Combing Fiber

As a beginner to fiber processing, not certain how valuable my opinion is here. I learned a great deal from this DVD and believe it will be very useful. I will watch it many times. I did not know how to remove the guard hairs and now I have an idea. I will be able to make more informed choices when purchasing combs and have the DVD to watch as to how to use them. Very nice intro to several styles of combing with tips for making the process easier/better and explanations for why to do or not to do things while carding, very informative.Did wish it went a little further into what to do with waste, how to utilize it, but that is on the outside boundary of fiber combing, so I can see how it might not belong. Still, I wish she had given at least a teaser into what she does with her combing waste as she showed spinning right from the comb. Also wish she had gone into common makers of combs, but again I can see it might not fit well...I recommend this; she is informative, goes at a good pace, one can watch the combing in action while listening to the reasons and watch-out-fors. All around it is a nice video.

This was an excellent tutorial on combing fiber. I learned a "lot" and she even gives you her recipe for moisturizing the fiber before coming. Very educational, well done, informative. I am so glad i purchased this!

Very well done video.

Totally awesome resource!

I got the 'instant video download' of this from Interweave's Thanksgiving Special, and it was only ten dollars. Even so I feel it was a little too pricey.The production values are good. There's no distracting background music; Robin speaks clearly and identifies every step of the process. The lighting is good and her work space is also quite streamlined without a lot of decorations and knick-knacks to distract the eye.It starts out with Robin standing behind a table full of different styles of combs and fleece. Now, I'd done a lot of research online, trying to find out what combs to buy, so I was visually familiar with all the styles she had on the table. So, right there, that's "free information" you can find on the internet, looking at all the styles of combs, though if you had no experience at all with them, watching this video might be quicker than poking around on various websites for the information.Robin then proceeds to pick up some fiber, explains about static and the use of "combing milk" or water to keep static down, and then she lashes the fiber onto the comb of choice - explaining why she used that particular set of combs - and then demonstrates how to comb it, along with some helpful tips. After the fiber is combed, she shows how to remove it with a diz and coil it into a 'bird's nest.'I had not heard of "combing milk" (an oil, lecithin, alcohol and water recipe), so that was some good new information. Robin points out that you don't want to oil fibers that didn't have oil to begin with. Just the wools. So, good information for the average viewer, I suppose.But the whole rest of the video was the exact same thing repeated, just using different combs and different fibers. I'd expected that different combs would require different techniques for handling, or something (considering that, say, English combs look very different from Russian combs), but not really. Once you see the first combing, it's pretty much the same thing throughout the rest of the video, just repeated with different fleece and combs.Ultimately you do learn which combs go best with which type of *fiber* - which is useful if you're going to be trying a lot of different fibers, or if you have one breed that you particularly prefer and are trying to find the best type of comb for it, but I felt that much of it was repetitive.I had already ordered my Valkyrie Superfine combs before buying the video download, and was simply hoping for a useful video to show me how to comb and blend with them. Perhaps I should have looked on youtube.

I recently learned how to comb. I read Peter Teal's book on woolcombing twice cover-to-cover. I watched videos on YouTube and by Judith MacKenzie. I hesitated to get this video because the one review on Amazon gave it 3 stars. But, after cramped and sore (read: bleeding) arms and hands as a result of combing half of an alpaca fleece, I thought I would give the Combing Fiber DVD a try.I am pleasantly surprised. Ms. Russo shows a technique for combing that is simple, quick, and easy on your hands and arms. She goes through different types of fibers and repeats the technique. I found valuable tidbits in each repetition: for example, when to use combing oil (with recipe) vs. when to use a water spritz. How to comb alpaca vs. how to do rabbit vs. long wool. In addition, this is the only video in my library that shows how to separate out the guard hair using combs.It was worth the money just to learn an efficient way to get the chaff out and get absolutely splendid tops without all the complication or physical exertion of Peter Teal's technique. I completed my second half of the fleece in 75% of the time without the injuries of the first half!