‘comb-at’, by lorenzo damiani, 2005

combs have been on the scene ever since humans had hair on his head. which is quite sometime? the date perhaps goes beyond the time of the old stone age. man being man and not a lion would not be content to let his mane run wild and free. so he had to find some ways to tame it. first on the list of combing operations must have been the use of fingers. so in a way the fingers are the first combs of history. today, combs are universal and no corner of the globe is without it.

police investigators love combs. this is the first item they will seek in the crime scene. from the comb they will carefully collect samples of hair and dandruff for clues. the latest DNA testing procedure makes the hair on the comb an important item for proving or disproving accusations. but combs were not always used for cosmetic purpose… a comb may be turned into a musical instrument by stringing across its teeth the leaf of a plant or a thin piece of paper.

italian designer lorenzo damiani designed ‘comb-at’ and thailand based studio studiobo created ‘combmando’ – both combs for personal defense, to keep in your handbag, lightweight and robust. they might be more than a psychological help for for surviving a violent assault.

knife combs

‘comb-at’ by lorenzo damiani

knife combs ‘combmando’ by studiobo

studiobo has participated in the designboom mart tokyo 2008