Sheep Shears

Manual Sheep Shears

Before electric clippers, sheep were shorn using hand-operated spring shears like these. The flexible steel handle acted as a spring, reopening the blades after each cut. Shearing required patience, strength, and skill to remove the wool in one fleece while avoiding cuts to the sheep.

Today, electric clippers have largely replaced hand shears, allowing experienced shearers to finish a sheep in just a few minutes. While modern equipment is much faster, these hand shears represent the craftsmanship and hard work that were once a routine part of life on the farm.

Did You Know?
A skilled shearer using hand shears might shear 20–30 sheep in a day, while today's professional shearers using electric clippers can often shear 100–200 or more.