A method and apparatus for the manufacture of bristle products, such as paintbrushes, brushes, brooms and the like, which comprise a bristle carrier and bristle bundles fixed thereto. The bristles are drawn from a continuous strand on a storage reel and pass through a mould, so that the strand is given a random cross-sectional shape. Downstream of the mould, the reshaped continuous strands are fixed to a bristle carrier and then bristles are cut to the desired length, so that the bristle bundles can be given different shapes and the bristle material can be continuously processed from the reel. The cross-sectional shape of the individual bristle bundles can be adapted to the particular intended use.