The lotus fiber I purchased had not been hackled. I do not have a hackle, but I do have wool combs, and one comb clamped to the table made a serviceable way to separate the long fibers in the bundles.

Combing out the fiber went well once I had the rhythm of it. I would comb out one side starting at the end, then flip the bundle around and comb out the other side.

There were extremely long fibers, over five feet, and many, many shorter fibers. The shortest formed tangled knots in the comb. I was able to comb out a second round measuring up to about two feet, down to six inches.

The tow, or the pieces combed out shorter than six inches, I put in a bag. Maybe I can use it as stuffing. The lotus fiber feels more like jute, heavy and prickly.