# dehairing



## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

i have two cashmeres, I sheared them and now have lots of fiber, how do i dehair and card it, what else do i need to do before it's marketable? thanks


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## Guest (Jun 30, 2008)

Hi, I thought I posted a reply before but perhaps it didn't go through (if this ends up being a double post I appologize ahead of time). I am also trying to find information about dehairing. In looking around on the net everyone seems to point to dehairing using machines (due to cost effectiveness i guess) but I am currently working in Afghanistan with some Afghan nomads who make, on average, a few cents more than a dollar a day so cost-effectiveness is all relative. If anyone has any information on how to dehair manually (or maybe semi-manually) i'd really appriciate it.

Cheers,

-Gaiko


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Well the only real way of dehairing the fiber is if you send it to a mill. It takes a special machine to do this. Because you sheered them you will have a LOT more guard hair then if you would of combed them. The problem with sending it to a mill now is most all of them charge by the incoming weight, so it is going to be a lot heavier then when it is dehaired. I get about 60-70 percent of my fiber back as usable cashmere and I comb mine.(that is more then most, usually you only get about 40-50 percent back) I would guess you will only get about 20-30 percent of what you send in back as usable. I also have them send back my "junk" Cashmere because I am starting to felt cashmere and Mareno hats. That way i will use most all my cashmere and not waste any.


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## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

where would i find a mill, in alaska, would i have to ship it?


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Well I am not sure. I send mine to Georgia Mountain Fiber. They do a awesome job.
If you would like more info, go to my web site and go to the Fiber tab. There is a link. 
Tell her that Lori from Colorado told you about her and she will treat you right. There are lots of other places to send it to but I just love how they treat you, and they are just wonderful people.


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Like Lori, I also comb my Cashmere goats. I only have 4 does, (I'm keeping the 4 doelings we had this year) so I didn't think I had enough fiber to send to the mill yet. Next spring I'll have 8 does to comb, so I should have enough fiber to make it worthwhile to send. But, I have to say, 4 ounces doesn't sound like much, but by volume it seems like quite alot! I can't wait to send some in. 

On the other subject, Alpacas, I've noticed that the prices are coming down some. I have been researching them for, oh crap, 4 years now. There for awhile the prices just shot sky-high. I'm sure the folks that bought about 2 years ago are fussing about it now, but, for those, like me, that waited, now seems to be a good time to buy a couple. I'll warn you now though, if you haven't been to an Alpaca farm...don't go...unless you want to be hopelessly obsessed like me. They are the sweetest creatures on earth, well, they aren't as smart as my goats, or as tame, but there is something about them that just pulls you in. I almost wish I'd never seen one. They humm you know.


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## Guest (Jul 1, 2008)

@ sweetgoats
You had mentioned using left over cashmere (after the dehairing process) for a making felt. I know nothing about making felt but there is an ethnic group in central Afghanistan that makes rugs that are essentially large flat dreadlocks. Can partially dehaired cashmere (cashmere picked through by hand) be used to make felt? In many areas the cashmere (undercoat?) is considered a waste by Afghans and is not used at all so if making pseudo-felt is an option then that would be another form of income for these people. If you have any more information (or know of good online resources) I’d really appreciate it!

Cheers

-Gaiko


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

gaikokujinkyofusho said:


> @ sweetgoats
> You had mentioned using left over cashmere (after the dehairing process) for a making felt. I know nothing about making felt but there is an ethnic group in central Afghanistan that makes rugs that are essentially large flat dreadlocks. Can partially dehaired cashmere (cashmere picked through by hand) be used to make felt? In many areas the cashmere (undercoat?) is considered a waste by Afghans and is not used at all so if making pseudo-felt is an option then that would be another form of income for these people. If you have any more information (or know of good online resources) I'd really appreciate it!
> 
> Cheers
> ...


 I can not believe the Afghans would confider the cashmere a waste. It is used in so many things. i really do not know of a web site or anything that talks about it. i just took a hat felting class and that is how I learned. Yes a lot of people make felted rugs. It is from all different kinds of fiber. 
I will be using the "trash" fiber because it will still have some of the guard hair and that will give it a little character. 
Yes you can hand pick the guard hair and trash out of the fiber, but it is a LOT of work. If a goat does not lose a lot of the guard hair that would be even better. The sooner someone combs the goat as it is loosing the fiber the less guard hair you get.
Ok did I answer you question or did I just rattle on?


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Gaiko, I put a felting link in a new topic. Good luck.


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2008)

@ sweetgoats
Yup, you'd be surprised by creativity drain (not using cashmere) that is caused by poverty and isolation (though some creativity comes out of it too). As for the "lots of work" part, when you make around a dollar a day (per family, not family member nessisiarily) and walk 12km to get supplies sitting down in the evening and picking outerhair out of cashmere doesn't see like so much work :wink:

@ Di
Thanks for the new thread, my background is more meat/dairy (with cows and pigs [the later of which is a useless skill here in Afghanistan :hair: ]) so learning about fiber production has been really new interesting! Thanks to all for your help!

Cheers

-Gaiko


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## Di (Jan 29, 2008)

Hi Gaiko, I was looking at a site once, don't remember where, and it said to take small amount of fiber and "blow" it to get some of the guard hairs out. Don't know how effective that is, haven't tried it, LOL. Are these Cashmere goats you are dealing with? Do they milk them? Are they locally aquired? I guess you can't post pics for us. My DIL was stationed in Afganistan for a year...but she didn't go off the base. Hope you are safe, good luck!


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## artzkat (Oct 22, 2007)

I have been off line for a while and just found this post...actually I have been trying to figure this out myself as I have a small herd.
There are actually combs with long teeth made especially for this. I have found them at http://thewoolery.com and other websites.
To search for them just enter "mohair carder". These are actually very simple combs and if you get a set and have someone around who is moderately creative you can probably make a set yourself.

You can also dehair by hand carding the hair using fine wool hand cards (125 teeth per inch) and carding it as you would wool.

There is a device called a flicker comb...also available where hand cards are sold, that is small and you can draw the hair through the teeth of it to dehair. All of these methods are more labor intensive than using a drum carder or having it milled, but will work well for smaller amounts of fiber.

Hope this helps.

Kat.


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