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It’s never what you expect

I’m desperate for one of these. Yes, it’s a whisk broom. You know that, I know that, but these demned Limies don’t seem to.

Which is weird, because I’m sure that’s the sort of thing Jeeves used to brush down his employer’s coat, am I right?

Amazon has a proper Rubbermaid one like this, but at a price that appears to reflect shipping it over from the States. Anyhow, I don’t shop at Amazon any more. Call me crazy, but I’m doing my best not to give my little crumbs of money to billionaires who hate me.

The generic name for such a thing here seems to be a corn broom, but my experience of British brooms in this shape is that they’re not wrapped tight enough. They aren’t serious kit. The sort of thing we call a broom they call a besom and they regard them strictly as props to go with your witch costume.

For general use, they use use push brooms, like shop brooms, and small brushes on a handle.

I managed to get a proper, good-quality, US-style kitchen broom at a feed store here once and the girl behind the counter, who worked at a stable, breathlessly told me she had bought one and how wonderful they were for getting into corners.

Yes. Quite.

Comments


Comment from Drew458
Time: August 10, 2021, 8:46 pm

but my experience of British … is that they’re not wrapped tight enough.

FIFY

You may be able to find a good bench brush instead. A nice one made with horse hair bristles. They probably call it a counter duster or a hand broom, but a good shop brush is quite superior to a whisk. Weighs a lot more too, but will last a couple hundred years.


Comment from ExpressoBold
Time: August 11, 2021, 12:51 am

“Limies don’t seem to.”

I’m sure you know that the subject is misspelled but why did you?

Is there some language requirement that you must obey to remain in country?


Comment from Uncle Al
Time: August 11, 2021, 12:58 am

I second that advice from @Drew458. (I do miss the up-thumb thingumabob!)

A good horsehair shop brush is the superior tool, but even the cheaper plastic bristle ones that come in a set with a matching color dustpan are good to have.

Something to think about is the shape of the handle. It should be oblong/oval in cross section rather than round. Because of its overall shape, when you use it it wants to rotate in your hand. A cleanup job that takes more than a minute or two will quickly make your hand tired if the handle’s cylindrical.


Comment from bds
Time: August 11, 2021, 1:51 am

Be careful asking for a corn broom. At least in the US it just means those natural bristles vs plastic or whatever. Not a shape.

Not to brag, but I’ve got a few beautiful handmade corn brooms in various sizes and styles from the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas.
When we there a few years back, we talked to the man in the broom shop for probably close to an hour while he made 5 or 6 brooms and told our boys bad jokes. Definitely not the sort you’d find on Amazon, but probably still cheaper than having them shipped across the Atlantic.


Comment from durnedyankee
Time: August 11, 2021, 11:14 am

didn’t you do a broom thingie before?
Seem to recall doing a search on corn-straw and finding out it weren’t even corn!

Here’s a helpful video, make your own!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIJkBHY4wQ8


Comment from durnedyankee
Time: August 11, 2021, 11:30 am

Oh, as usual with rabbit trails – this led to the Richat Structure in the Sahara, which is of course where the Atlantean broom makers made their brooms for export to Greece.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/92071/richat-structure


Comment from Skandia Recluse
Time: August 11, 2021, 8:04 pm

I also wanted one of those ‘whisk brooms’ and I bought one through Walmart online. Delivered by mail. I thought I needed it to sweep the basement stairs which are carpeted. It is a bit more work than I imagined, and the step sweeping project has stalled. Walmart has several to choose from, each priced differently. I went for the cheapest one.

I would mail you this one, barely used only tested once, and then get a regular stiff bristle broom on a broom stick that I can get two hands on and get my arms into the sweeping.

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