A wool comb works by aligning wool fibers and removing short fibers, vegetable matter, and other impurities to create a smooth, strong, and parallel strand of wool called top. The process involves repeatedly drawing the wool through sets of increasingly fine-toothed combs.
Here's a breakdown of the process:
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Loading the Wool: Wool is prepared and typically oiled to lubricate the fibers and reduce static. A controlled amount of wool is then attached to one of the combs.
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Combing Process: The wool is repeatedly drawn through the teeth of two or more combs. Typically, one comb is held stationary while the other is used to draw the fibers through. This process:
- Aligns Fibers: The teeth of the comb gently force the fibers to lie parallel to each other.
- Removes Short Fibers (Noils): As the longer fibers are drawn through, shorter fibers, called noils, are left behind in the comb's teeth. These noils can be processed separately for other uses.
- Removes Impurities: Vegetable matter (VM) such as burrs, seeds, and other debris are also caught by the comb's teeth.
- Detangles: The combing action disentangles the wool fibers, removing knots and mats.
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Multiple Passes: The wool may be passed through several combs with progressively finer teeth to achieve a higher degree of alignment and impurity removal.
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Doffing the Top: Once the wool is thoroughly combed, it is carefully removed from the comb as a continuous strand, called a top. This top is now ready for spinning into yarn.
In Summary: A wool comb mechanically aligns wool fibers, removes short fibers and impurities, and creates a continuous strand of parallel fibers (top) suitable for creating high-quality yarns.
