DED and Brady ... you guys have fluffy beaters? Is this some kind of Neanderthal thing?? Wow, I must have lead a sheltered life ...
Eames, I think a brush or comb would work better than emery board, which I think might just wear it off ... ?
GD, you can't take the fluffy head off. A comment about its construction. I'm guess it's a wood or hard cork beater underneath. Then you have something like a lambs' wool jacket on over the top of it, and it looks like it's seamless.
Bo, the beater costs A$40. It's less than my hourly rate, yep, but money isn't the issue for me - it's waste. I always try to squeeze every last ounce of life out of stuff I own because I don't want to be a stereotypical wasteful Westerner who takes the amazing good fortune I have to be born in one of the lucky countries for granted. I guess that's exactly what I am, but I try not to be ... so replacing it is a last resort.
Have a look at the t-shirt I'm wearing in my avatar and you'll see what I mean
Another issue, for the chemical buffs here. Some of the the plastic-y stuff from my black dot kick drum head has worked its way into the fibres of the fluff that's caused clumping like chewing gum in your hair. Do you think metho would dissolve it?
My next kick drum head won't have a spot on it. Like I say, I love the fluffy beater - more of an organic boom sound than a thud, which to my ear works best with a very small kick drum (16").