Valkyrie Wool Combs...
Wolverine without the side burns!!!! Well not quite, but perhaps reminiscent of some sort of medieval torture tool. These things can be dangerous so make sure your tetanus shots are up to date.
Learning to use these requires careful attention, primarily so as not to stab ones self and draw blood. And mind you this is VERY easy to do. But the end result is beautiful roving.
I find the main benefits of using wool combs is to strip out VM and second cuts. Many people, as you will find if you start looking through YouTube clips, will use combs with a hackle. I don't have a hackle yet but you can use them with or without a hackle.
You can see in this picture, not only the sharp tines of the combs, but the fluffy results achieved.
Another spinner, and just overall handy girl extraordinaire is Rexi R. My kids love her videos even though they are not yet fully addicted to spinning. Whilst she is demoing Indigo Hound Combs they are much the same thing and Rexi R brings spinning instructional videos to life. If you have even the slightest lop sided sense of humour you too will smile at her helpful, practical and amusing videos. Yay Rexi R.
I watched many videos on using a comb and hackle but since I don’t have a hackle I was struggling to get my technique right if I didn’t attach one of my combs to a work bench. Then I found this video by Susan McFarland. Susan shows us how to use the combs safely without having to attach them to a bench. This is a great video on using hand combs.
Combing is currently my favourite technique. Well perhaps the technique is not the favourite but the result certainly is.
Yes it takes time, but the results are oh so soft. You can create little fluffy bumps to spin from or to dye or blend. And once you get your groove happening it is surprising how fast you can comb a well washed fleece. I have heard it said that combing is faster than carding. I suppose that comment is relative to the size of your carder, but noting blend through a card nicer than well combed fleece.
It is good to have a variety of fibre processing techniques. Variety of movement helps ensure you don’t suffer from muscle or joint overuse. More on the health and safety aspects of spinning in a later post. You can do a bit of combing, do a bit of dying then blend it on your hand cards or carding machine for another effect altogether. The possibilities are endless.
Back to combing. There is probably not much more I can add if you watch the two videos that I have linked in. These ladies have nailed the technique.
However, a word of advice. You will find combing much easier if your fleece is well washed. I have tried combing unwashed fleece and it just turns into a clumpy sticky mess. My sheep all seem to have a reasonably high lanolin content which is where the stickiness comes from. You can comb raw alpaca quite successfully as alpaca does not have lanolin. The same would probably apply to other hair type fibres. Also, don't overload your combs at least until you get the hang of it.
So that's all on wool combs. Like everything there are many different brands. but you may find that only a few brands are available in your country.
