Wanted - wool cutter - I have lots of good stuff to swap you for it

You can make one in minutes. Find a bit of old tongue and groove timber and cut a strip from the groove side half or a bit less of the length you want your wool strips. Make it about a foot long or so.
Wind the wool round it and whizz along the groove side with a razor blade or sharp craft knife.

Bingo, a pile of wool strips. Repeat till you have enough.

For the advanced model you could stick a nail into the end and hold it in the chuck of an electric drill to wind the wool on.

The idea is so simple I will leave the details such as whittling a comfortable handle to the user.

Oh, and you can have the idea for nutting.

 

Ah-ha, I was thinking in terms of rug making with single strands, a tedious thing my mother used to do when I was a child, less bearded and stooped than I am today. Cutting the strands was a job for my little fingers and sharp knives.

You want to cut up sheets of fabric into strips without the use of scissors?

More of a challenge but one that should be possible with ordinary household equipment. I will give it some thought.

Does collateral damage matter and if so, to what degree?

 

My mother used to drive my father crazy by ripping strips for rugs.
I don't think I even knew there were such things as "wool cutters".
If my dad had known, I'm sure he would have purchased one for her.
heh heh heh

 

A workshop vice, two pieces of wood and as many straight razors as you can find, say, 6.
Clamp the tangs and part of the blade (cut notches in one of the wood pieces) of the razors so you have an array of blades facing away from you. You may need to snip the edge of the fabric to make starting more even, but all you need to do is pull the fabric through the array of blades.

Width of strip depends on blade fixing separation. Then use a modification of the wool cutter to get the individual lengths you require.

Getting the thing built and tested may occupy an otherwise useless husband or child for many hours, as a beneficial side effect.

 

Marry a surgeon and get a supply of throwaway scalpels. If you feel a bit old for this use a child or grandchild for the purpose.

Use something like this to drag the fabric.




Basically it's just a molegrip with a funny jaw, so not hard to weld two flat plates to one that is bound to be knocking around the household tool kit.

 

Wow, I did not expect to see such an interesting discussion in the Wanted category!

 

AF, did you weld that to a pair of vice grips. What a great tool

 

No stolen credit, it's commercial, but sheet metal workers often make their own.

 

Yes, and aren't we all sheet metal workers at heart! LOL. I cringe at paper cuts. Nothing that lethal will ever find its way into my hands.

 

Bev - have you tried a rotary cutter and a metal ruler or straight edge - I use a roofers 24" framing square - 10 to 20 dollars at home depot (heavy enough to hold the fabric and substantial enough to protect my fingers). - not as fast as a wool stripper, but a lot cheaper. - cheers