Horsehair

[dienekes480]

I want to make a crest for my corinthian. Where can I get inexpensive horsehair (in the U.S.)? Thanks.

[Hibernicus]

Write me direct

I have several crestas in stock

[email protected]

[Steve Schonberger]

I got a half-pound of light sorrel for only $16 (plus $6 shipping, which is a fair price, but not mentioned on the online checkout form) from M & M Turf Supply. That seems like a pretty good price, and the place shipped the hair very promptly, by US Mail in a mailing tube.

M & M Turf Supply, Inc.
P.O. Box 604
Washington C.H., Ohio 43160
mmhorsehair.com

(I didn't see rules about posting specific vendors. If that's inappropriate I'm sorry. My only connection to M & M is as a one-time customer.)

With the light sorrel, the hair near the tip-end dyed to a very nice red, but the hair near the horse-end remained darker, more like a brick red or the color of a human with red hair. I haven't yet tried to fix it into a crest block, so I don't know whether hiding the darker hair toward the middle will hide enough of it so it still looks good.

[Matthew Amt]

Several leather suppliers also stock horsehair. See that section of the Legio XX Suppliers page,

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/supplrs.html#leather

You'll need half a pound or more for a Corinthian crest. Some places sell it in one-ounce hanks, others only by the pound. There is definitely a wide range in prices, though I'm not sure I'd call any of them "inexpensive" except in a relative sense.

Good luck and Vale,

Matthew

PS: http://www.larp.com/legioxx/crests.html

[Matt Lukes]

Nothing wrong with it at all Steve- it's actually really helpful to provide someone who asks with whatever contact information you have

Jeff I know of one more source: [url:3mnecvy5]http://www.horsetailsandsuch.com/[/url] You have to contact them for pricing on loose horsehair.

[cacrispvs]

These guys seem pretty inexpensive also : [url:24paebcw]http://www.hitchingpostsupply.com/group.asp?grp=160[/url]

[M. Demetrius]

Ok. So I'm going to make a crest, and suppose I've acquired a bunch of horsehair from some supplier. Say I've built a crest box from wood, proper size and shape for the particular helmet/time frame.

What now? How do I stick the hair into the wood mount? What's the best way to cut the "mown" part of it smoothly? Should the hair be tied into neat little bundles, or worked in in whatever size clump will fit easily into the wood channel? What kind of glues do we suppose they used? I'm sure for our part, plain modern hot glue would do perfectly well, but --

[Matthew Amt]

Been here?

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/crests.html

Mind you, we really don't know how they did it, so if you want to try a different method, just let us know how it works!

Matthew

[M. Demetrius]

Well, nope, not until just a minute ago. That is more or less what came to mind, but simpler than I was thinking. When the time comes, I'll be ready.

Basically, then, the method you recommend is pretty much like the way a scrub brush is assembled, but with closer holes, and longer "bristles." Hey, if it works for the Fuller Brush man, who am I to disagree with that technique?

[Magnus]

Hey Dave, I found it handy to have an extra person when you bundle the hair into tufts. One person bundles, the other person takes the bundle and stuffs it into the hole immediately after putting glue into it. I used regular Alymer's yellow carpenter's glue that was watered down just a bit. Once the crest has totally dried, take some scissors and give it a hair cut to even the hair out.

[M. Demetrius]

Magnus, that makes sense, since I've been so far unable to sprout a third arm. Sure would be handy :lol: sometimes.

So the Montefortino used only the bundled "tail" look, and not a crest like the Greeks or the later Romans?

[Peroni]

This place is excellent.. I get all my tails-on-the-flesh from here..

http://www.crazycrow.com/Merchant2/merc ... t_Count=10

[Chris B]

You can also drill holes 1/4 " deep enough for the tufts and then drill smaller holes all the way through the wood. Then take linen thread or thicker threads, tie the tuft in the middle, thread a needle, drop it through and pull it tight into the holes with glue present. That way each tuft of hair is extremely tight in the box and the strings passing through the entire crest box will keep them from pulling out very easily.