Chain Link Selvage And Grading

Fabrics come in three different types of selvage (this is th manner in which the ends of the individual links of fabric are attached to each other).
Knuckle/Knuckle. (When the individual links are folded over on both the top and bottom of the fabric.)
Barbed/Barbed. (When the individual links are twisted together.)
Knuckle/Barbed (When one end is twisted and one folded.)

Five foot wire and wires of less height are generally only available in a knuckle/knuckle selvage. Six foot and higher, are available in any of the three though residential grade wire is generally knuckle/knuckle or knuckle/barbed.

This photo shows a six foot high fence. You can see the barbed ends of the fabric sticking up above the top rail. The bottoms are knuckled. You can install this fabric either with barbed ends up or down, but it is more commonly seen installed with barbed ends up. 2.

This picture is helpful too because the angle this shot was taken at allows you to see the horizontal lines the diamonds form when you look down the fence. These lines should be pretty darn straight though there may be some small variations. The process of getting these lines straight is called “Grading” the wire. Chain link, in order to properly follow the top rail, needs to be graded. Unfortunately this is too often overlooked and something easily seen once you know.