly, yellow, fibrous root called Zacatan or rice root. This fiber finds limited use in dairy scrubs and horse grooming brushes.

TAMPICO: Produced in Mexico from the stalk of the Agave plant. Has a soft to medium texture and is off white in color. It is often dyed and blended to give the desired effects to a brush. It is heat, alkali, and acid resistant. The porous fibers absorb water and work wet or dry. More aggressive than nylon or horsehair. Used for removing surface particles and tool marks, dusting, wet scrubbing, cleaning, and spreading liquids. Excellent for removing light feather burrs and for light edge blending when used with a compound. Heat distortion temperature is 283º F.

UNION FIBER: A mixture of two or more materials - usually tampico and palmyra. It has a medium stiff texture.