From en.wikipedia.org:
[Toothed device used for styling, cleaning and managing hair and scalp] [Other
uses]
A COMB is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling
through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since
prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from
settlements dating back to 5,000 years ago in Persia.[1]
Weaving combs made of whalebone dating to the middle and late Iron Age have
been found on archaeological digs in Orkney and Somerset.[2]
** Description
Combs are made of a shaft and teeth that are placed at a perpendicular angle
to the shaft. Combs can be made out of a number of materials, most commonly
plastic, metal, or wood. In antiquity, horn and whalebone was sometimes used.
Combs made from ivory[3] and tortoiseshell[4] were once common but concerns
for the animals that produce them have reduced their usage. Wooden combs are
largely made of boxwood, cherry wood, or other fine-grained wood. Good
quality wooden combs are usually handmade and polished.[5]
Combs come in various shapes and sizes depending on what they are used for. A
hairdressing comb may have a thin, tapered handle for parting hair and close
teeth. Common hair combs usually have wider teeth halfway and finer teeth for
the rest of the comb.[6] Hot combs were used solely for straightening hair
during the colonial era in North America.[7]
A hairbrush comes in both manual and electric models.[8] It is larger than a
comb, and is also commonly used for shaping, styling, and cleaning hair.[9] A
combination comb and hairbrush was patented in the 19th century.[10]
** Uses
Combs can be used for many purposes. Historically, their main purpose was
securing long hair in place, decorating the hair, matting sections of hair for
dreadlocks, or keeping a kippah or skullcap in place. In Spain, a _peineta_
is a large decorative comb used to keep a mantilla in place.<ref name="auto"/>
In industry and craft, combs are used in separating cotton fibres from seeds
and other debris (the cotton gin, a mechanized version of the comb, is one of
the machines that ushered in the Industrial Revolution). A comb is used to
distribute colors in paper marbling to make the swirling colour patterns in
comb-marbled paper.[11]
Combs are also a tool used by police investigators to collect hair and
dandruff samples that can be used in ascertaining dead or living persons'
identities, as well as their state of health and toxicological profiles.[12]
*** Hygiene
Sharing combs is a common cause of parasitic infections much like sharing a
hat, as one user can leave a comb with eggs or live parasites, facilitating
the transmission of lice, fleas, mites, fungi, and other undesirables.
Siblings are also more likely to pass on nits to each other if they share a
comb.[13]
*** Making music
[Comb and paper]
Stringing a plant's leaf or a piece of paper over one side of the comb and
humming with cropped lips on the opposite side dramatically increases the
high-frequency harmonic content of the hum produced by the human voice box,
and the resulting spread sound spectrum can be modulated by changing the
resonating frequency of the oral cavity.[14] This was the inspiration for the
kazoo, a membranophone.
The comb is also a lamellophone. Comb teeth have harmonic qualities of their
own, determined by their shape, length, and material. A comb with teeth of
unequal length, capable of producing different notes when picked, eventually
evolved into the thumb piano[15] and music box.[16]
** Types
*** Chinese combs
[Shubi (comb)] In China, combs are referred to by the generic term [zh]
([c=梳篦]) or [zh] ([c=栉]) and originated about 6000 years ago during the late
Neolithic period. Chinese combs are referred as [zh] ([c=梳]) when referring
to thick-tooth comb and [zh] ([c=篦]) when referred to thin-tooth comb.[17] A
form of [zh] produced in Changzhou is the Changzhou comb; the _Palace Comb
Factory_, also called _Changzhou combs Factory_, found in the city of
Changzhou started to operate since the 5th century and continues to produce
handmade wooden combs up to this day.<ref name="auto" />[page=87][zh] were
also introduced in Japan during the Nara period where they were referred by
the generic name [ja].[18] <gallery mode="packed"> File:Shang Jade
Comb.jpg|[zh], Shang dynasty comb File:Chinese Shoubo (Subak), Qin Dynasty
archaeological picture on a comb.jpg|Qin dynasty comb File:Western Han Jade
Comb (9910182985).jpg|Western Han jade comb File:Comb, China, Tang dynasty,
618-907, silver, gilt - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC04145.JPG|Tang dynasty comb
File:Changzhou Double-edged Fine-toothed Comb 01 2015-04.jpg|Changzhou comb,
double-edged fine-toothed comb </gallery>
*** Japanese combs
In Japan, combs are referred to as [ja]. Indigenous Japanese [ja] started to
be used by Japanese people about 6000 years ago in the Jōmon era. In the Nara
period, Chinese combs from the Tang dynasty were introduced in Japan.<ref
name=":10" /> Another form of comb in Japan is the Satsuma comb, which started
to appear around the 17th century and was produced by the samurai warriors of
the Satsuma clan as a side job.[19]<gallery mode="packed"> File:Ornamental
Japanese comb, tortoiseshell with lacquer, Edo or Taisho, Honolulu Museum of
Art.JPG|[ja] made of tortoiseshell with lacquer, Japan, Edo or Taiso period
File:Hana kushi.jpg|[ja] </gallery>
*** Liturgical comb
A liturgical comb is a decorated comb with used ceremonially in both Catholic
and Orthodox Christianity during the Middle Ages, and in Byzantine Rite up to
this day.[20]
*** Nit comb
Specialized combs such as "flea combs" or "nit combs" can be used to remove
macroscopic parasites and cause them damage by combing.[21] A comb with teeth
fine enough to remove nits is sometimes called a "fine-toothed comb", as in
the metaphoric usage "go over [something] with a fine-toothed comb", meaning
to search closely and in detail. Sometimes in this meaning, "fine-toothed
comb" has been reanalysed as "fine toothcomb" and then shortened to
"toothcomb", or changed into forms such as "the finest of toothcombs".[22][23]
*** Afro pick
An Afro pick is a type of comb having long, thick teeth which is usually used
on kinky or Afro-textured hair. It is longer and thinner than the typical
comb, and it is sometimes worn in the hair.[24][25] The history of the Afro
pick dates back at least 5,000 years, as a practical tool that may also have
cultural and political meaning.[26]
*** Unbreakable plastic comb
An unbreakable plastic comb is a comb that, despite being made of plastic
rather than (more expensive) metal, does not shatter into multiple pieces if
dropped on a hard surface such as bathroom tiles, a hardwood floor, or
pavement.[27] Such combs were introduced in the mid-twentieth century.[28]
Today, most plastic combs are unbreakable, as advancements in plastic
manufacturing have continuously improved the durability of the material.[29]
*** Modern artisan combs
Modern artisan combs crafted from a wide variety of new and recycled materials
have become popular over recent years. Used skateboard decks, vinyl
records,[30] brass, titanium alloy, acrylic, sterling silver, and exotic wood
are a few of the materials being used.
*** French side combs
Some hair combs are designed to be used similarly to hairpins, to hold hair
away from the face, or in updos.[31] Shorter ones may be worn in hair on the
side of the head,[32] or to accessorize a bun.[33] Longer ones may be
purpose-made to hold up specific hairstyles, such as the French
twist.[34][Clear]
** Gallery
<gallery mode="packed" heights="175"> File:Egyptian - Wooden Comb - Walters
61306.jpg|Ancient Egyptian comb, [circa] fifteenth century BC File:Etruscan -
Comb with Lions and Geometric Designs - Walters 71495.jpg|Etruscan comb,
[circa] seventh century BC File:Scythian comb.jpg|Scythian comb, [circa] 400
BC File:KB Knochenkamm.jpg|Ancient Roman comb, 4th or 5th century AD
File:Kam-med-runer-fra-Vimose DO-4148 2000.jpg|The world's oldest runic
inscription (160 AD) on the Vimose comb, Denmark File:MaryRose-combs.jpg|A set
of combs found on the 16th-century ship _Mary Rose_ File:Sculptured Comb in
Ivory of the Sixteenth Century Sauvageot Collection.png|Ivory sculptured comb,
16th century File:Indian antique comb.jpg|Indian metal comb for keeping hair
in place, adorned with a pair of birds. After removing the central stopper,
perfume can be poured into the opening in order to moisten the teeth of the
comb and the hair of the wearer. File:Punjabi Comb.JPG|A Punjabi wooden comb
File:Nissenkamm-01.jpg|Head louse comb File:Modern metal comb from Chicago
Comb .jpg|Artisan hand-finished metal comb File:MHNT ETH.AC.NC.203 (black
background).jpg|Bamboo comb of the Kanak people File:Wooden comb1.jpg|Wooden
comb in Nepal.
</gallery>
** See also
- Hairbrush
- Razor
- Uncombable hair syndrome
** References
[Reflist]
** External links
[Wiktionary] [Combs]
- [author=Ashby, S.]
- [url=https://www.ehowenespanol.com/peine-navaje-como_124155/]
- [url=http://www.theoriginof.com/combs.html]
[Cleaning tools] [Human hair] [Plucked idiophones] [Authority control]
Category:Comb lamellophones Category:Domestic implements Category:Early
musical instruments Category:Hairdressing Category:Toiletry Category:Articles
containing video clips