Waxed knapsacks

[BillinOregon]

I was looking at Wilde Weavery's knapsacks, which they describe as being made of naturally dyed and waxed fustian and leather. Anyone out there fabricating similar gear? Are you basically rubbing in melted beeswax? I would expect this to be reasonably waterproof under most circumstances, and perhaps a bit gummy in warm weather.

 

[pichou]

There is little historical presidence for waxed fabric.

Leather was boiled in beeswax, or treated with a fat/wax mixture.

 

[BillinOregon]

Pichou: What other steps might have been taken to reduce the effects of dampness on the contents of a fabric knapsack or bag?

 

[BrownBear]

I suspect there's a lot of regional component in it. Waxing canvas and tarring canvas are pretty ancient ways of waterproofing at sea, and it's easy to see the same happening in wet coastal regions. Move away from the coast and out of the wet, and I bet both canvas supplies and waterproofing strategies thin quickly. I can see waxed or tarred canvas coming ashore from the first boat to enter the Columbia River, but then it's a question of how far, how fast, and if it spread upstream into drier inland areas. Same on the right coast.

Not your time period, but the history section at the Filson site is a fascinating read about supplying the Klondike gold rush and the Northwest in general. Filson's tin cloth had quite a reputation, but I bet he wasn't the one who first came up with the idea. I'm wondering if the L&C journals or more likely, Glass's version, would give any clues. Seems like the folks would have been real enthusiastic about waterproofing during their long, wet winter at the coast.

 

[pichou]

I am not aware of any wax receipts from the sea. Tar does show up in mixture, with Linseed oil, turps, and black lead.

Not many knapsacks at sea though. But painted knapsacks are extremely common. Tar shows up in formulas around the time of the Civil War. But early ones are barn red or light denim blue (not neon blue, please!). The McCloskey Fence and Barn paint from WW is easy to use and gives a period look and feel, without being a fire hazard. The pigment is old fashioned iron oxide.

 

[Bill L]

I waxed a canvas knapsack by mixing 1 part beeswax with 1 part Dyer's leather treatment. I then hand rubbed it in with my fingers. I tried not to put it on too thick just enough to cover the canvas. It worked great and is not sticky.

 

[mazo kid]

Just thinking out loud here......say you did paint your knapsack and then waxed it. Yeah, not PC, but would it be noticeable visually? How about a coat of liquid latex such as was used on early rain ponchos; are those too late?

 

[pichou]

That fence and barn paint is latex but has those micro capsules of linseed oil, so plenty waterproof. We use tarps made that way, and if you dug a hole to put the oilcloth in, you could use one for a bathtub. :shocked2:

 

[krecords]

In order to keep the leather soft you need to mix beeswax with something like lanolin. Otherwise it soaks into the leather and hen gets stiff. Eric Methven who is on this forum may be able to speak to this. He taught me how to make a leather canteen using beeswax. I use beeswax on vegetable tanned tooling leather to water proof cases such as for my binoculars and camera It darkens the leather a lot and keeps these "cartridge Box" like containers quite stiff. that being said I did a tutorial on a leather knapsack on another board called "Paleo Planet". I made it out of brain tanned elk skin. I have yet to water proof it but will do it when I find the right stuff to keep it soft and not smell to bad. A product called "Mink Oil" works good but I have to say it smells like a mink.
my 2 cents worth.
Kirby

 

[pichou]

That's right, the boiled in wax stuff was used for cheap armor in the Middle Ages.