You just need to create some space between the rails and to remove the sharp edges of the lumber so you don’t cut your flax rather than crush it. Another option is to add more washers or some slightly wider spacers between the rails.

A flax break is a set of intersecting wooden blades that force the retted flax straw to snap into short sections which then fall away from the fibers. Our break has two blades pointing down and three pointing up.

Sep 15, 2022 · In this video I continue the flax fiber process, showing how I build the tool, a flax break or brake, to break the core of the plant to expose the fibers around the cellulose core. I was...

Oct 22, 2012 · The next step in the process is breaking the retted flax to release the usable fibers. I let the retted flax dry out. My husband built me a flax break. You can find videos on YouTube that show people using antique flax breaks.

Oct 13, 2024 · Breaking more flax today. Just a quick video of the process of using an antique flax break built back in 1926. Fully functional and can rip through some flax...

Jul 18, 2020 · To separate the spinnable flax fibers from the core you use a flax break. You put the bundle of retted flax on the horizontal board and break it with the handle along all the length of the fibers. The flax break helps you break the cellulose core around which the …

To prepare stricks from flax straw requires a set of tools - ripple, brake, scutching board and knife, and a set of hackles. While some may be available through antique stores and auction sites, it is not easy to purchase a set.

Jul 26, 2017 · Learn about using flax brakes and scutching boards to release the fiber from the flax stalks. If you have grown flax for fiber and retted it, the flax straw is ready to be processed into...

Jul 25, 2017 · You will need a flax brake and a scutching board. The fiber you are after is located between the skin and the inner core of the flax stems. A brake is the tool that you will use to break up those outer and inner layers, freeing the flax fiber. I have seen the tool name spelled as both “brake” and “break”.

Dec 8, 2023 · This is a custom, completely detachable flax break I made using only timber joinery (no screws, nails or glue). Flax breaks are an old tool used to break flax fibres and prepare them for the...

the flax break. This clumsy wooden device chops away at the straw. When the straw has been properly retted and dried (this step should not be done in humid weather without predrying the straw in a warm place) the chaff literally breaks away from the fiber.

Dec 17, 2023 · Insert the flax close to the pivot point between the bed and the arm. Using the break involves repeatedly slamming the arm of the break down onto a handful of your retted flax, and partially crushing up the woody material. The shives are …

A flax break is a set of hinged intersecting wooden blades, which looks like a sawhorse. A handful of flax is placed on the brake between the upper and lower arm. The upper arm is lowered, crushing the stems and breaking the inner woody core.

A flax brake is the tool used to "break" or remove that outer coating. Bundles of flax stems are repeatedly pounded between the hinged upper and lower bars of the tool. This model represents one of the flax brake designs developed in America.

Mar 4, 2025 · There is a two-step process for removing the usable portion of the fiber from its woody core. First, the flax straw is crushed to break the woody part of the stem (boon) into small pieces (shives). This method is called breaking. Second, the shives are removed from the usable fiber in a process called scutching.

Jun 7, 2021 · In short, after flax is grown and the seeds starting to mature, it is pulled and dried. At this point, the seeds usually are removed —a process called rippling–and the stalks are retted, so that the fiber can be separated from the woody boon or shive—usually with a flax break.

Oct 14, 2013 · There’s a special tool for automating the process called a flax break. It’s kind of like a big paper-cutter, only with multiple blunt wooden blades. It turns out, there actually is a flax break not too far away, owned by Five Mile House, a …

A flax break is a set of hinged intersecting wooden blades, which looks like a saw-horse. It often has two blades pointing down and three pointing up, forcing the flax to bend into a W shape. A handful of flax is placed on the brake between the upper and lower arm.

Breaking the flax. Once the flax is fully dried from the retting, it is ready for the actual extraction of the fibers from the stems in preparation for spinning. The first step is breaking the flax — literally breaking the stems in several places.

Nov 25, 2013 · The first stage is to break the flax stems using a flax break or brake. You move the wooden blades up and down, which crushes the flax stem into small pieces. As you can see from the first image, the break isn’t made from solid wood.