October 25, 2024 • 12 mins
In this episode, Sasha reviews her brand new fiber-preparation tool, the Lock Pop from Clemes and Clemes.
You can find the script for this episode HERE.
You can comment on and discuss this episode here in The Flock, Sheepspot’s free online community for inquisitive spinners.
Here's the link to the Podcast search page and playlists.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(01:22):
Preparing fiber for spinning is such an ancient activity that it's rare that
somebody invents a way to do it that is really new.
But someone has, and I've tried it, and I'm going to tell you all about it in this episode.
Hello there, darling Sheepspotter. Welcome to episode 127 seven of the Sheepspot podcast.
(01:47):
I'm Sasha, and my job is to help you make more yarns you love.
Today, a review of the Lock Pop from Clemice and Clemice.
Now, admittedly, I am late to this party. The Lock Pop was actually evented
in 2021, and when it first came
(02:08):
out, I just couldn't really see why I needed it and how I would use it.
And it was only after watching spinner after spinner rave about it for three
years that I finally decided it was time to give it a try.
I have been a slow adopter, which is unusual for me.
(02:28):
And now that I've tried it, I can think of a couple of situations in which it's
going to be a really useful addition to my fiber prep toolkit. it. So let's get into it.
First, what is the lockpop? It's a block of wood measuring about seven inches
(02:49):
wide, about three inches deep, and about two and a half inches tall.
And the top of the block has a gentle curve towards the back of the tool,
and it's covered with 72 TPI carding cloth.
It comes complete with a clamp that can attach to a table or workbench from
(03:13):
three-quarters inch thick to four inches thick.
The tool and the clamp come packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with a firm inside.
That's, I meant to say, with a foam insert that holds them in place snugly,
and that is perfect for storing the lockpop safely.
(03:37):
It costs $138 US, and it comes with free shipping in the United States.
Clemas and Clemas' website describes the lock pop, which they call a,
quote, inverted flicker with a wider base and longer and stronger teeth.
(03:59):
They describe it this way.
The lock pop is both a versatile standalone fiber preparation tool and a great
tool to pop open a lock before carting or combing.
By popping a lock up and down a few times on the teeth, then pulling it through
the teeth of the lock pop, the lock will often be spinnable as is and will be ready for hand cards,
(04:25):
a drum card, or blending board, hackle, or combs.
So what's it like to use this thing? When it arrived, I unboxed it,
I clamped it to my work table, and I pulled out the fleece that I was going to work with.
And this is a BFL fleece with a lot of dirt, but not much vegetable matter,
(04:48):
a lot of second cuts, and pretty sticky and weak tips.
It turned out to be kind of a perfect fleece for testing because it wasn't perfect.
There were lots of bits in it that I wouldn't want in my yarn.
So it was a good test for this new tool.
(05:10):
The first time I used it, I put one end of a lock into the carding cloth, and I just pulled.
And I was surprised at how hard I had to pull to get the lock through the carding cloth.
And I could see the teeth of the carding cloth starting to bend,
which I figured couldn't possibly be right.
(05:31):
So this led me to actually read the effing manual, which is actually just one
sheet with a QR code that took me to a video of Roy Clemas demonstrating how to use the lock pop.
And I had discovered that I had been using it wrong, I needed to start loosening
up the ends of the lock by popping it,
(05:54):
that is by lowering the lock onto the carding cloth while pulling it slightly
towards me and doing that several times to kind of open up space between the fibers.
And once I'd done that a few times, I could pull the lock through the carding
cloth to finish opening it up.
The results after a little practice was a nice open lock with the fibers aligned
(06:19):
and the dirt, the VM, the second cuts, and the weak tips all removed.
I found it quite comfortable to do this sitting at my work table and I was satisfied
to see that most of the dirt from the fleece ended up in the teeth of the lock
pop and not on my floor, which is a definite plus.
(06:41):
When I was finished, I just held the tool upside down over a garbage can and
tapped it against the side a few times to encourage the dirt to fall out.
Working lock by lock, I won't say I found this process speedy exactly,
but I did find it kind of soothing, and I loved getting results as good as I
(07:02):
would get from a flick carter with none of the puncture wounds.
Clemence and Clemence say on their website that they find the lock pop more
efficient and easier on the hands than flicking, and I definitely agree.
I'm a fan of this tool.
I'm planning to experiment with it a lot to
(07:23):
see if there are different ways that
i might use it but once i got the hang of popping i
could immediately see a such a couple of situations
in which it would be the perfect thing so the
first is prepping locks for drum
carding i was working with a clun
forest fleece recently that had a
(07:45):
fair amount of vm in it and i loved
clun forest and until recently it
was pretty hard for me to get so i wanted
to get the best yarn i could from this fleece and i
ended up picking the locks by hand which is okay as far as it goes but it wasn't
nearly as good as the lock pop at getting out the vm and loosening the tips
(08:09):
so i think i will definitely use the lock pop first before putting fleece on a drum carter.
I'll be able to use fewer passes, and I think I will get a much nicer bat and
a more pleasant spinning experience as well.
The second situation in which I plan to use the lock pop is in prepping fiber
(08:34):
for combination drafting.
So this is where you take two different colorways and you strip them down into
narrow strips, and then you put them next to each other and you actually draft
from both of the strips at the same time.
Or I've done this with as many as three strips.
And uh so you get all
(08:56):
the colors in every you know
minute of the yarn in every inch of the yarn you
get all the colors um and it
gives this wonderful kind of uh confetti
color effect um and so
i am obsessed with combination drafting right
(09:17):
now and i learned from rachel
smith's brilliant class on combo drafting for
the guild that prepping the
fibers i'm gonna uh pre-draft by
pulling them through a prep
tool of some kind and i've tried this with hand card
with um and with a stationary comb um but pulling them through a prep tool of
(09:44):
some kind and then And dizzing them off with the prep tool makes it much easier
to combo draft them and to keep both of the colors, any colors you're working with.
Kind of drafting into the yarn all at once, which can be a bit of a challenge.
So the lock pop is going to work so much better for that purpose than clamping a hand card to a table,
(10:09):
which doesn't really work that well, at least for me, because I use curved hand
cards and it didn't work.
So this is going to be much better for that purpose, and I'm excited to try it.
So now you know what a lockpup is, how to use it, how much it costs, and where to get it.
(10:35):
I believe that at this point, it's only being sold by Clemice and Clemice.
So I will put a link to their site in the show notes.
And now you know how I plan to use mine, at least in the most immediate future.
I am really excited to continue exploring this tool, and I will keep you posted on how it goes.
(11:00):
So, do you have a lockpop? If so, I would love to know what you think of yours and how you use it.
There is, as always, a dedicated discussion thread in the flock where you can
share your experiences with this tool.
The link is in the show notes for this episode, which you'll find right inside
your podcast app. so just open up the description for this episode,
(11:24):
click the link, and you'll be taken right to the thread.
Darling Sheepspotter, that day this week. Thank you so much for listening.
I will be back next week, and you know how it works around here.
New month, new pillar of skillful spinning, so in November I'm going to be focusing on color.
(11:45):
I am super excited to get into it with you because it's one of my favorite topics.
Until then, my love, spin something. I promise it will do you good.
Preparing fiber for spinning is such an ancient activity that it's rare that
somebody invents a way to do it that is really new.
But someone has, and I've tried it, and I'm going to tell you all about it in this episode.
Hello there, darling Sheepspotter. Welcome to episode 127 seven of the Sheepspot podcast.
(01:47):
I'm Sasha, and my job is to help you make more yarns you love.
Today, a review of the Lock Pop from Clemice and Clemice.
Now, admittedly, I am late to this party. The Lock Pop was actually evented
in 2021, and when it first came
(02:08):
out, I just couldn't really see why I needed it and how I would use it.
And it was only after watching spinner after spinner rave about it for three
years that I finally decided it was time to give it a try.
I have been a slow adopter, which is unusual for me.
(02:28):
And now that I've tried it, I can think of a couple of situations in which it's
going to be a really useful addition to my fiber prep toolkit. it. So let's get into it.
First, what is the lockpop? It's a block of wood measuring about seven inches
(02:49):
wide, about three inches deep, and about two and a half inches tall.
And the top of the block has a gentle curve towards the back of the tool,
and it's covered with 72 TPI carding cloth.
It comes complete with a clamp that can attach to a table or workbench from
(03:13):
three-quarters inch thick to four inches thick.
The tool and the clamp come packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with a firm inside.
That's, I meant to say, with a foam insert that holds them in place snugly,
and that is perfect for storing the lockpop safely.
(03:37):
It costs $138 US, and it comes with free shipping in the United States.
Clemas and Clemas' website describes the lock pop, which they call a,
quote, inverted flicker with a wider base and longer and stronger teeth.
(03:59):
They describe it this way.
The lock pop is both a versatile standalone fiber preparation tool and a great
tool to pop open a lock before carting or combing.
By popping a lock up and down a few times on the teeth, then pulling it through
the teeth of the lock pop, the lock will often be spinnable as is and will be ready for hand cards,
(04:25):
a drum card, or blending board, hackle, or combs.
So what's it like to use this thing? When it arrived, I unboxed it,
I clamped it to my work table, and I pulled out the fleece that I was going to work with.
And this is a BFL fleece with a lot of dirt, but not much vegetable matter,
(04:48):
a lot of second cuts, and pretty sticky and weak tips.
It turned out to be kind of a perfect fleece for testing because it wasn't perfect.
There were lots of bits in it that I wouldn't want in my yarn.
So it was a good test for this new tool.
(05:10):
The first time I used it, I put one end of a lock into the carding cloth, and I just pulled.
And I was surprised at how hard I had to pull to get the lock through the carding cloth.
And I could see the teeth of the carding cloth starting to bend,
which I figured couldn't possibly be right.
(05:31):
So this led me to actually read the effing manual, which is actually just one
sheet with a QR code that took me to a video of Roy Clemas demonstrating how to use the lock pop.
And I had discovered that I had been using it wrong, I needed to start loosening
up the ends of the lock by popping it,
(05:54):
that is by lowering the lock onto the carding cloth while pulling it slightly
towards me and doing that several times to kind of open up space between the fibers.
And once I'd done that a few times, I could pull the lock through the carding
cloth to finish opening it up.
The results after a little practice was a nice open lock with the fibers aligned
(06:19):
and the dirt, the VM, the second cuts, and the weak tips all removed.
I found it quite comfortable to do this sitting at my work table and I was satisfied
to see that most of the dirt from the fleece ended up in the teeth of the lock
pop and not on my floor, which is a definite plus.
(06:41):
When I was finished, I just held the tool upside down over a garbage can and
tapped it against the side a few times to encourage the dirt to fall out.
Working lock by lock, I won't say I found this process speedy exactly,
but I did find it kind of soothing, and I loved getting results as good as I
(07:02):
would get from a flick carter with none of the puncture wounds.
Clemence and Clemence say on their website that they find the lock pop more
efficient and easier on the hands than flicking, and I definitely agree.
I'm a fan of this tool.
I'm planning to experiment with it a lot to
(07:23):
see if there are different ways that
i might use it but once i got the hang of popping i
could immediately see a such a couple of situations
in which it would be the perfect thing so the
first is prepping locks for drum
carding i was working with a clun
forest fleece recently that had a
(07:45):
fair amount of vm in it and i loved
clun forest and until recently it
was pretty hard for me to get so i wanted
to get the best yarn i could from this fleece and i
ended up picking the locks by hand which is okay as far as it goes but it wasn't
nearly as good as the lock pop at getting out the vm and loosening the tips
(08:09):
so i think i will definitely use the lock pop first before putting fleece on a drum carter.
I'll be able to use fewer passes, and I think I will get a much nicer bat and
a more pleasant spinning experience as well.
The second situation in which I plan to use the lock pop is in prepping fiber
(08:34):
for combination drafting.
So this is where you take two different colorways and you strip them down into
narrow strips, and then you put them next to each other and you actually draft
from both of the strips at the same time.
Or I've done this with as many as three strips.
And uh so you get all
(08:56):
the colors in every you know
minute of the yarn in every inch of the yarn you
get all the colors um and it
gives this wonderful kind of uh confetti
color effect um and so
i am obsessed with combination drafting right
(09:17):
now and i learned from rachel
smith's brilliant class on combo drafting for
the guild that prepping the
fibers i'm gonna uh pre-draft by
pulling them through a prep
tool of some kind and i've tried this with hand card
with um and with a stationary comb um but pulling them through a prep tool of
(09:44):
some kind and then And dizzing them off with the prep tool makes it much easier
to combo draft them and to keep both of the colors, any colors you're working with.
Kind of drafting into the yarn all at once, which can be a bit of a challenge.
So the lock pop is going to work so much better for that purpose than clamping a hand card to a table,
(10:09):
which doesn't really work that well, at least for me, because I use curved hand
cards and it didn't work.
So this is going to be much better for that purpose, and I'm excited to try it.
So now you know what a lockpup is, how to use it, how much it costs, and where to get it.
(10:35):
I believe that at this point, it's only being sold by Clemice and Clemice.
So I will put a link to their site in the show notes.
And now you know how I plan to use mine, at least in the most immediate future.
I am really excited to continue exploring this tool, and I will keep you posted on how it goes.
(11:00):
So, do you have a lockpop? If so, I would love to know what you think of yours and how you use it.
There is, as always, a dedicated discussion thread in the flock where you can
share your experiences with this tool.
The link is in the show notes for this episode, which you'll find right inside
your podcast app. so just open up the description for this episode,
(11:24):
click the link, and you'll be taken right to the thread.
Darling Sheepspotter, that day this week. Thank you so much for listening.
I will be back next week, and you know how it works around here.
New month, new pillar of skillful spinning, so in November I'm going to be focusing on color.
(11:45):
I am super excited to get into it with you because it's one of my favorite topics.
Until then, my love, spin something. I promise it will do you good.
Popular Podcasts
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial
Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!