Products
CAMEL
CAMEL hair comes from two main
subspecies of "Camelus L.," the two humped Bactrian Camel and
the one humped Dromedary (Arabian Camel).
They are closely related to the
Alpaca/Llama of South America and are used extensively as pack animals
and transport in the dryer areas of the world due to their ability to
carry large loads for very long distances without the need of
water. Traveling at speeds of 4/5 kilometers per hour they can
typically carry 120/150 kilos, 35 to 40 kilometers per day over
difficult terrain. These cud chewing animals, with a difficult,
capricious character have large elastic hooves, which permit them to
trek through the softest sand or over steep rocky ground with ease.
In the area around the Gobi dessert
in Mongolia, there are a large number of these animals but they are also
found in Arabia and other countries in eastern Europe and the Middle
East. Parts of Russia, Australia, South America and Africa all
have good numbers and everywhere they have adapted well to local
conditions.
The animal has a coat which is
mainly Reddish Brown or Light Brown in colour but one may find a rare
number with a Creamy White fleece, which is highly valued. The
coat consists of two parts, the outer longer hair is very coarse and
strong but mixed within it is a soft under hair or down, much like
cashmere, needs to be separated for textile use.
In spring the hair detaches itself
from the animal and is collected by hand, the finest and soft hair
coming from the youngest animals. The weight of fleeces varies, it
can be anything from 2 to 4 kilos on the older animals, much less on the
younger babies.
The separation of the down or under
hair is most effectively made on a special Dehairing machine, where the
fibres pass over and under a series of wire covered rollers, Cards,
which pull out the longer coarser fibres, leaving just the soft down or
under hair. The production as with Cashmere is slow and costly and
the yield varies greatly from lot to lot.
Normally the down hair is between
17 and 21 microns while the coarser outer hair can be 25/100 microns or
more. The soft fibre is used for sweaters, scarves, shawls,
jackets and over coats, whilst the outer hair is used in felts, carpets,
tie and clothing interlinings and insulation purposes.
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