A bench brush is essential gear for getting chips and shavings into the compost bin or garbage bag. But if you saddle chair seats or do a lot of traversing with a jack plane, you might have noticed that most bench brushes do a crap job in brushing off your work.
I don’t know exactly why the problem occurs, but the fine brush hair doesn’t seem to have the oomph to move heavy and hairy chips.
The solution is simple, inexpensive and delightful: a corn whisk broom. These small handheld bundles of broom corn are stiff enough to move huge quantities of heavy chips off the bench.
I received a fancy, multicolor one made by students at Berea College as a gift. It definitely doesn’t disappear into the field of brown chips and shavings on my bench. And the handle is beautifully wrapped.
That fanciness comes at a price. If you don’t want to spend $45 on a broom, then you can find simpler ones that are handmade and equally effective. The best place to look (if you don’t have a local broom merchant) is etsy.
This link will take you a huge selection of these brooms at a variety of price points. And the colors!
Y’all know that I keep the shop tidy. These stiff brushes make it a little more enjoyable.
— Christopher Schwarz
To read previous entries in the gift guide, click here.
Those are on my list of things to learn how to make.
While making some purchases, I noticed a version of these brooms that they call a “Dutch Style Hand Broom” on kinsfolkshop.com – C$14, made in Hungary from rice straw.
looks like you could use the handle of some of them as a burnisher.
Right? Combo broom/polissor.
Do you still ever use a polissoir (cousin to the whisk broom) when finishing chairs?
Yes!
Has Berea College ever provide you any? Seems like a nice collaboration project.
Fascinating this crossover with Wicca (many of the brooms in the link are styled as Altar brooms).
No affiliation but you can look here as well. https://broomcompany.com/
Small canadian company
Only place I’ve seen this style of broom was in Thailand.
Love these. Sunhouse Craft in Berea carries these; she used to offer a kit, but I didn’t see it via a quick perusal. https://www.sunhousecraft.com/
Oh yes they do; kits (and classes!) here: https://www.sunhousecraft.com/kits-and-classes