# Hand carders...



## RedTartan

You ladies are such a wealth of information I thought to come here to ask. Where on earth can I find hand carders for less than $50? They don't seem like they should cost so much...

Spinning update: I haven't come in here for awhile, but I'm still spinning. I enjoy it very much though I haven't had as much time for it as I'd like. The reason I'm looking for carders is because I like it so well that I'm considering adding a few sheep to my homestead. Before I buy a breed, I'm buying some raw fleece to work up and see how I like it


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## Wisconsin Ann

Cards are expensive. $50 is pretty good. You could try a place that has sheep showing or grooming equipment....

Some people use slicker brushes (like you use on a dog to groom) for fine wool.

You can look for used equipment on Ebay, or sometimes in antique shops...they sometimes will have a pair that are useable....

How handy are you? You could try making your own COMBs...viking combs or english style. check out this blog...near the middle of the page.http://blog.loxosceles.org/posts/1147125661.shtml


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## rabbitgeek

Carding wool with dog rakes and slicker brushes.

I have used dog slicker brushes as hand cards to process wool and it
can be done, if you are patient. Carding is a great excuse for sitting
in front of the TV or watching DVDs.

I would sit down with a paper grocery sack of washed wool on one side
and empty paper grocery sack on the other side. Make little mini batts
with the slickers and put those in the empty bag. Be sure to have 3 or
4 empty bags on hand because the fluffy mini batts will take up much
more room than the washed wool.

If you are really in need of obsessive compulsive activity, use dog
rakes to pick the wool first, then use the slickers to make mini batts.

You can use a c-clamp to attach one rake or slicker to a table, to
reduce the wear/tear on your hands.

Do not do this activity on the good sofa or wearing good pants. 
Put down a cloth if you do it over the carpet. Much dust and 
Vegetation Matter (VM) will fall out of your wool no matter how 
well you washed it.

It was this activity that allowed me to whole heartedly give my lovely
wife Tracy permission to shop for a drum carder when she asked. We now
have a Strauch Petite.

But I still plan to use my rakes and slickers just to keep my hand in.
At least I have been using rakes to pick the wool before putting
through the carder.

Dog rakes can cost less than $10 each. Slickers cost around $10 to 
$15 each, compared to $50 to $100 and more for a pair of regular 
wool cards and/or combs.

Have a fiber day!
Franco Rios
from rabbitgeek files July 10 2008


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## Marchwind

$50 is a good price. Check ebay they may have used or less expensive ones. A good pair of hand cards is well worth it's weight in gold.


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## Mrs. Homesteader

Check out this page... it changes so keep checking back. 

http://www.kbbspin.org/taxonomy/term/3


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## PKBoo

There are 2 groups on ravelry that I look at every day for used equipment (they go fast):
Knit & Spin Equipment: 
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/used-tools--equipment-classifieds

and Spinners MarketPlace:
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/spinners-marketplace


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## InHisName

did you try our barter board? that's where I got mine- put up a wanted to buy hand carders.....


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## littlesheeps

RedTartan, have you tried flick carding? A new flick carder (Ashford) is under $20, and I'm in agreement with the others that one should try the barter boards first. And even cheaper than the flick carder, you could use a cat slicker brush, tho they won't last as long. I've been using the same flick carder for about 3 years now and it's still got more miles to go... though I recently bought a new one to have on hand as a spare. For me, I'd rather flick card than hand card anyway (I'm doing wool & mohair); seems like I have better control of the fiber... and I can't get the hang of those dern two-hand carders anyway, but that's just me! 

Good luck in your search; debra in nm


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## RedTartan

I bought some dog slicker brushes yesterday and did up some alpaca this morning. I haven't ever used real hand carders, but I thought the dog slickers worked beautifully. I'm going to look into a flick carder. It sounds familiar. Like I researched it before, but have forgotten what it was. 

I'm excited about this because my husband WANTS to get sheep! I'm buying some raw fleeces to decide which breed we want to get based on how they work up for me


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## littlesheeps

RedTartan, about finding the right sheep; I haphazardly discovered that I chose a good breed for me to work with (shetlands) since I love to flick card. Their fleece is relatively dry, not a lot of grease. I spin 'in the grease', meaning, I spin it right out of the bag & don't wash till it's spun up. I can't do that well with a greasy fleece of the modern breeds like merino, rambouillet; and even churro can be (but not always) way too greasy to work with. Those fleeces will always have to be washed before carding... the grease will gunk up your machine carder or flick carder; very difficult to clean after that. Alpaca and llama fiber is wonderful to flick card & spin right out of the bag. Jacob may be a nice breed for you, as none of the ones I have spun have an overly greasy fleece; it's a lofty medium wool with a beautiful handle (well, to this spinner!). But your color choices are limited to white and varying shades of black! 

Anyway, something you might want to ask about when looking at sheep breeds. Shetlands also have a double coat... with a really soft pile underneath and longer hair-like fibers sprinkled throughout. When I flick card locks of my shetland wool, I can easily tug out the longer, hair fibers and discard them, leaving a softer wool to spin. Or... leave them in for a tougher yarn. littlesheeps in nm


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## RedTartan

LittleSheeps,

I have a raw Jacob fleece to play with and I'm also considering Dorset sheep. I know that some people consider them just meat sheep, but according to my research, their wool resists felting and is very hard-wearing with a 2-3 inch staple. I've also found that many people blend dorset fleece with finer fleece, like merino, to increase its resilience. 

I'm bidding on a raw dorset fleece right now to see if I like it


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## littlesheeps

I looooooove spinning Jacob! I have 2 ewes, want more, but can't justify more mouths to feed so will make do with what I have. Also have one Icelandic wether, black & white, coarser and more of a rug wool I hear. The rest are Shetland. It's all fun. littlesheeps in nm


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