Shearing Day: Sheep Handling, Wool Science, and Shearing With Blades

Kevin began shearing with instruction from his father’s relative, Bernie Nohilly. They were in the village of Kilskeagh during Kevin’s month visit to Galway, Ireland, in 1975. In 1991 he spent two months shearing in the blade sheds of the South Island of New Zealand following a week-long instructional course at which he received blade shearer certification from the New Zealand Wool board. He now annually shears more than 4000 sheep and goats, many of them in small Massachusetts flocks. He has given talks on wool to spinners and sheep breeders organizations, given public demonstrations and workshops, instructed apprentices and written articles on blade shearing. “There is so much useful, hard-to-find information on shearing in this book that it’s required reading for all shearers (even if machine shearers) who want to become more competent at their craft.” — Nathan Griffith, Sheep! Magazine Editor.