Hi Dee Dee and Fiber Netters,
All wool will break if you pull hard enough!!! However, not all
wool will break under a 7 lb test pull and that is pretty much
a standard to test for wool break.
I take a small, less than a pencil size in diameter, and pull on
it from tip to cut end. If a lock is weak, you will feel it begin
to stretch and the fibers to break. When I feel this in the lock,
I continue to pull until it breaks. I do this to see how much
tension the lock will stand before it really gives way. A tender
fleece can be "carefully" processed, usually by combing or hand
carding or a drum carder. Commercial machines, may or may not be
able to handle a tender fleece. Some I win some I don't.
What causes a break in a fleece? Improper nutrition, mineral
deficiencies, stress. Heat stress, chasing by predators, dogs,
rough handling,lambing, etc can cause a fleece to develop a
break.
I have found that fleeces with a break in the middle of a lock
can be salvaged for the most part. If it is a long wool with a
staple of 6-10 in the break, it is going to yield 3-5 inches of
wool for processing. If it is a fine wool of 2.5 in it is going
to be difficult to process because the yield length would be
about 1.75. Most processors need a minimum of 2.5 - 3 in to do a
decent job in producing roving that will hold together for
spinning.
Checking for strength before you purchase a fleece will
save you and your processors heartache, when that beautiful
covered fleece doesn't yield the roving you expected.
Gail White
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