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A number of steps are involved in processing the flax plant for spinning. After the plant has been "retted" (or rotted) and beaten and scraped to remove most of the outer skin, the fibers would be pulled through a series of metal spiked brush-like tools known as "hatchels" to finish removing the bits of skin, cull out the shorter fibers and align the longer ones for spinning. Hatchels were made with differing densities of spikes. The spikes on this one are quite finely spaced.

 

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Flax Hatchel/Hackle

date   1770-1800
location   Ireland
length   17.37"
width   5.875"
depth   2.75"
process/materials   wood, metal
item type   Tools/Textile working Tools & Equipment
accession #   #1881.005.03


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See Also...

Flax break

Hatchel/Hackle

Flax Wheel


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