When visitors to the workshop help us clean up, most of them are amazed at our brooms. Not just their workmanship, but how well they corral debris and dust. And so we’re regularly asked: Where can I buy this broom?
The answer: We get our brooms from two places, Berea College Crafts and the Pleasant Hill Shaker Village. These are handmade brooms. They last a long time and are a joy to use because they are so lightweight.
They are so nice that students don’t mind sweeping so much.
If you need a broom for your shop or kitchen, I cannot recommend these too highly.
— Christopher Schwarz
Educated by Shakers and Amish about what makes a good broom, I learned it is plenty of broom corn. Enough so that the broom will stand up by itself. That sort of broom will sweep the small stuff. I have several from Lancaster County, PA.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/coalandice/3926866952/
The forked broom looks way more comfortable to ride.
I had an adopted sister who went to Berea College in the early 50s, married and lived there all her life. Berea is a remarkable institution.
I saw an odd cast iron piece of equipment that I thought might have been designed to aid in broom making but was never able to confirm that was its purpose.
Thanks for these referrals. I know a little about the Shakers and their communties and designs. Brea College is new to me and a wonderful discovery.
A lot of people prefer those noisy shop vacs with hepa filters for cleaning a shop, but sweeping is like a ritualistic chore with deep metaphoric and spiritual meaning; we sweep away the mess and theen start anew. It’s also in a lot of songs and literature, from Elmore James to Emily Dickerson. That’s cool too. Thanks for posting the pictures of your brooms.
Dickinson…. sorry Emily!
I can also highly recommend Ox-cart broom and woodworks (http://www.ox-cartbroomandwood.com/) where we got our brooms. Apparently she’s taking the summer off, but her stuff is top-notch. She makes and sells pollisoirs as well.
If you would like my take on sweeping you can read it here. There is also a photo of my hand made broom. https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/to-sweep-to-sweep-perchance-to-clean/