Tow...do you use it?

[RussB]

I think I need some tow. (The tow you use for cleaning.) I don't know "for sure" that I need it, since I don't think I've ever seen any, but after reading Ned Roberts for the umpteenth time, I think I better get some.
Does anybody use tow on a regular basis? Why? Why is it better than a plain old cotton patch for cleaning?
DGW seems fairly proud of their's at 3.95 for a 3oz "bundle", which I assume is equivelant to a "hank", but I have no clue as to how much that is in real cleaning terms.
There is also a warning of such to it's use, as it appears tiny bits and pieces can remain in the breech, and cause a smouldering effect which could be bad news for the next charge.
Anyway, I've heard of it for years, but wouldn't recognize it if I met it on the street. Just wondering if anyone was using the stuff, why they liked it, and would they recommend it?
Russ

 

whoa! you can buy tow cheap from taxidermy supply houses and the like--much cheaper than the stuff from most ML stores--it comes in big bags that will last you years, probably--or share it with your buddies. It can be used as tinder as well as for cleaning your rifle. The old timers would often just tie a wet hank onto the end of their rods with string--or even just push a wet hank down the bore with string attached to it, then pull it out with the string. Or you can twist it into a tow worm and scrub the bore....rinse out the tow and reuse! :m2c:

 

--- Can't Recognize tow ??? -- thats what burlap sacks are made[url] from..in[/url] fact an old worn out burlap sack can be taken apart, "de-threaded" and those strands work quite well as cleaning tow. After they been used 6-8 times, they go in the tinder bag. As to a "smoldering" problem..How/Why is your WET tow smoldering?? even if your tow is dry its going down the bore AFTER the shootin's DONE...NO SMOLDER HAZARD.. Even if a strand or two was in the bore and you load and fire, it's either incinerated or blown down range...STILL --NO SMOLDER PROBLEM... :relax:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Burlap is jute or hemp. Tow is from the flax plant - the fibers used to make linen. A little finer than either jute or hemp. Can't see why burlap wouldn't work.

I've been getting very nice tow from these folks for many years. I got three pounds the last time, and am still working that batch down.

SILVER SHUTTLE offers the finest in linen thread, tow flax, hemp canvas, hemp rope,finger weaving kits, cotton warp, wool yarn, and more. Free brochure. Dealers inquire.SILVER SHUTTLE-MB, 2547 Madison, Memphis, TN 38112. (901) 323-7975; Fax (901)323-8475

I've seen tow lately in M/L catalogs that appears to be chopped fibers. Silver Shuttle sells it in twisted hanks - the fibers are a foot to two feet long.

I clean my smoothbores with tow. It's all I ever used in my Bess. When I'm feeling really authentic I use it to clean my rifles, but it tends to stick in the rifling and pull off the jags; and the worm I have for my rifles is a miserable little wire armed affair that doesn't grip the tow well. I'm having a dedicated forged tow worm delivered with my much anticipated flintlock, as I'd like to use tow for cleaning that piece.

 

[RussB]

Stumpy, When you say........ "I clean my smoothbores with tow. It's all I ever used in my Bess. When I'm feeling really authentic I use it to clean my rifles".....I guess my reason for asking about tow is "why" it is used.
Do you use it to be PC / authentic?
Or, does it have some property that makes it superior in some way?
I have used burlap as a cleaning patch, and it works quite well, although I finish the job with a cotton "military" patch.
I think I'm getting the feeling that tow is not as popular as I may have thought.
Although I love the thought, there is no way I could put together anything that might be considered PC, out of ALL my gear.
I do, on occasion, try to make some things that I see, and read about. And, I'm a good student, always eager to learn / try sumpin new!
Now, where did I put that keyboard?
Russ

 

[Stumpkiller]

Do you use it to be PC / authentic?
Or, does it have some property that makes it superior in some way?

Yes on both counts. The tow is authentic and it is much more abrasive than a cloth patch, and has lots of openings to trap fouling. I wad on a piece and run it down, squeezing it in water between wipes to quickly renew it and rinse the barrel. In 15 years I only pulled the barrel on my Bess once. The tow allowed thorough cleaning without the need to immerse & pump or use a vent tube fitting. It also forms perfectly to the breech, leaving no crud in the edges. The thinner tow also fills up the grooves in rifling (round groove, especially). You can leave a wad on the jag and re-use it for many, many cleaning sessions.

I feel you really do need a dedicated tow worm to get the best effect with it. Some of the original rifles just had a roughed up end on the ramrod, with maybe a slit, and that worked well, too.

 

[RussB]

"I feel you really do need a dedicated tow worm to get the best effect with it."

Got pictures?
Russ

 

[Stumpkiller]

Got pictures? Do your moccasins smell?

These are from Cabin Creek.

I'm not in this picture

G.Gedney Godwin

Having the longer section of "bore filling" helix for the tow to push against means you can use less. The longer arms also mean it has less chance to come off.

The dinky arms for a worm designed to pull lost patches just can't do as nice a job.

 

[RussB]

"Got pictures? Do your moccasins smell?"

Nahhh! I'm use to 'em. Besides I blame all those "funny odors" on the dog. No stink, no glory! Or sumpin like that.

Hey, I already got that one on the left from Cabin Creek! The one on the right seems to be common ball puller, with a hub cap.
When you say,..... "Having the longer section of "bore filling" helix for the tow to push against means you can use less. The longer arms also mean it has less chance to come off.".....
Sorry, but I don't have a clue what this means, so I'll just take your word for it.

I think the one I have is in .54 cal if I remember correctly. It looks like I'm half-way there.
Is there another name for tow? A Taxidermist mas mentioned in a PM, think he'll know what I want want if just say, I wanna buy some tow?
Ya havatoamit, it ain't much for a common name.
Thanks for the help.
Russ

 

[Stumpkiller]

Yeah, the top one on the right is a ball puller. I was too lazy to dupe the image and cut out the piece I didn't need.

Watch my pixels:

The . . . good . . . tow . . . worms . . . are . . . bigger . . . so . . . less . . . tow . . . is . . . needed, . . . more . . . tow . . . is . . . in . . . contact . . . with . . . the . . . bore, . . . and . . . they . . . grip . . . the . . . tow . . . better. :haha:

Tow: Linen flax, flax, flax fibers, tow flax.

 

[RussB]

Huh? I don't see no pixels. :huh: :crackup: :crackup:

What pixels? Pixels must be akin to the Washington grouse, done up and left. No tracks, no smoke, no nuttin!
Is that what they call grouse in Nue Yok? Pixels?
I'm told I got pixels on my fishfinder, but I can't see 'em either.


Just kidding, of course. I see what you mean. I ain't that stupid, or sumpin.
Thanks for all the help Stumpy. I wanna be jest like you when I grow up. Very clever, Handy, Helpful, and with lots of pixels. :master:

Russ

 

[Stumpkiller]

I wanna be jest like you when I grow up.

Can't happen that way. I never did. :haha:

 

[madstone]

RussB,
It is tow from linen. I must seek my info, but I believe flax linen, Or the fiber from a linn tree's bark was used often by natives and early pioneers. The combed and "broken" fibers were used, the course ones, as material for sacks, thus the misunderstanding re "coffee" sacks! This was the tow. The fibers were first "broken", then combed. I still have some of the "brakes"!
The top 2 grades were woven into fabric. The lowest was "sacking" Even the best grades of linen had one bad char. That of stretching if wet! The famed "linen duster" was notorious for stretchin' out. Linen then, was woven with other fibres to minimize this. Linsey-woolsey was the most common earlier. The weft and warp were one linn and 1 wool. Fancy weaving involved alternating linn, then wool, then linn for both weft and warp. Simple weaving was warp linn and weft-wool, or later cotton. Might have it backwards. Can't say it is true, just what the old folks said. My grand dad who taught me to shoot ML's, said linnen patch was more consistent than leather. But, then, he taught me to use newspaper as shotgun wadding! They made mistakes, too. We all do!