Determining Flax Staple Profile Using Manual Comb Sorting
Manual comb sorting by ISO 2370 isolates technical flax bundle length profiles to prevent drafting waves, control short fibre content, and enforce purchase contracts.
Cumulative Length Curve
Fibre Sorting
Raw flax sorting begins at the grading table where technicians pull handfuls from the bale to establish staple distribution by hand. Cumulative length curve plots mass frequency against individual strand lengths drawn during comb testing. Hand stapling yields a visual array sorted from root to tip.
Technicians group the broken fibres into short tows and long line fibre fractions before spinning mills purchase the lot. Each batch carries specific parameters recorded in the mill log for moisture and trash content.
Drafting Ratio
Spinning frames rely on this statistical distribution to set roller settings during drafting. Drafting zones must accommodate the span of fibre lengths without breakage or floating strands. Short fibres demand tight roller nips to maintain yarn regularity.
Long strands bridge the gap between back and middle rollers safely. Twist multipliers change according to the mean length derived from the plotted data.
Yarn Tenacity
Finished linen yarn strength depends entirely on how well the earlier fibre distribution matches the mechanical setting. Uneven drafting creates weak spots along the thread body during ring spinning runs. Weaving mills test warp breakages on high speed looms to verify the spinning house delivery.
Higher frequency of short fibres reduces final fabric tensile strength and causes warp stops during sizing. Tensile stress tolerances dictate the final commercial grade assigned to the woven cloth before export.