Historical information

Hand shears needed to be very sharp and often had a leather strap or ‘driver’ which passed over the hand. Others had sheepskin bound around the grip. Blades had to be regularly sharpened on a grinding stone.

Most hand shears were made in Sheffield, England, with various models produced offering wide or narrow blades, sharp or rounded points, and various grips and bows.

The technique of Australian hand shearing gradually developed from the 1830s using the old English method of cutting the flank with hand shears in a series of circular cuts from the sheep’s neck to the tail.

In the early 1930s the Ballarat School of Mines introduced a wide-ranging Wool Classing Course as jobs were in extremely short supply during the Great Depression.

Physical description

Metal handshears used for shearing sheep.