What SHOULD Finn Wool be Like? By Harry Koenig

I have finished shearing my Finn Lambs and have almost finished selling their lovely wool. This year, as I decided which fleece to send to which reseller, I noticed that in my small flock of 25+ ewes, I have a wide variety of fleece styles.

Bad health slowed me up a little this spring and I was unable to get samples of my Finn fleeces to Yocom-McColl for micron readings, but it would be safe to bet that some of my fleeces are above 30 microns while others approach 24 or 25. I have delicate soft, highly crimped fleeces of medium lustre and bold, strong, lustrous wool.

My instinct would be to sell the bolder wool to beginning spinners. I suspect it would draw more readily and yield a very satisfying bright yarn, but perhaps a little scratchy. More experienced spinners might enjoy the finer wool with its possibility for use in luxury wear and baby clothes and blankets.

I am confident that if I were to try to sell genes into a commercial flock, the finer wooled animals would have more appeal, while a spinners flock might do well with the brighter fleeces.

Mind you, this is all off the top of my head. I put it to you: Is the dichotomy I am suggesting between spinners and commercial wool flocks valid? I'm not sure, but suppose it is.

One the one hand while fiber artists and hobbyists represent a proportionately small segment of the wool buying public, this is a large country and a small percentage still means a large number of poeple. And this market is prepared to pay a substantial premium for good fleeces well put up.

On the other hand, the far bigger market, in terms of numbers and dollars, is the commercial wool market. Is it fair to suggest that, if Finnsheep are to contribute genes to large commercial flocks, they need to blend in well with the 24 micron and finer fleeces that command the broader market?

And I haven't even touched on the issues of uniformity or staple and uniformity of wool over the britch. At one show I attended I overheard a breeder saying the "true" finn had a double coat. I noticed that when I got home many of my ewes have, not really a double coat but such a variation in staple -- over 1" in some 4" locks -- that the give that appearance. Other ewes have a far more consistent staple. And some of my ewes have acceptable britches, while on others the britch wool has an almost hairy appearance, it is far less crimpy and far thicker.

I manage to sell all my wool, so I'm not complaining. But I do wonder about the future of our breed and its role in contributing genes to American flocks. I don't have an answer. My personal disposition inclines me towards producing finer fleeces, but the affections of humankind are disordered and my disposition is not necessarily a good guide.

Again, I ask you, which is better? Shall we as an association continue to pursue the hobbyist and artistic market which responds so enthusiastically to our fleeces, or should we pursue a fleece standard which will make our sheep more attractive to commercial wool flocks where fineness and uniformity are increasingly important goals? Come on, friends! This is your association and your newsletter. Give us some opinions. "Let a thousand flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend!" (the best thing Mao ever said) and let's have a discussion.