Collections Database

Description:
Flax hackle or hatchel or hetchel for processing flax fibers. The name comes from a late 15th-century English word (hackle) meaning to prick or pierce. These textile processing tools are constructed using a block of wood which holds metal nails or teeth. The fibers are combed through these spikes, separating out the shorter (tow) fibers from the longer ones desired for spinning into yarns used for weaving linen. As many as five hatchels of increasingly finely spaced teeth could be used to refine the flax before spinning. This example is stamped "I.B." [JB?] and "E. BARNARD" on the wooden base, suggesting an owner and/or maker.

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1411.2

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