fundamentals-wool

FRIDAY FUNDAMENTALS-WOOL

WOOL

The choice for warm clothing
Contents copyrighted 2006 James M Dakin

I was born and raised in south and central coastal California. With the exception of a few
times moving to odd areas such as Fort Bragg ( CA ) and Lake Tahoe, I was always
warm. Always. A sweater or a light jacket was all I ever needed in winter, such as they
were. My first duty station in the military was Hawaii. After that I moved to northern
California on the coast to very mild winters. I was insulated from cold for over twenty
five years. Even then when I re-upped in the Army for another tour and was stationed in
Korea, the clothing was so good I rarely experienced discomfort except when the idiots
threw me on top of a Hummer behind the M-60 for a night time tour and expected me to
pay attention for "combatants" instead of turning into a popsicle. But that was just a few
hours. With their wool socks and heavy sweater that was worn under a BDU top I could
go out riding shotgun in an open jeep with my regular fatigues and hat with just a pair of
gloves and be comfortable in five and ten degrees in January. Without a wind-chill. On
top of the Hummer was a different matter. A few years in Oklahoma saw me safe and
warm indoors as the first half of the nineties was the lowest end cost wise of carbon fuels
for decades. It cost next to nothing to stay comfortable and I took advantage of that ( and
with gas at $1.10 a gallon I could drive an old '75 Ford 100 PU that got 7 miles to the
gallon without a problem ). Then I spent five years in Florida and while the humidity was
foul electricity was only 7 cents a kilowatt hour and it was only fifty bucks a month to
cool a mobile home. I had to pedal everywhere in that heat but I was only cold a few
times when some cold air got down our way from the North every once in awhile. Then I
moved to my present location in Northern Nevada. And even though we have mild
winters, gas isn't cheap anymore. And wood is so scarce it cost $300 a cord for soft
wood. And electricity is not cheap here ( I think mostly as a result of Enron and screwing
over the local utilities ). So the old drafty travel trailer stays a bit on the cold side. And
commutes to work are for a quarter of the year very uncomfortable. Piling on cotton and
synthetic blend clothing is okay in the trailer, but outside called for some real warm
clothing.

Now, I understand that Yankeeland gets really cold. Wet and cold. And the border with
Canada in Montana, Idaho, North Dakota is better described as a lower level of Dante's
Hell in the winter. Most folks not raised in California or the South know how to get
through the winter. I assume. Or are you like me when I was in Oklahoma, largely living
in a warm house, running out to a warm car and going to a warm building to work? If
you are, then pay attention to this article. Even if you have lived your whole life in the
path of the winds from the Arctic and work out of doors for a living, at least read the
section on cleaning wool without the help of a dry cleaners. I am preaching nothing new
here, just trying to get you to think about what you are going to need in winters to come
when you no longer have the luxury of working in a toasty office or driving to work in a
heated car or even live in a house with central air and affordable heating fuel. Synthetic
fabric really sucks when compared to wool, wool is natural and low tech to make and if
you learn how to take care of it you will never want to go back to synthetics. As we have
become almost 100% reliant on a cheap and abundant oil lifestyle we think nothing of
cranking up the thermostat to a "sitting around in a short sleeve shirt watching TV"
comfort level. We go outside literally only to play and we wear synthetics such as
GoreTex to keep us warm because it is easy to clean. God forbid we actually work at
anything such as cleaning clothes or research anything such as staying warm from layers.
You see people living in cities in harsh climates wearing tennis shoes and a huge bulky
jacket. They can do that due to living in controlled atmospheres. The old warm house to
warm car to warm work. When oil gets a lot more expensive, and it will since if nothing
else we will continue to inflate the dollar to buy all the goodies the government wants such as make work to keep us employed and not rioting, you will need to conserve fuels. You will need to warm yourself rather than the house. You may find yourself riding a bike in winter, like it or not. And it may be a cold walk to the unemployment office in the middle of winter as Ford and GM go bankrupt and the last factories in America go overseas to China

I easily get cold. Or maybe I just spend a lot of time out of doors in the winter compared
to your average person ( as far as actual indoor workers go ). But I think that if whatever
I do gets me warm, it should get almost anyone warm. And the only thing that works
100% for me is wool. Over freezing, I just layer in cotton and synthetics. Under freezing
and I need to resort to an additional layer of wool. The old boots I bought from Payless Shoes for $25 a pair and the second pair at half price, they are now my snow boots. Since
they are a synthetic material and don't breath I never wear them as they are not
comfortable. However, since they act the same as rubber, they are perfect snow boots.
One pair of cotton socks are good enough most days to keep my feet warm. Really cold
days and I add a pair of wool socks over the cotton. This allows me to wear the wool
socks longer between washings as coming up you will see what a pain it is to wash them.
My legs rarely get cold as I bicycle and the blood flow warms them up nicely. I do have
long johns I can wear if needed. If you are outside and not mobile, such as hunting, wool
pants might be needed. The torso needs multiple layers. I can get away with just a shirt,
sweater, jacket liner and jacket ( I use an old Army jacket ). If things get really cold Ihave plenty of wool sweaters. Cost, free to two bucks each from thrift stores. This is
where you can take advantage of wools difficulty to clean. Most people won't bother with
wool garments and donate to the thrift stores or sell at garage sales ( in my opinion the
only good things that come out of living in town is access to thrift stores and Super Wal-
Mart ). I have bought 100% wool sweaters for a $1.50 and that was without even looking
through the whole rack, at the thrift store in town that didn't even carry that much
clothing.

If you really put your mind to it you could collect them cheap for post collapse
sales ( fall and winter are a good time to sell them at very dear prices ). And sweaters are
a heck of a lot cheaper than wool coats. I would still buy a coat, but a sweater under a
synthetic can work in a pinch. A wool cap is excellent in keeping your melon toasty
warm. I use one cap and nothing else such as the hood of a sweatshirt and in ten to fifteen
degrees with a wind I feel no cold at all. In contrast, a synthetic cap, my sweatshirt hood
and even a scarf all in above freezing temps still can leave me cold if there is no sun and a wind. But that wool cap does wonders. For gloves I use wool as a glove liner if under
freezing. Above with sun I can just wear the wool glove. Under freezing I need to put a
shell over the wool gloves, but mainly this is due to my riding a bike and making my own
wind chill. My hands are right out in front and get extra cold. I put a pair of GoreTex
gloves over my wool gloves ( leather would be better but that is what I had ) and that
works to about 15-20 degrees. Under that I need to switch to mittens, but the same set up
of materials. Mittens keep your hands a bit warmer. Under 10-15 degrees, my hands are
going to get cold riding a bike. I will try a double pair of wool under the shell next time it
gets that cold. Perhaps that will do the trick. I did try the waterproof gloves ( wet suit
type material ) and they work great with wool underneath, but expect lack of dexterity
then. However, those gloves alone without the wool underneath are only good for above
freezing wear.



Cleaning wool is where the real fun begins. Now, don't get me wrong. Wool is great for
the survivalist. It stays oh so warm. It stays warm even when wet, a very desirable
characteristic. And it is quit. No noise when it rubs up against something. And,
important also, it is relatively cheap to buy. It might be two to four times as expensive as
cotton, but it is cheaper than synthetic winter clothing. And you can even make it yourself low tech style if the need ever arises. But the drawbacks are that in hot weather it really is uncomfortable and it is difficult to clean compared to modern fabrics. We really are spoiled and used to convenience. Myself included. I only work forty hours a week. I have drastically cut back on TV watching. I have no social life. Yet, I find myself
begrudging spending any time on life's little chores such as cooking or cleaning clothes. I
eat a lot of convenience foods. My whole wheat bread now comes from the Wal-Mart
bakery ( it's a buck twenty a one pound loaf on the day old rack-tell me you wouldn't be
tempted ). So my wool cloths go to the dry cleaner for washing. It is painless and needs
doing once a year. However, one day I'll be too poor for the dry cleaner or they won't be
around due to the economy getting a round of buckshot from Cheney and his Halliburton
butt buddies. Or you might need to clean weekly, say if you wear double wool socks
everyday outside. So, to cleaning. First, the hottest you want your water is lukewarm.
Cold is just fine, but no more than lukewarm. If you want your clothing to shrink to
Barbie doll size, introduce heat in either washing or drying. No hot water. No hot air
drying. Simple, and cheap as an added bonus. Use a very mild soap. Dish washing soap
is good. You can get a 38 ounce bottle at the dollar store, so stock up now both for
dishes and wool cleaning after the stores are burned down in a former Welfare recipient
orgy of self destructiveness. Then you hand wash. Do not wring or twist. Very gentle.
This is not your wife's booby. It will take grotesque and awful permanent shapes if you
mistreat while washing or drying. For such a great fabric it is very sensitive during
washing. Almost like Hunk Hoagan only using a loofa to wash with ( and only oatmeal
soap ). After hand washing and rinsing without wringing or twisting, set on a towel flat
without wrinkles ( you guessed it, wrinkles will produce permanent reshaping ). Myself, I
would use two towels. The first to get out all the water, by blotting. The second to lay
on while drying. Remember, no wrinkles, lying flat. Half way through the drying, turn
over the garment or the side not exposed to air will be a bit musty. I would also turn over
the towel or replace it to give a dryer surface. Do not place next to the fireplace or heater
and do not place directly in the sun to dry while wet. I would place it in the sun after it is
dry to make it smell good and disinfect it, but only when dry. Always place the item flat.
Hanging it up "burns in" the shape of what it is hanging from and the garment will stretch
out longer and stay that way. Blocking has been suggested, where you fill the item with a
replica of your body part such as a cardboard outline of your hand. Don't do that as the
edges of the cardboard will permanently crease the fabric. I would only do it if you had a
mannequin in your size, and who has one of those around? Just lie flat with no wrinkles.
Smooth out by hand to assure this, a flat raking motion. Boy, don't you wish you could
take the darn thing to the dry cleaner?

Now that you can't wait to run out and buy a bunch of cloths that require special treatment on wash day, to the details on purchasing. Really though, try wool for the first time and you will realize how much better it is for winter wear. The extra effort is worth it. As I said, sweaters are readily available at the thrift store. Almost all other items you are going to have to buy through mail order. Retail stores might carry them. I don't know, I don't shop them. Even Wal-Mart only gets my clothing business for socks and underwear and slacks for work. Everything else comes from thrift stores. And I hate clothes shopping anyway. Mail order is much more fun shopping, as in "oh what a bargain" fun and "oh how easy" fun. I really like the part about being so smart and getting better bargains than anyone else. You paid HOW much from Mervyns? Hah, hah. The company I have really had good luck with is Sportsman’s Guide. Really good prices. Now, once, they did screw up my order. I ordered 800 rounds of 303 surplus ( I believe for $140 ) and by buying that double amount you were supposed to get a free wooden box for storage with it. Instead, I got two cardboard boxes of 400 rounds each. And they shorted me ten rounds ( yes, I counted them ). However, their previous service and prices were so favorable that I forgave them and continue to patronize them. I bring this up to let you know that while they are not perfect, they are darn close. Plus, almost any other company and I would not be as forgiving. That is how good they are. And the web site is really easy to use ( fast with pictures even for dial-up ). How good are their bargains? Just yesterday a pair of Doc Martins were going for fifty bucks!! I am going from memory so give me a little leeway, but the wool caps were three for $12, the mittens were five for $12 ( same with gloves ), socks were three pairs for $14. Not wool, but a great bargain were three pairs of thermal underwear pants for about $12. I'm sure I have ordered more than those clothes and the ammo but that is what comes to mind. I didn't buy one but they had 100% wool jackets for $20!! They offer a sporting catalog but they also have a military surplus catalog were all the really good stuff is. Try to get that. I don't think you will be disappointed, go to their web site.
END FUNDAMENTALS-MORE BELOW
I'm not trying to make it a habit to re-post old articles.  This will most likely be the last time.  Not as simple as copy and paste, the formatting gets all screwed up in transfer and it doesn't save as much time as I'd like.  The only thing differant between this article and my present circumstances are the longer winters with lower temps. I wrote this in Carson City which is much milder than Elko. Also, I do my own cleaning now.  Look for guest articles this weekend.  Sam, got your coin-thank you.
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