Hackle Combs: Coarse and Fine Flax Heckles on One Board (Ure, 1839)

A pair of flax heckles on one oblong plank: two round wooden blocks, each faced with a drilled brass or iron plate holding upright iron teeth. Flax is drawn first through the coarse heckle, then through the fine one, splitting the fibres, combing out the short tow and laying the long fibres straight. Coarse: teeth about 1/10 in thick and 1 1/4 in long, a centre tooth and 12 rings, the outer ring 5 3/4 in across. Fine: thinner teeth set closer, 1109 of them. Source: Andrew Ure, Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines (1839), 'Flax'. Picture: Figs. 424-425 of the book.