Silkiness in brown mink pelts characterized with optical methods

Area of Science:

• Animal science
• Textile science
• Fur quality assessment

Background:

• Silkiness in mink pelts is a key quality attribute, traditionally assessed visually and by touch.
• The physical basis of silkiness is hypothesized to relate to guard hair properties like straightness and gloss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To objectively characterize the dorsal surface of brown mink pelts using optical variables.
• To correlate these optical measurements with visual silkiness grades to establish objective criteria.

Main Methods:

• Goniophotometric measurements were used to capture angle-dependent reflectance curves (w-curve and c-curve) from mink pelts.
• Non-destructive optical variables, including specular gloss (s) and reflectance band width (w90), were analyzed.
• Two groups of brown male mink pelts from different selection generations were used, graded visually on distinct scales.

Main Results:

• Specular gloss (s) showed a significant positive correlation with visual silkiness grades in selected mink populations.
• The area under the reflectance curve (S + D) and ratios involving specular gloss and band width (s/w90, (S + D)/w90) also correlated positively with silkiness.
• Measures of contrast gloss were found to be unsuitable for characterizing silkiness.

Conclusions:

• Specular gloss (s) is a highly usable objective variable for characterizing mink pelt silkiness.
• Objective optical measurements, particularly specular gloss, can effectively supplement or replace subjective sensory evaluations for pelt quality.