The earliest mention of the word ‘brush’ in the written English Language was in 1377 and the ‘bottle-brush’ was first mentioned in 1713.
Originally, pipe-cleaning brush bristles would have been made out of animal or plant fibres. Pigs, oxen, horses, badgers and even squirrels have provided bristles for brushes throughout the centuries and in all corners of the world.
Before twisted wire was used to make the pipe-cleaning brush head, bunches of bristles would have been glued into holes around a shaft of wood in a very similar way to that of modern wooden brushes.
Because brushes were developed in different communities as needs required them, it is difficult to define when the introduction of twisted wire cores and the use of metal bristles first occurred. All we know is that these days they are a very important part of large-scale and small-scale processing of parts and surfaces.
