The path that I have set for myself in getting all of the flax I grew processed and ready for spinning has given me a better understanding. What it would have taken to produce fibers for clothing and other necessities in the 10th century.
The summer of 2022 I was able to break and comb, over half of the bundles. The process had to done outside during dry weather. The flax will absorb moisture from the air and not break well so that limited how often this could happen. I stored the flax indoors as It was getting processed, so I would not absorb moisture ourside. I think it made a big differeance with the finished product,
By now the time is running short. September is app, aproaching and my goal is to get all the flax breaking done. Once the damp weather starts, it wouldn’t be till the next summer that it could be done. That was unacceptable. I decided to do comparison and use a more modern break design from around the 14th ,. Having friends who also work with flax , I was able to borrow one. Made for her by her husband out of oak. We made some video showing the process using each one with my commentary on the pros and cons of each way to break the fibers Unfortunately, that video has been temporarily lost. I will do my best to to recount my findings.
My goal was to compare how much effort the two processes took and well as the time The modern break needed smaller bundles but only took 3 to 4 minutes. The Mallet and V – cut stump allowed for a larger bundle to be broke but took 5 to 6 minutes approximately. For the effort involved in the breaking of my arms. With the mallet, the motion is in front of you, up and down. With the modern flax break, The motion is to the side, Bringing your arm up and having to use a lot of muscle to get the job done . The more ‘modern. break has a channell where the upper piece goes into breaking the stems. A terrible description, not the easiest thing to describe. I will upload some pictures when I can to help. I found that the side motion was harder on me than the forward motion using the V cut stump. I was glad to have done the comparison as I gained more insight into the process. Now all of the flax was broken, combed and ready for the next part of the journey. Spinning
Here is all of the finished fiber that I grew and processed. I am very happy with the color and quality. The journey continues…