He did his own weeding and trimming and kept his hedges razor-sharp with a pair of hand shears.

Oh all the hand shears.

Wool was cliipped from the sheep's back by hand shears from time immemorial.

Sheep shearing is featured tomorrow, Sunday and Monday at Philipsburg Manor in North Tarrytown, with farmers using the hand shears of Colonial times.

Howe's daily record was beaten by Ted Reick in 1950, but Reick was using machine shears, while Howe's hand shears were little more than scissors.

From 11 A.M. to 5 P.M. at the Kissam House and Barn, the sheep will be clipped the traditional way (with hand shears).

Faced with competition from his own protégés, Mutang'ang'i himself moved his product line to a more specifically agricultural market: maize stalk cutters, fence post nail machines and hand shears.

Next, with hand shears, go for the youngest stems, the ones that sprouted at or near ground level last year.

The hair is clipped off using hand shears, or sometimes simply pulled, after which the camel's body is oiled.

"There's nothing like the hand shears," says Mr. Mendonça, who embodies the old-fashioned virtues of patience and simplicity, which help when he makes animal sculptures.