FLAX PROCESSING TOOLS FOR SPINNERS

Flax Tools from The Woolgatherers

Flax strick is once again available. Click for details.

Flax stricks for dressing the distaff are practically a thing of the past - or the result of our own flax cultivation. Industrial spinning mills require a type of roving rather unsuited to the hand operated spinning wheel. Commercial grade fiber flax seed is readily available. Most persons with access to a garden can grow their own flax straw. Also, retted and rippled flax straw is available for handspinners.

To prepare stricks from flax straw requires a set of tools - ripple, brake, scutching board and knife, and a set of hackles. While some may be available through antique stores and auction sites, it is not easy to purchase a set. These plans are based on traditional tools using contemporary materials.

Materials needed are listed on each sheet. Wood should be of good quality. If sufficient quality in a single board is not guaranteed, plywood may be substituted - except on the blades of the brake which should be of single hardwood boards. Nails and screws are standard "penny" sized nails and standard wood screws found at building supply stores - exact sizes given for each tool.

The intent of these plans is to supply linen spinners with functional tools at a reasonable cost - not necessarily to recreate something from a particular period.

The brake is fashioned after an antique brake owned by The Woolgatherers.

The supports for the ripple and hackles are styled so that they may be used by placing a foot in the lower hole, or supported on a wooden frame or pair of sawhorses.

Plans for a mangle board complete the set. The mangle is a device for cold pressing linen fabric to give it its characteristic sheen. This mangle board is a simple functional one, though decoration could always be applied.

PLANS/PRICING

FULL SET - $45

RIPPLE

$7.50

Plans are printed clearly on 11" x 17" sheets (Sheet 1 of Brake plans 22" x 34") for easy readability. Hackle plans include full sized prints of the tine spacing that can be glued to the backing for more accurate insertion.

BRAKE

$15.00

SCUTCHING BOARD/KNIFE

$7.50

HACKLES -COARSE, MED., and FINE

$15.00

MANGLE BOARD

$7.50

To order, simply use our Inquiry Form. Please include your shipping address.

We ship merchandise with invoice enclosed. 30 days net.