How to: Make Your Own Hardwood Comb

Today I learned something new: a wooden comb has all sorts of benefits over plastic. According to Reddit user NoCleverNickname, the wood comb beats plastic due to a “complete lack of static. It’s also more gentle on your scalp. And the wood fibers help to spread natural oils from root to tip. Pretty neat.”

Pretty neat indeed. 

Inspired by the Reddit thread, Instructable-r fasaxc took a stab at making one at his local community workshop and hackerspace. 

The project is made out of walnut and purple heart, and the prongs were cut with a crosscut sled and a tablesaw, which was outfitted with a thin-kerf blade, which are typically less than 1/16″ in thickness.

If you don’t have a table saw, I imagine you could turn out a very usable comb with a simple Japanese-style pull saw or even a dovetail saw. Just be sure to keep the kerfs nice and parallel. 

fasaxc admits that his project is just a prototype and that he hopes to refine it a bit, but I think it’s a great start, and I can’t wait to try it in my own shop. 

Check out the full process: Hardwood comb [Instructables.com]