How wool is shorn and graded

A shearer takes the whole fleece off in one piece, and a classer then sorts it into four grades by hand and eye.

stations: 3
things downstream: 13

The short version

Wool comes from sheep that are shorn once a year, historically in early summer. A shearer removes the entire fleece with clippers. The fleece is then spread on a table, where a wool classer sorts the pieces into fleece, broken fleece, bellies and locks, so that similar wool can be sold together.

Raise the flock

Sheep graze on pasture and grow a fleece that thickens over the year. Merino sheep supply much of the fine apparel wool, and coarser breeds such as Lincoln and Romney grow the longer fibers used in carpets.
Shear the fleece off

A shearer cuts the woolly fleece off the sheep in one mass. Machine shears, introduced after 1888, cut fewer second passes than blade shears did and shortened the time per sheep.
Sort into four grades

A wool classer groups fleeces by staple length, crimp, handle, color, cleanliness and apparent fineness. Pieces are divided into fleece, which is the bulk and the best, broken fleece, bellies from the underside, and short locks.

End of the lineWool fleece Next it goes into piano, tailored suit, leather gloves and 3 more.

Worth repeating

In Australia, shorn wool was once hot-washed on the station, until selling wool in the grease in the 1890s made that obsolete.
Bellies, locks and broken pieces are priced below the main fleece, so classing exists to maximize the return for the farmer.