on 14/1/01 7:26 am, Ron Parker at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I'd love to watch it being done. Sounds fun.
>
Hi Ron
when first we saw our wool graded it was a blur ... rolled fleeces flying in
to some 10 different bins as soon as the grader picked them up .. only
occasionally pulling the fleece open and taking a sample lock to check...
Last month I stood beside the grader and got a further insight into wwhat he
was seeing and feeling ... pleased to see our wool grades improving and also
to know that now we had spotted most of the reasons for a lower grade this
year ... that is why many fleeces were at the Wool Board and not for sale to
hand spnners.
Judges too operate very quickly to choose their best in class .. I should
say that Wool Board and Wool Buyer judges handle tens and maybe hundreds of
thousands of fleeces each year ... (our local depot manager was grading a
clip of 1500 Blackface on the day we were there)
Then the choice of best in show takes a little more time .. although we are
not allowed anywhere near the judging you can see them at it at some shows.
After winning the Great Yorkshire Best in Show in 1999 we were delighted to
be Reserve Best in Show in 2000 .. then the Steward told us it took the
judge 20 minutes to decide between the two fleeces ..
Re breaks .. Yes we call the break along a single line a break and otherwise
talk of a tender fleece.
Our wool board has a judging guide and report form for all their official
fleece competitions and list 'tender staple' and 'weak staple' as possible
defects
could find one and post summary of it if folks are interested .. scan too to
individuals on request.
Robin
--
Robin and Margaret McEwen-King, Scotland.
Take a look at our website .. sheep fleeces shows and pigs too...
http://www.mcewen-king.co.uk
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