An uzukuri scourer, Kyoto boxwood combs

In the final finishing, the comb is polished with an uzukuri (a scourer made from the bunched fibrous roots of the karukaya plant). An uzukuri is also used in the finishing of chests of drawers made from paulownia wood, and so such polishing brings out an understated luster. Nowadays, the comb is often “buffed,” with wax on bunched cloth rotated electrically.