Hand Carders

Over the past 40 years we have developed our own design of flat backed carders. As handspinners we fully understand the needs and function of the handcarder to process a range of fibres.
Many thousands of pairs have been produced by us and the demand continues. Our standard carder has a surface of 18cm X 9cm as this has been found to be a good maximum size for working with. Carding is well controlled and the quality of rolag produced aids in the quality of spinning. Any larger and it becomes clumsy and heavy to use. Selection of the gauge of the wire is also important. We use 25 Carder Wire Gauge as this works the fibre well without damage. Too heavy a wire will damage the fibre and too fine will not have a good carding action. By careful consideration of these finer points of carding we have designed what we believe to be an efficient tool for the task of wool preparation.

If the card cloth wire ever becomes worn after many years of work it is easily replaced.

From time to time we have come across spinners trying to use large carders designed for the cleaning of industrial machines. They look similar, most are much wider and narrower than hand carders. They are intended for one handed use against the drums of large machines to scrape off the dirt and debris. We do not suggest that they are used for handcarding and we cannot offer replacement cardcloth. They are often well used by the time they get to handspinners !

Some time ago our manufacturer reorganised and decided to stop making card cloth so we took over. Today we produce our own card cloth using an industrial machine, acquired from just over the border in West Yorkshire. We are now the last maker of hand carders in Yorkshire. This allows us to define exactly what settings we need. If you have specific needs then feel free to get in touch and discuss your requirements

We are now offering the option of stainless steel wire on our finished hand carders. This has the advantage of being the perfect material for the carder as it will never show any signs of deteriation in normal usage and will stay clean and shiny. It is a fact that with lack of care the normal tin plated wire can show signs of ageing. The use of stainless steel wire removes this problem.

Specification

* Backs made from birch ply, for lightness and strength.
* Balanced to give a light easy action.
* Chunky turned handle to fit the hand, very easy to grip. Angled to keep fingers away from the working surface
* Covered in 48, 72 point or 108 point card cloth with 3 ply rubber back for durability. Tin plate or Stainless steel wire option.
*Wire is 25 Carder Wire Gauge. Over the last 40 years this has been found to be the optimum wire for best handcarding results.
* Lacquered finish to permanently seal the woodwork, with all corners rounded off for comfortable carding.
* 350gms / 22cm x 12cm overall size. Carding surface 18cm x 9cm

Please Note: The card cloth wire has a light coating of oil to lubricate it during manufacture. This is normally so light that it is not noticeable. Sometimes the application has been a little more and it can show on the wool. We suggest that you initially use the carders with some "waste" wool just to make certain the wire is cleaned off.

See the card cloth page for replacement card cloth

Carders - Fine	These are better suited for fine fibres including cotton and also the finer wools. They are made in the same way as the standard carders but have a finer set wire covering. 108 points per square inch. See above for the details of construction.	FCARD: Tin plate wire   FSCARD: Stainless wire		£30 per pair   £39 per pair
Carders - Standard	These are a design which has proved very popular with our customers over the years. Flat backed and covered with a high quality stainless steel or tin plate standard set wire that is suitable for most fibre types, 72 points per square inch. See above for the detail of construction.	SCARD: Tin plate wire   SSCARD stainless wire		£29 per pair   £38 per pair
Carders Coarse tin plate wire	These are 48 point carders generally used for the coarser wool types. Identical to our standard carders in construction	CCARD		£24 per pair
Carders – Mini Standard	A reduced size, lightweight carder with standard quality card cloth set into a pressed metal back. They have an easy to grip, turned wooden handle. These carders can be used in pairs in the same way as the larger carders or can be used individually for flick carding. Weight 110gms Size 12cm by 8cm Autumn 2011 Please note production of these carders has now stopped. It may be possible that we will be able to resume. Due to unforseen circumstances there is a problem with the production of the component parts.	MSCARD		£6 each	Out of Stock