Merino wool why so special

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
pwa
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by pwa »

I hate wool in all its forms, but with all the awareness of the problems caused by plastics I wish I didn't react so badly to wool. Synthetic fabrics, which I much prefer next to the skin, are basically plastics.
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Cugel
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by Cugel »

deliquium wrote:
toontra wrote:And yes, you must make sure your house is a moth-free zone!


I have a selection of merino jerseys from Jura and Oregoncyclewear and three have suffered from moths :(

How best to prevent the blighters?

The jerseys from Jura and Oregon are by far the most comfortable garments I've ever cycled in :D


Cedar wood. As I work the wood int' shed, I have planks of cedar (good for chest-bottoms) so the cycle-clothing wardrobe has one in there to keep the wool-eaters at bay. Every now and then I plane the surface of this wee plank to remove 0.1mm or thereabouts, which allows the cedar to give off it's fumes with intensity once more.

You can buy cedar wood balls to put in the pockets of clothing. This is an expensive way to buy cedar!

Cugel
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Bmblbzzz
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by Bmblbzzz »

feefee8 wrote:And you know how they stop tweed from shrinking!

No idea. How?
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feefee8
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by feefee8 »

Bmblbzzz wrote:
feefee8 wrote:And you know how they stop tweed from shrinking!

No idea. How?


Ammonia. Commonly found in urine. Tradition in the Highlands and Islands was to keep a 'pee tub' at the end of the house to collect said urine and use it to shrink the cloth during the waulking.
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by Bmblbzzz »

feefee8 wrote:
Bmblbzzz wrote:
feefee8 wrote:And you know how they stop tweed from shrinking!

No idea. How?


Ammonia. Commonly found in urine. Tradition in the Highlands and Islands was to keep a 'pee tub' at the end of the house to collect said urine and use it to shrink the cloth during the waulking.

Excellent! Thanks, I think I had actually heard that, vaguely, or something similar. Anyway it sounds a lot less off-putting (if off-putting at all) than "pure" in tanning leather.
http://jwalkerwords.blogspot.co.uk/2012 ... nning.html
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Cunobelin
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by Cunobelin »

sukuinage wrote:
Cunobelin wrote:
For those who served the RN, NOTHING itches like the wooden jumper they issued as a night uniform......


Can imagine a wooden jumper being quite uncomfortable! Still, it would make sure you were on board! :D



Bedding production taxi

Should have read woollen, although it felt more like wire wool
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feefee8
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by feefee8 »

Bmblbzzz wrote:Excellent! Thanks, I think I had actually heard that, vaguely, or something similar. Anyway it sounds a lot less off-putting (if off-putting at all) than "pure" in tanning leather.
http://jwalkerwords.blogspot.co.uk/2012 ... nning.html


Eeeuuuw! How did the ancestors find this out? I shudder at the trial and error they must have applied.
BigFoz
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by BigFoz »

Merino special? nah, you want Yak wool which is even specialer...


Escorted Mrs BF to the Edinburgh wool show earlier this year. Fell in love with a beautifully soft and comfy hat. Which was just a joy to wear. Was going to get the kit for Mrs BF to knit for me (she's very, very good), then discovered the kit was £97. Though you did also get the £5 knit round needles with it... No way could I pay £97 for a hat, even if made from Yak & cashmere. But it was gorgeous and unbelievably nice to wear. I still partly regret not getting it...

I've been collecting merino bits now for a couple of years and am very sold on it. Comfy, warm, dry to wear. Today, in stonking 9C breezy but dry Scottish weather, I was out in merino base layer (endura baa baa) and my pure merino Carlton retro jersey, with shorts. No issues. Last week was out in same outfit in 14C and equally comfy.
Richard D
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by Richard D »

feefee8 wrote:Eeeuuuw! How did the ancestors find this out? I shudder at the trial and error they must have applied.


I always wondered how desperate the Vikings must have been to come up with hákarl.
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feefee8
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by feefee8 »

Richard D wrote:I always wondered how desperate the Vikings must have been to come up with hákarl.


Must have been as a dare. Must have been.
Vorpal
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by Vorpal »

Richard D wrote:I always wondered how desperate the Vikings must have been to come up with hákarl.

Actually, there are quite a few versions of fermented fish & other sea creatures. The fermenting was done to preserve it. I've met plenty of Swedes and Norwegians who still eat & like their family recipe for whatever variant they eat. The most commen in my area are https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakfisk and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk though there area also a variety of fermented herring dishes and gravlaks (buried salmon), which is widely sold, but produced commercially, now instead of buried in the sand.

feefee8 wrote:Eeeuuuw! How did the ancestors find this out? I shudder at the trial and error they must have applied.


Like most such things, I expect it was completely by accident. Like, someone's leather stretched out to cure, fell into a pot of wee that hadn't been emptied in a while, and the ammoniac bleached it, and someone thought, 'hmmm... that has potential'.
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feefee8
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by feefee8 »

Vorpal wrote:Like most such things, I expect it was completely by accident. Like, someone's leather stretched out to cure, fell into a pot of wee that hadn't been emptied in a while, and the ammoniac bleached it, and someone thought, 'hmmm... that has potential'.


Happy accidents. There must have been many with a less fortunate/tasty (!) outcome.
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Vorpal wrote:
Richard D wrote:I always wondered how desperate the Vikings must have been to come up with hákarl.

Actually, there are quite a few versions of fermented fish & other sea creatures. The fermenting was done to preserve it. I've met plenty of Swedes and Norwegians who still eat & like their family recipe for whatever variant they eat. The most commen in my area are https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakfisk and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk though there area also a variety of fermented herring dishes and gravlaks (buried salmon), which is widely sold, but produced commercially, now instead of buried in the sand.

feefee8 wrote:Eeeuuuw! How did the ancestors find this out? I shudder at the trial and error they must have applied.


Like most such things, I expect it was completely by accident. Like, someone's leather stretched out to cure, fell into a pot of wee that hadn't been emptied in a while, and the ammoniac bleached it, and someone thought, 'hmmm... that has potential'.

Probably smelt good too
Forbye many things are surely "invented" or "discovered" several times
Later, smart people turn them into $$$
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by Cyril Haearn »

People do not groom their dogs at home, they do it in public places :?
One could gather plenty of dog wool in the park, and spin it back home

Does sheep wool always smell of sheep, like dog wool always smells of dog?

Leather does not only come from cattle, there used to be a fish leather industry
How does it smell? Is it waterproof?
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boris
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Re: Merino wool why so special

Post by boris »

Cyril Haearn wrote:People do not groom their dogs at home, they do it in public places :?
One could gather plenty of dog wool in the park, and spin it back home



https://youtu.be/i97E4merYMg
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