reintroducing lanolin to woolen clothing/blankets?

[Man of Tanith]

I've a few woolen items and was debating introducing lanolin to them to add to the weatherproof qualities.
However I'm wondering is it worth the effort/time/ expense?
So folks who have done it do you rate it?
Is it worth doing?
Will the merits of doing it outweigh the time and effort of doing it?
Should I just focus on doing my dutch army surplus blanket?
Or shall I do all of the wooly items I own?
Is there a chance I could mess up the process and ruin them?

Thank you in advance for your responses.
Sam

 

[Man of Tanith]

Bump?
Anyone?

 

[R.Lewis]

I have done, a flatcap, a Swedish army tunic, two Birrus cloaks and a regular cloak.... It works pretty well if you get good penetration. I melt a little in hot water and to sink of cooler (yet still warm, just not hot enough to damage the wool!) and soak for as long as I can wait, which is usually not that long! I have also used a cloth soaked in the solution and wiped on as well. That is how I did my Swedish tunic. As for effectiveness, it seems to vary for me. My flatcap is very goad at beading water off, the cloaks are as well. My swedish tunic, which I use a LOT sdoes not bead very well yet I have not got wet in it.

Try on one or two things first to see how it works for you.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Hmmmm perhaps try it on a sacrificial blanket first.
Thanks for that.
Anyone else?

 

[RonW]

Maybe you can use it to natural wool and skins, but already processed items?
I highly doubt it.
Sounds like it might mess up your things and the gains do not seem all that great, so why take the risk.

 

[R.Lewis]

None of the items I have done are worse for it. They are all more weather proof.

 

[RonW]

Don't they become greasy with dirt sticking to them or smelly?

 

[Toddy]

No, they don't.
It's a simple wash in process, pretty much like conditioning your hair.

cheers,
M

 

[RonW]

Please do explain!

 

[Toddy]

There are a number of threads on the topic on the forum, the latest one that I can recall is this one.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106539

cheers,
M

 

[Macaroon]

I've done quite a few woolen garments with varying degrees of success, but every one of them has been improved by the process. I bought Anhydrous Lanolin ( ebay, cheap, no smell and 100% pure ). I found that, even though it worked well on knitted items, the really dramatic improvements came on closer woven stuff, old tweed, blankets and charity shop wool trousers. The best thing I did was a blanket which I washed at 60 degrees, felting it a little, then re-lanolised it whilst still damp and clean, leaving it in the lanolin/soap mix overnight and then line drying it with just a light squeeze.............this turned out soft, comfortable and very weather proof.
It's nearly as good as waxed cotton but with none of the drawbacks.

The most important thing is to melt the lanolin very thoroughly, and you must use pure soap with it to get the penetration; if you leave the soap out the lanolin just coats the fibres rather than going right down in there.
Here's a link to the best thread I've found: I've never regretted doing this to any of my stuff, it's only improved things......................http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106539

 

[R.Lewis]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the soap on my previous post! Tweed type wool does treat very well, hence my flatcaps amazing water resistance now!

 

[treadlightly]

Sam, Mac's account is spot on. I've used it on wool trousers and shirts with good success. You can't really do any harm as long as you follow the instructions and don't have the water too hot.

 

[RonW]

Sounds like just the treatment for my wool jackets!

 

[Man of Tanith]

Cool beans.
I shall do my dutch blanket first methinks.
Stick with the boone challenge mentality

 

[Macaroon]

I'd be very interested to know your thoughts about this after you've had time to evaluate it; keep us up to date, please?