Early nail care?

[oldjazznut]

We've got several threads on nail care, but what did people do before nail clippers?

I've read up. Before scissor type clippers in the mid 1800s, you sliced a sliver at a time with a small knife hoping to not hit flesh, and used a flat piece of rock as a file. Modern type clippers showed up around 1900, and good ones were expensive.

Neat nails that we take for granted now must have been a major undertaking.

 

[Neil_O]

I've never thought of this before. I always assumed nail care was a product of leisure time and lack of manual labor.

 

[kkimura]

Back in the day, scrabbling around up trees and cliffs to get away from saber toothed lions took care of overly long nails.

 

[GreatPotoo]

I was looking for that long nail care thread from this past summer. Couldn't find it, but I found this one!

I've been using Joshua Tree salve. Bought some about five years ago and recently replaced it. They have the same product with many names, and even one labeled for musicians.

I contacted the company, and they confirmed that they are all exactly the same with different names. All except the cycling salve, which has extra eucalyptus for the chamois area...

Anyway, I just realized after all this time that this is the best product to soften hands and I'll never use lotion again on my hands! It's all expensive, but I do not need more than a "drop" of it. Hands never felt better. It's also safe for pets with only food grade ingredients! I think the smell of it is wonderful too, and would be ok for women or men.

I'm in no way connected with this company. I shot them an email with questions twice recently, and they got right back to me. I just wanted to share this with fellow musicians. Why it took so long to realize the difference (salve or lotion) is beyond me.

Have a great day!