A tool with sharp spikes or teeth used to comb out and separate the fibers of flax, hemp, or other plant materials to prepare them for spinning into thread or rope.
From Middle English hechel or hackle, from Old Norse hekkill. The tool dates back to medieval times and was essential for processing plant fibers into textile materials.
Hatchels were so important to medieval textile production that villages often had a communal hatchel that everyone shared—it's like the old saying 'it takes a village' literally applied to making clothes!
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