Judging Wool Quality

(Page 3 of 3)

March/April 1983
By the Mother Earth News editors 
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GRADING SYSTEMS

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Once a fleece has been checked and appraised, it needs to be graded in some fashion. Three methods are used to classify wool: the bloodsystem, the numerical or spinning count system, and the micron system.

The blood system categorizes all wool, from the finest to the coarsest, into six market grades: [1] fine, [2] 1/2 blood, [3] 3/8 blood, [4] 1/4 blood, [5] low 1/4 blood, and [6] common and braid. These names originally referred to the amountofMerino blood in the sheep producing the wool, but today they refer simply to the finenessofthe wool...without any concern whatsoever for the amountofMerino blood present.

The numerical, or spinning count, system divides all wool into 14 grades. The numbers range from the 80's for the finest wool, down to 36 for the coarsest, and refer to the numberofhanks that can be spun from one poundofclean fibers.

Finally, the micron system rates wool by the average diameter—in microns, a measurement equal to 1/25,400inch—ofthe fibers in a given lot. Although it's technically more "accurate", its unitsofmeasure are difficult for the average person to visualize.

The chart below gives an ideaofhow these three systems compare.

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