CANE & HORSE HAIR CARE
Canes break! - it's an undisputed fact - but here are a few tips to help yours last longer.
Care
Keep canes supple by passing them through the steam of a boiling kettle. Pay particular attention to the part of the cane that joins the handle.
You can soak them in water, usually every 3 or 4 months or you can wipe the cane with Linseed Oil or Almond Oil. Linseed oil can leave a sticky feel to the cane though.
Oil is preferable to water as water dries up more quickly but either will work.
Avoid soaking the handles. Centre cane is absorbent and will suck up oil or water without the whole toy being submerged.
If you store your canes near a radiator or in a hot or centrally heated room they will dry out and need to be conditioned more frequently.
Cleaning
To clean the cane you can use a 50% water, 50% peroxide solution. Wipe the cane and then dry it off fairly quickly.
Horsehair Floggers
Horse hair has fine barbs which cause the hairs to cling to each other. Tease the hairs apart by running your fingers through them gently.
Care
Loose hair floggers can be lightly brushed with a pet brush. Do not brush plaited floggers.
Wash loose hair floggers by running the hair under a tap to wet it. Keep the hair straight. Squeeze shampoo into it and then rinse it out under the tap. Squeeze out excess water. Do not rub! Then hang in a warm place or sunlit window.
Wash plaited floggers by dabbing the water and shampoo in with a sponge. Try to avoid getting the whipped sections wet. Then roll tightly in a dry towel to remove the excess water. Hang to dry.
Like our own hair, horse hair will moult and break and some hair loss is to be expected. However, gluing large amounts of loose hair into a handle is not easy to accomplish. Should the hair start to come away in large clumps contact us and we will arrange a replacement.
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