COMB (AS. canto, Icel. kambr, OHG. chamb, Ger. Kamm, comb; connected with Gk.7640s, gonlphos, peg, ()Church Slay. zadii, Skt. jambha, tooth). Combs seem to have been used by the ancients rather for adjusting than for fastening the hair, the pin, or bodkin (acvs), hatingchiefly been employed for the latter purpose. Both the Greek and Roman combs were generally made of boxwood, obtained from the shores of the Euxine; but later. ivory combs, which had long been used by the Egyptians, came into general use among the Romans. The precious metals were also used for this purpose, as we may infer from the golden combs ascribed to the goddesses; but this was probably rarer in ancient than in modern and medieval times, from the circum stance of the comb not hating then been used as an ornamental fastening. Of the early use of gold combs in Great Britain we have a reminder in the well-known ballad of "Sir Patrick Spells:" lang, lang may their ladyes WI' their gored kames in their hair." Combs have been found in Anglo-Saxon graves of both men and women, showing how much attention they paid to the hair. In early times the comb had a place in the church service. Careful ritualistic directions have been found for combing the abbot's hair in the sacristy before vespers and other services. In the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs combs of ivory and boxwood have been found, which testify to this ancient chstom of the priests arranging their hair before the altar.
An ancient Irish long rack comb is in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy. The sides arc hog-backed, and between them are set the pectinated portions, varying in breadth from half an inch to an inch and a quarter, according to time size of the bone out of which they were cut. The whole is fastened together with brass pins riveted. By this contrivance, any damaged portion could easily be replaced.
Modern combs are made of tortoise-shell, ivory, horn, wood, bone, metal, india-rubber, and celluloid. The material is first made into plates of the size, shape. and thickness of the comb, and then the teeth are cut. The old method of cutting the teeth is by the stadda or double saw, which has two blades of steel set parallel to each other, with a space between them equal to the thickness of the intended tooth. Combs with 50 or 60 teeth to the inch may be cut in this manner. The teeth are then thimmed, smoothed, and finished by means of thin, wedge shaped files.
Many combs are now made by a method called `parting.' By the process of cutting. above de scribed, the material corresponding to the spaces between the teeth is of course wasted: by the method of parting. this is made available to form the teeth of a second comb. The plate of horn, to•toise-shell, etc., is cut through by means of a stamping-cutter, whose essential features consist of two thin chisels inclined to each other, which represent the edges: between these, and connecting the ends, is a small cross chisel. When this compound cutter descends with sufficient force upon the plate it will cut one of the teeth. By simple machinery, the table carrying the plate is made to advance a distance equal to the thickness of one tooth while the cutter is rising, and thus the successive cuts are made. A slight pull is now sufficient. to part the plate into two combs, the teeth of which only require filing and finishing. India-rubber combs are manufactured by pressing the caoutchouc to the required form in molds and 'vulcanizing' or combining it with sulphur afterwards. By this means a high degree of hardness can be obtained.