Hand Carders

Hand carders (or hand cards) are a relatively low-tech way to prepare fiber for spinning. When you card fiber with hand cards, you are separating the fibers and partially aligning them to make them easier to spin. Carded fibers are the preparation you use if you want to make lofty woolen yarns.

If you want to make worsted yarns, you’ll need the fiber to be aligned more precisely and you’ll want the shorter fibers to be removed. The tool to use for this sort of preparation is a wool comb. If you use a flick carder instead, you’ll end up with fiber that’s aligned like you’d get by using wool combs, but the shorter fibers won’t have been removed.

Any current eBay auctions for hand carders and flick carders will be displayed below. Click a picture or description to get more information or to place a bid.

flick-carder-spinning-roving-weaving-new FLICK CARDER spinning roving weaving NEW
US $14.50
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 12:21:26 PST
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vintage-wood-wool-cotton-carder-combs- VINTAGE WOOD WOOL COTTON CARDER COMBS
US $20.50 (8 Bids)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 17:45:18 PST
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wool-picker-spinning-wheel-roving-fiber-weaving-carder- wool picker spinning wheel roving fiber weaving carder.
US $157.00
End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 17:21:01 PST
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spinning-wheel-old-whittemore-no-8-wool-cotton-carder Spinning Wheel Old Whittemore No.8 Wool Cotton Carder
US $10.00 (1 Bid)
End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 9:26:53 PST
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spinning-wheel-old-whittemore-no-10-wool-cotton-carder Spinning Wheel Old Whittemore No.10 Wool Cotton Carder
US $10.00 (1 Bid)
End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 9:30:47 PST
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antique-wool-carder-folk-art-spinning-sheep-flax Antique Wool Carder, Folk Art, Spinning, Sheep, Flax
US $48.00
End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 20:44:47 PST
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hand-carders-carder-strauch Hand Carders - carder Strauch
US $77.00
End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 4:02:21 PST
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louet-roving-carder-alpaca-roving-carder LOUET Roving Carder - Alpaca Roving Carder
US $385.00
End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 15:27:29 PST
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wool-picker-spinning-wheel-roving-fiber-weaving-carder- wool picker spinning wheel roving fiber weaving carder'
US $157.00
End Date: Wednesday Mar-17-2010 5:48:26 PDT
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strauch-petite-carder-strauch-assembled-brush-attachmen Strauch Petite Carder Strauch Assembled,Brush Attachmen
US $460.00
End Date: Thursday Mar-18-2010 4:15:43 PDT
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When buying hand carders, the most important feature is the number of teeth per inch. The finer the fiber you like to use, the more teeth per inch your carders will need to have. Fine hand carders (112 teeth per inch or more) will work well on a wide range of fibers; however, coarser carders will not work for finer fibers such as alpaca, merino wool and cashmere.