WOOL CLASSING:-

WOOL CLASSING:-

Wool classing is the production of uniform, predictable, low-risk lines of wool, carried out by axamining the characterstics of the wool , in its raw state and classing (grading) it accordingly. Wool classing is done by a wool classer.

Image :- parts of Marino fleece.

image:- Throwing of freshly shorn fleece on to a wool table for skirting and classing.

image:- wool classing in Australia c 1900

Basis of classification:-

Some of the qualities of wool classer examines when classing wool are, 

1) Breed of the sheep:-Shedding breeds will increase the risk of medullated or pigmented fibers. Any sheep likely to have dark fibers should be shorn last to avoide contamination. The age of the sheep will have a bearing on the diameter advantage of wool too.

2) Usage of chemical:-Ensure that all rules are followed.

3) Brands , seeding , jowls, and shank:- Must be removed from fleece and broker.

4) Stains,:- Must be removed from bellies and fleece and identified in a separate line.

5) Spinning capacity:- The number of bends per unit length along the wool fiber, approximately indicates the spinning capacity of the wool. Fibers with a fine crimp have many bends and usually have a small diameter. Such as fibers may be utilised in the production of fine garments such as men's suits , whereas the coarser fibers may be used for the manufacture of carpets and sturdy product. The unit on measurement is crimpes per centimetre. The average diameter or mean fiber diameter is measured in micrometre (micron). Before the advent of the technology to measure crimps and diameter, English wool-handler categorised wool based on their fineness by estimating, spinning capacity using vision and touch which is known as the Bradford system.

6) Strength:- (also known as Tensile strength):- Determines the wools ability to with stand processing . Weaker wool proceeds more waste in carding and spinning, and may be used for the production of the felt or combined with other fibers. 

7) Colors:-  Indicates whether wool can be dyed in light shade. Color may be graded , depending upon the natural color or impurities and varieties stain present . Severely stained wool decreases price dramatically. However, it is hard to asses color accurately without proper measurement since some stain will wash out in the processing , whereas others are quite persistent.

image:- wool classing room , Queensland Australia, circa, 1926.

Procedure of classing:-

The fleece is skirted to resume excess fibers, seeds, burrs, etc to leave the fleece ad reasonably ad possible. The wool taken from different parts of sheep are graded separately. The fleece forming the bulk of the yield is placed with other pieces such as the neck,  belly and skirting (, inferior wool from edges) are sold for such purpose, where the shorter wools are required (for example fillings , carpsts, insulation) . While in some places , crimp may determine which  grade the fleece will be put into, this subjective assessment is not always reliable , and processors prefer that wools are measured objectively by qualified laboratories . Some of the superfine , wool growers fo in-shed wool testing , but this can be only be used as a  guide. This enables wool classers to place wool into line of a consistent quality. A shed had known as a wool presser places wool into approved wool packs in wool press to produce a bale of wool  that must meet regulations concerning its fastenings length weight and branding if it is to be sold at auction in Australasia. All Merino fleece wool sold at auction in Australia is objecting measured for fiber diameter. Yield (including the amount of vegetable matter) staple length , staple strength and sometimes color . 

A classrer is also responsible for pre-sharing check to be made to ensure that the wool and sheep areas are free of possible contaminates. A classer supervises shed staff during sheering and trains any inexperienced handle. At the end of shearing classes have to provide full documentstion concerning the clip. .

Other systems of wool grading:-

"Blood"or "Blood system" was one of the old ways to grade wool . It was one of the ways to grade wool . It was a term the is used with different fractions to show how much merino blood a sheep has . Each blood grade corresponds to a numerical grading system based on the yarns fineness or count.

Ref:-https://en.m.wikipedia.org