[Jacob-list] Shearing and Wool, LONG

[2512 at nethawk.com]

> List,
>
> I feel like Tim Taylor Jr. I looked through the catalogue and saw the
> spears, I mean hand shears and the electric clippers. I was not sure I
> would be able to make nice clean cuts with the spears and once they
> arrived I was sure of it. The contact point slides with the blades
> rather than remaining in constant contact. I am not sure why, but I
> guess it is a design feature. I also ordered a Shear Master 50,000!!! I
> remembered how easy the vet sheared the cat to draw blood and how the
> fur fell away easily with her electric clippers. I did not realize how
> much larger these were, this clipper is as big as my forearm. Arr Arrr
> Arrr !!!
>
> I read the manual and was a little amused. When shearing cows and
> horses, oil the head every 10 hours, when shearing sheep you don't have
> to oil the head as sheep are naturally greasy. Could not help but laugh
> as everything I have ever read about sheep pointed out how superior they
> are to other animals. Here they are ecologically friendly as they reduce
> oil consumption! Doing their part for the war effort and my economy!!
>
> Gary



Well Gary, you are in for a lot of fun!!!
We have the hand shears, and the 50,000 Shearmasters, and fiskars and you
name it in scissors...
The first sheep my husband sheared, he locked her up in the barn so no one
would see her afterwards.  I was at work at the time and when I got home I
went out to the barn and he had Mrs. Nesbit (my best fleeced sheep of
course) sitting there with terror filled eyes, and bits of wool chunks were
all over the floor.  He looked so upset, he had cut her.  A sheeps skin
tears like tissue paper, and a layer of fatty tissue lays directly under it.
I got a good look at it as I was putting bag balm on it!  Yikes.
The Shear Master does need to be oiled every few minutes.  It runs very hot
so we have cool water and dip it in to cool it, then re-oil with W-D.
Depending on how many sheep you want to shear, you will need to have an
extra blade or two because the dirt in the grease dulls the blades.
What we have found is the original hand blades we bought first work the best
(and were the cheapest) for what we need.  When we first got them you
couldn't cut anything with them, the blades were bent and dull--I don't know
why they sell things like that at TSC but they really were crap.  We had our
llama shearer sharpen and adjust them and sharpen our Shear Master Blades.
This made a HUGE difference!
Anyway, I am not trying to scare you out of shearing, but you might want to
have a plan B, C, and D where the shearing is concered.  We were you a few
years back and thought we could do it, but we needed more research on the
subject!  I sell most all my fleeces so I have to pay someone to shear.  If
I spun them myself I wouldn't care so much--but I would still probably pay a
shearer, it is backbreaking work!  I usually spend about one hour skirting
each fleece (two if I am separating black from white), so that is more than
enough time to devote to each sheeps fleece!  Also, we are fortunate as our
shearer is not far away or that expensive-which not everyone has that
luxury.
One more thing:  I just got a great spinning and weaving book some of you
might already have:  Spinning and Weaving-A practical Guide-- by Eileen
Hobden.  It was written in 1985, and it's main wool is JACOB!!!  It is
great-I checked it out at our library, but I am going to check around to buy
it.  It is wonderful, has great knitting projects with Jacob wool-separated
into black and white--and it has hooked rugs made with all different colors
of Jacob wool, that is what my daughter wants to do for a 4-H project.
Check it out if you haven't read it.  If you haven't learned to spin or
knit, it is still wonderful to see the versatility.
Have a great day, we just got hit by the storm last night :(
Best Regards,
Bonnie
Herb and Bonnie Sutten
Sheepy Thyme Farm  Edmore, MI
www.agdomain.com/web/sheepythyme/