Signs of wear

One of the unique aspects of the wool I provide, in addition to being incredibly soft and bouncy (thanks to our flock of lovely soft shetland sheep) is that I hand process pretty much everything I sell.  I think it makes for a nicer experience for the knitter/spinner.

The equipment I use to hand process is starting to show its age, and as I am using the tools of this trade I reflect on the volume of wool that has passed over the guides, cards and hands.  I wonder where all that wool is across the world and if it is providing use as a decoration, a source of warmth or some other type of value.

Every lock is flicked.  My flicker tines get a little misaligned over time.

Clean dirt build up.

That callous on my index finger is from holding locks while they are flicked.  I think it could stop a bullet.

This guide has a groove worn into it from the yarn passing over it, it still has some use before I'll need to replace it 

But this guide has just about worn right through.  I'm going to keep using it until one day it will just break in two.  I wonder what it will feel like when it happens

My doffing tool is all crooked

I use my paddle cards to pack the wool onto my drum carder like so

And one day realized that it was getting grooves worn into the back of it from the tines on the drum carder.  This observation is what inspired this post.