re-hairing tools...?

thebeth · 04-30-2009, 02:32 AM

Alright so I've been working on my first rehairing job and I'm working with just a thin wire that I thread through the plugs and use to yank the hair. The only problem is if I slightly overestimate how much hair I need to fill a hole and I try to pull it through and the wire just snaps in half. This is frustrating. Is it my problem? Should I just be more careful and use less hair, or is a tool a better idea than wire?
What's the deal with tools? How do they operate?

cannibalcow · 04-30-2009, 03:06 AM

i, personally, like the tool better. but i used a green flower wire when i used the wire to rehair. and it didn't snap easily

sweetlittlejenny · 04-30-2009, 03:08 AM

I don't use the tool. I do it similar to the way you do it but with clear fishingline type filament. Using too much hair with too small a plug hole will cause the filament to break though so you just have to get used to getting just the right amount of hair. And you can use a needle or pushpin to stretch the hole a little just before you pull the hair through. The hole will shrink back down so you have to do it sort of quickly.

thebeth · 04-30-2009, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetlittlejenny

I don't use the tool. I do it similar to the way you do it but with clear fishingline type filament. Using too much hair with too small a plug hole will cause the filament to break though so you just have to get used to getting just the right amount of hair. And you can use a needle or pushpin to stretch the hole a little just before you pull the hair through. The hole will shrink back down so you have to do it sort of quickly.

oh yeah I was using a safety pin to stretch it a little. I think I'm just gonna try to be more stingy with the hair.

SkippetyDoo · 04-30-2009, 04:44 AM

I use the tool and I must say it's much easier to get the right amount of hair and it's much much faster. The first two customs I did I probably wouldn't have been so patient with if I had to hair them with the thread method.

Skeen · 04-30-2009, 10:08 AM

I read somewhere years and years ago that G1 ponies have 14 hairs per plug. I don't know it that means 7 doubled over to make 14, or 14 doubled over. G3's seem to have more than that, or G3 hair strands are thicker, who knows?

If you're using Dollyhair, her skeins tend to separate out into really manageable sections, and for Custompony, each section in the weft is about right.

If you want to try the tool (it really is much faster), Eatontabby here makes them, and they're really inexpensive. They have another needle attached to the end of them that you can use to stretch the plug hole before inserting the hair, too. Good luck!

thebeth · 04-30-2009, 10:20 AM

I just don't really get how they work. I read you don't even have to remove the head to use it. *confused*

SailorLibra · 04-30-2009, 06:01 PM

The tool I think is a lot easier and makes things look a lot nicer. When you are using the thread method, you are pulling the hair from the neck out of the plug hole. With the tool, what you do is wrap it around 1 finger, just 1 loop. Take the needle end of the tool and put it thru the loop and where the hair intersects in the loop, make sure that part of the hair is into the open needle eye. The needle on the tool is a cut open eye, so no worries about a needle threader. Then you hold it securely against the tool and insert it into the head. When you remove the needle portion from the head, be sure to let go of the hair and pull out the needle gently. Now that loop will have become a knot once inside of the head because it has nothing there to stop it from tying itself. And there you go, it's done. I prefer to, once I've finished rehairing, to also glue the hair in for added security. Some people just leave it knoted.

I know at the VA Pony Meet website, they are selling them to help fundraise for the meet.

thebeth · 05-01-2009, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SailorLibra

The tool I think is a lot easier and makes things look a lot nicer. When you are using the thread method, you are pulling the hair from the neck out of the plug hole. With the tool, what you do is wrap it around 1 finger, just 1 loop. Take the needle end of the tool and put it thru the loop and where the hair intersects in the loop, make sure that part of the hair is into the open needle eye. The needle on the tool is a cut open eye, so no worries about a needle threader. Then you hold it securely against the tool and insert it into the head. When you remove the needle portion from the head, be sure to let go of the hair and pull out the needle gently. Now that loop will have become a knot once inside of the head because it has nothing there to stop it from tying itself. And there you go, it's done. I prefer to, once I've finished rehairing, to also glue the hair in for added security. Some people just leave it knoted.

I know at the VA Pony Meet website, they are selling them to help fundraise for the meet.

Still a *little* confused, as I'm more hands-on. But I almost get it and boy does it sound easier.

Skeen · 05-01-2009, 10:23 AM

I have a bit of rehairing to do tonight. I can take pics of the process if you'd like.