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KnitRedSox
Chatty Knitter
170 Posts |
 Posted - 12/05/2005 : 6:12:52 PM
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| There are couple good threads on handcards on KR. I found the advice very helpful but wonder if people could share what they have and their opinions. My boyfriend ordered me Louet woolcarders for Christmas (40 ppi) and I am thinking I may swap it for the cotton carders (80), which may be more all-purpose. I don't really work with courser wools... I tend to work with finer fibers and I'm looking foward to be able to blend colors and fiber types. Do you have several hand carders or one pair you use? Do you find that a regular woolcard works well for very fine merino or camel...or is that cutting it too close? Any happy customers of a particular brand? Thanks in advance. |
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pugsweater
Gabber Extraordinaire
452 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2005 : 8:16:47 PM
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i remembered something about the cotton carders having shorter teeth than wool carders. i do not know the consequence of that.the handcard section on the bountiful website said the 80 louet cotton handcard is suitable for cotton, exotic and fine wool.
i'm not really good with this but 40 may be not-fine-enuf for fine fibers like f.merino/camel.
i have a 112 teeth psi strauch hand card from spinner's choice. on their site, they have their cotton card at 225 teeth psi and is said to be suitable for merino/angora also....
let's hear it from others....i'm super limited at this. i'll learn alongside! :)
Pugknits Blog |
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firymist
Chatty Knitter
USA
220 Posts |
Posted - 12/05/2005 : 10:06:20 PM
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I agree with Pugsweater. If you work with mostly fine fibers, then go with the cotton cards. If the teeth are farther apart on your card the fine fibers can get stuck down between them. Not, I'm sure, what your looking for. Just my opinion and what I've learned from others.
Jessica
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Valk_scot
Permanent Resident
United Kingdom
1281 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 12:41:51 AM
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I`ve got 4o`s and 80`s, the 80`s being a delightful and unexpected bonus with the second wheel I recently bought. I haven`t used anything else since. There really is a huge difference when carding fine fibres...far less breakage and noils. If you use mostly fine fibres, go for the fine carders. Standard carders are usually cheaper and more common and often discounted, so you can get another set if you start using carpet sheep later.
Val.
[img]http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/26/26_9_21.gif[/img] |
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pjkite
Permanent Resident
1198 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 06:10:28 AM
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Cotton cards are designed to be used on fine fibers - especially short ones. Wool cards are designed to be used on medium-staple wools that have a full season's growth - call it 4-6 inches. If you already know you prefer fine fibers, I'd go for the cotton cards. I've tried carding cotton, alpaca, angora (rabbit), silk and kid mohair on wool cards - then I went and bought a set of cotton cards and re-carded them.
Pamela Kite
East Tennessee
http://fiberlife.blogspot.com/
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taradactil
Warming Up
56 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2005 : 7:59:30 PM
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Would silk be considered a fine fiber and thus needing cotton carders? Or would someone recommend using regular wool cards on silk?
Thanks!
Taradactil |
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Andy
Seriously Hooked
USA
774 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2005 : 8:56:17 PM
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I wonder how much is technique. I am noticing that my carding really requires more passes than I think it does. It looks ok with a couple of passes but is snarly and slow to spin. But it is much better to spin after double that. Yes I notice the 72ppi can turn my finer wool into noils *alarm!* I have been hearing that using nothing less than 100ppi for fine wool is best, but if you go into the expensive fibers, I'd think it was worth it to get those 225ppi cards.
Give Coleridge credit for saying that people most often err in what they condemn and are nearest the truth in what they allow.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/shuvani11/
http://spinavardo.blogspot.com/
Andy-wommon |
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Shelia
Permanent Resident
USA
2315 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2005 : 06:26:06 AM
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Andy's comments on carding technique are important, because carding is a lot more about technique than it is about the cards themselves. I didn't use my first set much at first, because I didn't like what I got off them. It was only after I had taken a class on fiber prep and learned to use my cards properly that I was happy with my carding results. Try to find someone to teach you how to use whichever ones you buy, I was a self- and book-taught spinner without much problem, but learning carding from books was not working for me.
For what it's worth, my hand cards are Louets, both the medium and fine hand cards. I really like the handles on the Louets, and the curve of the carding surface is just right. I would not use the fine cards for wool, unless it is a very, very fine wool, because the fibers don't pull through the fine teeth well. Definately, fine teeth for silk, unless you are blending it with a medium wool, then I would charge the cards with silk between layers of wool on the medium cards.
Shelia
www.letstalkstash.blogspot.com |
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pugsweater
Gabber Extraordinaire
452 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2005 : 09:43:58 AM
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one question about the cloth density vs wool type...
low density cloth cannot card fine wool, that i understand. the fine wool just get lodge in between...
now why would fine teeth not card medium wool well? the reason i'm asking is because as i read shelia's post, i remember having difficulty carding cotswold on my 112 strauch, and when another experienced carder tried to show me, she had the same problem - the cotswold would just not pull through as well, but she did a little better. neither of our stuff look quite like a nice, neat rolag. when she used her carder whose teeth are spaced further apart, the carding gets easier...
Pugknits Blog |
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KnitRedSox
Chatty Knitter
170 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2006 : 05:47:18 AM
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Shiela (or anyone),
Have you noticed that the Louet cotton (fine) carders are only 80ppi while Strauch (as an example) is 112ppi for regular wool? Does anyone know why there is such a difference? Based on the comments here and my own limited knowledge it would seem like Louet should have more ppi for finer wools. Perhaps I'm reading the info. wrong?
Anyway, I want to card an Alpaca, Merino, and Angora blend (mostly merino)... I've got Strauch 112, and I guess I'll find out whether I should go higher on the point-count. |
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