Shearing

Mechanical shearing is applied in textile finishing after napping or directly on smooth goods. The shearing machine works on the lawn-mower principle: an angled spiral blade rotates at high speed over a fixed base plate (ledger blade). All fibres protruding above a defined height are precisely cut off.

Historically, shearmen were highly specialised craftsmen who refined English wool broadcloths with teasels and huge hand shears — for the "dry shearing" of silky wool fabrics two shearmen needed two weeks for three broadcloths. Modern machines do the same amount in minutes.

Besides aesthetic uniformisation, shearing removes neps (fibre knots), protruding ends and pilling. On velvet the exact pile height (typically 1-3 mm) is defined by shearing. Combined with engraved embossing (sculptured effect) it creates embossed patterns in velvet fabrics.