Script for

Episode 127:

Reviewing the Clemes and Clemes Lock Pop

Preparing fiber for spinning is such an ancient activity that it's rare that someone invents a way to do it that is truly new. But someone has. 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 of The Sheepspot Podcast. I'm Sasha, and my job is to help you make more yarns you love. Today, a review of the Lock Pop from Clemes and Clemes.

Admittedly, I am late to this party. The Lock Pop was actually invented in 2021. And when it first came out  I just couldn't see why I needed it and how I would use it. It was only after watching spinner after spinner rave about it for three years that I finally decided that it was time to give it a try. I've been a slow adopter! 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. So let's get into it.

First, what is the Lock Pop? It's a block of wood measuring 6-3/8″ wide, 3-1/8″ deep, and 2-1/2″ tall. The top of the block has a gentle curve toward the back of the tool and is covered by 72 TPI carding cloth. It comes complete with a clamp that can attach to a table or workbench from 3/4″ to 4″ in thickness. The tool and clamp come packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with a foam insert that holds them in place snuggly, and that's perfect for storing the Lock Pop safely. It costs $138 USD and comes with free shipping in the United States.

Clemes and Clemes' website describes the Lock Pop, which they call "an inverted flicker with a wider base and longer and stronger teeth," this way: "The Lock Pop is both a versatile stand alone fiber preparation tool and a great tool to pop open a lock before carding 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, a drum carder, blending board, hackle, or combs."

So, what's it like to use this thing? When it arrived, I unboxed it,  clamped it to my worktable, and pulled out the fleece I was going to work with: a BFL fleece with lots of dirt but not much vegetable matter, lots of second cuts, and pretty sticky weak tips. It turned out to be a perfect fleece for testing because it wasn't perfect, and there were lots of bits in it that I wouldn't want in my yarn.

The first time I used it I put one end of a lock into the carding cloth and just pulled. I was surprised at how hard I had to pull, and I could see the teeth of the carding cloth starting to bend, which I figured couldn't be right. 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 Clemes demonstrating how to use the Lock Pop. I discovered that I had been using it wrong: I needed to start loosening up the ends of the lock by "popping" it, that is, by lowering the lock into the carding cloth while pulling it slightly toward me several times to create space between the fibers.Once I'd  done that a few times I could pull the lock through the carding cloth to finish opening it up. The result, after a little practice, was a nice open lock, with the fibers aligned and dirt, VM, second cuts and weak tips removed.

I found it quite comfortable to do this sitting at my work table, and 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. 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 the process speedy, but I did find it kind of soothing, and I loved getting results as good as I would get from a flick carder with none of the puncture wounds. Clemes and Clemes say on their website that they find the Lock Pop more efficient and easier on the hands than flicking, and I agree. I'm a fan.

I'm planning to experiment with this tool to see how I might use it, but once I got the hang of "popping" I could immediate see a couple of situations in which it would be perfect.

The first is prepping locks for drum carding. I was working with a Clun Forest fleece recently that had a fair amount of vm in it. I love Clun Forest, and until recently it was hard for me to get, so I wanted to get the best yarn I could from this fleece, and ended up picking the locks by hand, which is ok as far as it goes, but which wasn't nearly as good as the lock pop at getting out the vm and loosening the tips. So I think I'll definitely use the lock pop first before putting fleece on the drum carder; I'll be able to use fewer passes and I think I'll get a much nicer batt and a more pleasant spinning experience.

The second situation in which I plan to use the Lock Pop is in prepping fiber for combination drafting. I learned from Rachel Smith's brilliant class on combo drafting that putting the fibers I'm going to predraft through a prep tool of some kind that's clamped to a table makes it much easier to combo draft them. This advice led me to some hilarious moments trying to clamp a handcard to a table, which isn't easy. The Lock Pop is going to work so much better for that purpose and since I am completely obsessed with combination drafting right now I'm excited to try it.

So now you know what a Lock Pop is, how to use it, how much it costs, and where to get it--I believe it's only being sold by Clemes and Clemes, so I'll put a link to them in the show notes--and how I plan to use mine. I'm excited to continue exploring this tool and I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Do you have a Lock Pop? If so, I'd love to know what you think of yours and how you use it.

There's 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. Just open up the description for this episode, click the link, and you'll be taken right to the the thread.

Darling Sheepspotter, that's it for me this week. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back next week. You know how it works around here: new month, new pillar of skillful spinning, so in November I will be focusing on color. I'm excited to get into it with you. Until then, spin something! I have a sneaking suspicion that it will do you good.