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Post by jack on Feb 29, 2012 2:28:04 GMT -6
Gidday Down here we have way more sheep than people and shearing them is a huge job and we have also made it into a sport. In the North Island most shearers work a 9 hour day starting at 5am through to 5pm. During a days work many tons of sheep are caught and dragged out to where they are shorn the turned and rolled around to get the wool off the entire animal and very few of them are are very helpful. A days shearing is like running back to back marathons every day. Here is the website for the worlds biggest shearing competition:- www.goldenshears.co.nz/home.htmOn Saturday they will be streaming the finals live on the internet so I strongly suggest that to get an idea of a totally different world you should follow the action on:- www.goldenshears.co.nz/live12.htm |
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Post by spuds on Feb 29, 2012 3:39:40 GMT -6
Thats some skill with some fine shears.
I did wifes dog once,when done layed out her fur,had a second dog,LOL!~
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Post by ChileFarmer on Feb 29, 2012 9:30:21 GMT -6
Good post, enjoyed the video's. I can see lots of work in sheep. CF
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2012 18:57:50 GMT -6
reminds me of the nursery rhyme "Baa Baa Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool?"......Hard work worthy of recognition.....
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Post by jack on Mar 3, 2012 3:27:43 GMT -6
Gidday
Hey I actually posted those links on too soon cos now you can down;oad the main events.
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Post by Pharmer Phil on Mar 7, 2012 4:10:17 GMT -6
Jack...Monday evening (I believe it was monday).. They had about 7 minutes of news and film from the Golden Shears competition on the Minneapolis news tv station...Man those boys can shear  |
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Post by jack on Mar 8, 2012 2:44:50 GMT -6
Gidday
And it aint easy work but by looking at them you would think it is Eh!
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Post by mogarden on Mar 8, 2012 3:28:08 GMT -6
That's some skill! I worry about their math tho. "a 9 hour day from 5 am to 5 pm"? 3 hour lunch? LOL.
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Post by Rita on Mar 8, 2012 6:16:15 GMT -6
I think the US is one of the only countries left that doesn't take a large break in the work day ..
I know in greece they will take a 3 hour break and nap , eat drink then back to work .. My old boss was from Greece and said they go to work late in the morning work till 4 take a rest eat then back to work till 10 then dinner at 11 ..
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Post by spuds on Mar 8, 2012 17:08:06 GMT -6
Gidday And it aint easy work but by looking at them you would think it is Eh! Nothing like a Pro doing a job. |
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Post by lucy on Mar 9, 2012 0:09:06 GMT -6
A few yrs ago, we got to go to a sheep and alpaca sheering. It was a private farm. We were driving by one day and saw the alpacas and stopped in the rd. the lady came out of the barn and asked did we want to see her animals. Of course we did. We got to pet them, they had 4 alpacas and a few sheep. She invited us to come back anytime and told us when they were having a guy come sheer them if we wanted to be there. Bub and Darrell actually got in there and helped pick up. It was great. Never seen anything like it. So glad to let Bub experience something like that.
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Post by jack on Mar 9, 2012 1:40:02 GMT -6
Gidday That's some skill! I worry about their math tho. "a 9 hour day from 5 am to 5 pm"? 3 hour lunch? LOL. We often had to get up well before 4.00am and drive for up to an hour to start at 5.00am and shear for 2 hours then have breakfast. Breakfast was an hour break but in that time we would get our gear re-sharpened for the next run from 8.00am for one and three quarter hours and have a half hour break, cuppa tea and a small bit to eat. Then another run of an hour and three quarters till lunch at 12 mid day. Lunch an hour and get gear resharpened then two more runs of an hour three quarters split by half hour cuppa break and finnish at 5.00pm and once again get the gear re-sharpened for the morning run, have a bottle of beer then drive all the way home again. During the day we would drag 3 or 400 sheep in excess of a hundred pounds each out, roll them around and take the wool off them despite them not alway really wanting to co-opperate and throw them out. I assure you that it is far from easy and some have likened it to running two marrathons every day and would would often work several weeks without a day off because we would have to get as many done as possible whilst the weather was fine. |
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Post by spuds on Mar 9, 2012 1:53:02 GMT -6
Never thought about sharpening,I woulda thought good for days/weeks even? Just adds more to understanding the work involved that it hits the shears so hard.
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Post by jack on Mar 10, 2012 3:26:43 GMT -6
Gidday
Actually Spuds the gear I talked about is a hand piece that is driven mechanically from above through a tube and it is fitted with a comb that does like any comb and moves on the skin through the wool and on it is a smaller cutter that is driven left to right etc. and cuts the wool that comes down the teeth of the comb.
A comb will normally last a full run but a cutter may only last 15 minutes then has to be changed. It is these things that have to be resharpened so often. Wool is a brilliant product and for the equivilent thickness is about as hard to cut as steel. But that can be made way worse if there is much dust on the wool too because that can mean that sometimes the gear will only last a much shorter time so have to be changed more often and sharpened much more.
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Post by mogarden on Mar 10, 2012 6:29:29 GMT -6
Thanks for the explanation Jack. I just didn't understand where the extra time went. Sounds like a lot of hard work. We who wear woolen garments should appreciate what all goes into it. Amazing!
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Post by Pharmer Phil on Mar 10, 2012 7:14:48 GMT -6
only ever seen them done on a small scale, hand shears...and yes Mo, you are correct Sir..., pholks need to, and should appreciate the pholks who work this hard to provide us with our winter woolies
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