In judging a fleece, you would want to check as many as five different locks from different locations on the fleece. Various lengths are used to make different types of fabrics or products. This often requires different types of machinery. Longer length increases pounds of wool for the producer. However, exceptionally long, staple length within grade can cause waste when commercially processing wool.
Staple length is the easiest factor to resolve in wool judging.
The recommended practice is to determine the length of a finger and then use it to estimate the length of a wool lock. Uniformity of length is just as important as uniformity of grade. Therefore, you will want to examine the staple for length when you are looking for uniformity of grade from the different locks or staples which you have pulled from the fleece. Breaks result from stress such as sickness, lambing difficulties, or severe storms. A sound fleece is free of breaks or tender wool.