Bristle

A bristle is a stiff hair or feather (natural or artificial), either on an animal, such as a pig, or on a tool such as a brush or broom.

Varieties

Synthetic materials such as nylon are also used to make bristles in items such as brooms and sweepers. Bristles are often used to make brushes for cleaning purposes, as they are strongly abrasive; common examples include the toothbrush and toilet brush. The bristle brush and the scrub brush are common household cleaning tools, often used to remove dirt or grease from pots and pans. Bristles are also used on brushes other than for cleaning, notably paintbrushes.

Bristles are distinguished as flagged (split, bushy ends) or unflagged; these are also known as flocked or unflocked bristles. In cleaning applications, flagged bristles are suited for dry cleaning (due to picking up dust better than unflagged), and unflagged suited for wet cleaning (due to flagged ends becoming dirty and matted when wet). In painting, flagged bristles yield more even application.