Hand Carders & Flickers

Preparing your wool fleece with hand carders is an easy and low cost way of getting your fiber ready for spinning and felting. We recommend that you wash your wool fibers before processing so that the teeth of the carders do not get gummed up with the lanolin. More fiber tips below.

John Day Hand Carders 

John Day Wool Hand Carders

hand carders

John Day hand carders are value priced without compromising quality. The curved carding surface makes these easy to use and the comfortable handle will make it easy to hold these carders. They are made from solid poplar wood. The fine, flexible 72 teeth carding cloth, can card most fibers including coarse, medium and fine wools. Tung Oil finish. Large carding area 7.5" x 4.5". You can pay more, but won't get anything better! Completely assembled and ready to use. Sold in pairs. Made in Oregon

Currently out of stock

 

John Day Extra Fine Hand Carders

hand cardersJohn Day hand carders with extra fine carding cloth with 120 teeth will card fine fibers. Great for Merino, Alpaca, Cashmere, Cotton and Silk as well as other fine fibers. The curved carding surface makes these easy to use and the comfortable handle will make it easy to hold these carders. They are made from solid poplar wood. Tung Oil finish. Large carding area 7.5" x 4.5".

Sold in pairs. Made in Oregon

Currently out of stock





John Day Medium Size Wool Hand Carders

john day hand carders medium

Same great quality as above wool hand carder, just in a smaller size! John Day medium hand carders are ideal for carding smaller amount of wool or alpaca. Because these smaller carders are light weight they are ideal for spinners with weak wrists and hands. Fine, flexible 72 teeth carding cloth that can card coarse, medium and fine wools. Nice curved carding surface. Built to last from solid poplar wood. Tung Oil finish. Completely assembled and ready to use. Carding area 5.5" x 4.5"Sold in pairs. Made in Oregon $72.95  

 Currently out of stock




Ashford Hand Carders

Ashford Hand Carders- Wool or Cotton

ashford handcarders for wool

You know that Ashford makes the spinning wheels that have stood the test of time. They also produce a line of hand carders with curved carding surface a nice contoured  handle.

These handles can easily be attached to the carding area. Choose from 72 teeth for all wools or 108 teeth for fine wools and cotton.

Sold in pairs.



 

 

Ashford Student Hand Carders

 ashford hand carders for carding fleece

Ashford student hand carders with 72 teeth and a unique curved one-piece design make these ideal for all wools. Curved plywood construction.

Sold in pairs.


$89.95  Quantity

 

 

Ashford Small Hand Carders

ashford mini handcardersAshford smaller, light weight handcarders in 72 tpi for wools or 108 tpi for silk or cotton.

Handles can easily be attached to the carding area. Sold in pairs

ashford mini handcarders with measurements

 

 

 

 

 

 




Flick Cards - Flickers

John Day Flicker  

flick carder for preparing fiber

Pre-tease your fiber and open the locks of fine fibers.

Great for small carding jobs or to toss in your spinning bag so that you have t when and where you need it! Versatile 98 teeth carding cloth a variety of wools such as Corriedale, Romney, Cormo, Llama and alpaca.

Nice curved vertical carding surface. Tung Oil finish. Carding area 2" x 4.5".

Sold individually.

 

Made in Oregon from durable Poplar wood.

 

 


$23.95  Quantity
  



Ashford Flicker

ashford flicker

 Ashford flick cards has 72 teeth and a horizontal carding surface.

Great for pre-teasing or carding smaller amounts of fibers.




$28.95   Quantity
  

Maintenance Tips for Hand Carders

Regardless of what brand you buy, your hand carders should last you for many years to come. This low cost fiber preparation equipment will enable you to get your washed fleece ready for spinning or felting. To make sure your hand carders perform as they should we recommend the following:

Mark you carders left and right and use them accordingly. This will allow the teeth to wear more evenly and last longer.

Never, never push your hand cards together all the way and then pull. This may damage the wire teeth. While carding your fibers the teeth should barely touch, and your motion should be similar to a gentle rocking motion. Preparing your fleece should not be strenuous, but easy and comfortable to do.

Wash your fiber or fleece before carding. This will remove some of the vegetable matter and if you are working with wool, most of the lanolin. Doing so will not only clean your fleece, but also preserve your carders, since the lanolin and dirt of a fleece can gum up the wire teeth of the carding surface.

Never, never card wet or damp fibers or leave your tools outside over night or even in the rain. This will cause the teeth to rust. Once this has happened you will need to replace the carding cloth or buy a new pair.

Pre-tease if necessary. Are the tips of your fleece felted "matted" together? If so you will need to pull the tips apart before you card them. In rare cases in which the fibers are very much felted together not even pre-teasing will help and you may want to use this sort of wool for pillow stuffing or felting projects instead.

My pair of carders has lasted me over 10 years now and yours will too if you take care of them. I even "abused" mine, they seem to make a good lint and yarn scarps cleaner for my woven rugs. ;-)

 Have lost of fleeces? Check out our Drum Carders