Object number
54/346
Creator
Description
The origin of these shears is unknown. The blades of the shears do not lie in a straight line with the handle but point upwards at a slight angle. On the top of one blade is a mark 'W P' and a trade mark, followed by 'No 30'. On the underside of the other blade is the same mark, smaller in size, with the manufacturer's name, 'WARD', and the word 'WARRANTED' beneath. The words 'CAST STEEL' form a semi-circle at the left hand end.
Physical description
1 pair of shears: metal; fair condition
Archival history
Object history research, John Masters, May 2020 - How can this object be described? // This is a metal scissor-like object with blades that do not lie in a straight line with the handle but point upwards at a slight angle. On the top of one blade is a mark 'W P' and a trademark, followed by 'No 30'. On the underside of the other blade is the same mark, smaller in size, with the manufacturer's name, 'WARD', and the word 'WARRANTED' beneath. The words 'CAST STEEL' form a semi-circle at the left-hand end. // How old is it? // Not known. // What is the object? // These are sheep shears. Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically, each adult sheep is shorn once each year (a sheep may be said to have been "shorn" or "sheared", depending upon dialect). The annual shearing most often occurs in a shearing shed, a facility especially designed to process often hundreds and sometimes more than 3,000 sheep per day. // Blade shears consist of two blades arranged similarly to scissors except that the hinge is at the end farthest from the point (not in the middle). The cutting edges pass each other as the shearer squeezes them together and shear the wool close to the animal's skin. Blade shears are still used today but in a more limited way. Blade shears leave some wool on a sheep and this is more suitable for cold climates such as the Canterbury high country in the South Island of New Zealand where approximately half a million sheep are still shorn with blade shears each year. [image] Sheep shearing in 1959. P FS PH1/K77425 // Sheep are shorn in all seasons, depending on the climate, management requirements and the availability of people to check the wool and shear the animals. Ewes are normally shorn prior to lambing in the warmer months, but consideration is typically made as to the welfare of the lambs by not shearing during cold climate winters. However, in high country regions, pre lamb shearing encourages ewes to seek shelter among the hillsides so that new-born lambs aren't completely exposed to the elements. Shorn sheep tolerate frosts well, but young sheep especially will suffer in cold, wet windy weather (even in cold climate summers). In this event they are kept in sheds for several nights until the weather clears. // Who made these shears? // The shears were made by Ward and Payne of Sheffield. This company was founded in 1803 and continued to trade until 1967 when they were taken over by Wilkinson Sword (who continued to sell tools under the Ward and Payne name. In 1911 the firm published what is probably the most comprehensive illustrated catalogue of tools ever issued by a Sheffield manufacturer. extending to 501 pages. At this time the tools that were actually manufactured by the firm included shovels, spades and forks, sheep shears and carving tools, gouges and chisels, but they also sold many other tools not made by their factories including planes. // History of shearing. // Sheep were domesticated over 10,000 years ago and the first sheep shearing was known around 3500 BC using sharpened metal or stone. Metal shears were first used in South West Asia in the 2nd and 1st millenniums BC and were usually made in bronze. // Are hand sheep shears still used? // Hand shears have largely been replaced by machine shears. Machine shears, known as handpieces, operate in a similar manner to human hair clippers in that a power-driven toothed blade, known as a cutter, is driven back and forth over the surface of a comb and the wool is cut from the animal. The original mechanical machine shears were invented in the 1880s and were powered by a fixed hand-crank linked to the handpiece by a shaft with only two universal joints, which afforded a very limited range of motion. Later models had more joints to allow easier positioning of the handpiece on the animal. Electric motors on each stand have generally replaced overhead gear for driving the handpieces. The jointed arm is replaced in many instances with a flexible shaft. Smaller motors allowed the production of shears in which the motor is in the handpiece; these are generally not used by professional shearers as the weight of the motor and the heat generated by it becomes bothersome with long use. // Other objects in the MERL collection related to this object. // [image] Wool basket 66/7 Used in a wool warehouse. The sorters in the warehouse took fleeces from the open bale, and unrolled and sorted them into skeps such as this one c1911. The shearing machine is hand-powered and is mounted on a tripod stand. // [image] Mechanical sheep shearing machine. 90/35/1-12 // [image] Battery powered sheep shears. 2012/439/1 c1977-1985 //
How long does it take to shear a sheep? // A professional shearer can shear a sheep in less than 2 minutes. The world record is 37.9 seconds. The time taken depends on type, size and condition of the sheep and it is obviously important not to injure the sheep. Ivan Scott from Ireland sheared 867 ewes in 9 hours. The blade shearing record was set over 100 years ago by Jackie Howe who sheared 321 sheep in 7 hours and 40 minutes.
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