So, I wanted to get back to that palm comb idea, especially since I finally found what I think is a good comb to use. I'm going to try comparing three methods--hand combing, palm combing, and then just teasing by hand.
Left: the comb for palm combing. This is just a cheap plastic hair comb--the only crucial thing that I'm aware of so far is that the tines need to be evenly spaced (so not one of those graded combs that are fine at one end) and not too close together.
Right: my hand combs. These are just standard two row combs, nothing special or particular about them.
The fibers, from left to right:
1. Ouessant. Stand in for your average fairly fine medium length wool.
2. Cormo (looks all weird bc it's been dyed with baking soda as a modifier, which tends to clump it. Not felted). Very short stapled wool, very fine.
3. Jacob. This particular Jacob is a little greasy and quite strong. Stand in for any coarse wool.
4. Rambouillet. Very fine, but also tons of fine vm. Want to see if I can get any of that out--it's the kind that's too fine to pick out by hand, so.
I already know the palm comb can produce a somewhat worsted prep--but I never did figure out how to spin true worsted yarn on spindles of any kind, and can only do it on my wheel. So I'm going to try spinning all three preps on my wheel into a worsted yarn, and see how they compare.
I also want to figure out a little bit more about speed--I think the palm combs are slightly faster, so if they're almost as good a prep, that would be a good advantage !
Will do all my preps and report back with pictures.
