trappers supply wool

[redear]

We are all looking for decent wool to use on these wool and satin jigs, and while wapsi sculpin wool works it is not raw enough maybe, and redgun found some at a trappers supply warehouse at a cheap price but after looking at a little of it, he's not sure about the quality as it had some matted stuff in there. I ordered some of it too and it isn't here yet, but will give a report on it as soon as it is here. at the very least I am sure it needs washing and each lock probably needs to be brushed out. just wanted to put this out there because I know some people are thinking about ordering some from the trappers supply.

 

[Fatman]

thanks for the info redear

 

[Shoemoo]

There's always streamer hair/Icelandic sheep's wool. I have a piece and it's just washed and dyed as far as I can tell.

 

[Lost Pole]

Wow!!!
Y'all are really gun ho on this wool. Hope it pans out for everyone.

 

[redman]

Going to Marshall ,Texas on Thursday and will stop by the USDA extension office and find out who raises sheep. Then go for a visit and see if the producers could give me some when they have there sheep sheared this spring. Bet I might be able to find some clumped of wool along the fence line where they rubbed along the post.

Think that the nearest Slaughter house for sheep is in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. so will go and see if there are any local sheep operations. Will let you all know what I find out.

Redman

 

[redman]

Had to make a trip to Marshall to grab some supplies before the big rain event that we are having here. Stopped by the local butcher shop to pick up some meat that he is famous for. He was out front and so I ask him if he ever slaughtered any sheep. He said yes he did and I ask if I could buy the hides from a sheep. His answer was no I will give them to you.

Apparently Hide company and tanneries will buy cattle hides but not goat or sheep hides. The goat and sheep hides are thrown away. I told him what I was going to use them for and what I needed and he took my number and said that he would call when the first hide came off a sheep. I told him I would trade him a limit of crappies for a hide. Think that I am coming out on the long end of this trade. I get a hide, get to fish for Crappies, Get to tie some good looking crappie jigs. He gets to kill and skin out and flesh a smelly old sheep and gets 25 crappies for his trouble. I have three times the fun. That is why I say I came out on the long end of this trade.

Will let you all know when I get it. I am sure there will be enough to go around and everyone will get a hunk of hide. Sounds like I can get all I want or will ever need.

Redman

 

[Fatman]

Definately sounds like you got the best deal there buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[redear]

my trappers supply wool just came from UPS, and I lookeed it over some. I think for the price which was 17.90 which included shipping it will work out. this is definitely scraps which are culled from premium wool but quite a bit of it will be just fine for my needs. first off, three large gallon bags stuffed very very full, and they were surprisingly heavy. a litte of it had manure bits matting it together, and some of it was long and straight with no crimp, those two types will get tossed. there is hay and turf debris throughout and it has a greasy feel, so this needs to be washed in semi hot water with dawn probably, I will put it in a net or something to prevent the fibers from separating as much as possible. there is alot of creme color wool with darker tips, some light brown too.

 

[redear]

my favorite type of wool in these bags are small locks of creme or natural color which is crimped along the whole length of the lock and looks like ripples, these were probably too short for wool spinning folks, but at 2 1/2" they are perfect for what we do, there will be alot of sorting of color and throwing out matted and such wool. the other challenge will be to brush the locks while not pulling them apart. It will be a learning experience for sure and I wouldn't have it any other way. thanks to Redgun for turning us onto another source of wool that I would never have thought of.

 

[Shoemoo]

Greasy with bits of manure and needs lots of combing while hoping it doesn't separate too much, huh? Sounds like a lot of fuss. I think I'll stick to buying streamer hair. It's already washed, dyed and still on the hide.

 

[redear]

shoemoo, I bought some sculpin wool on the hide and it was real nice because it was clean and ultra brushed out etc. but it in no way resembled what Red was using which concerned me a little. all sheeps wool is greasy when it is raw, it's not gross greasy but if you pull on it and let your fingers slip along the lock of wool, you can feel the smoothness of the lanolin I guess they call it. the raw wool has a stiffer body to it because it has not been brushed out so much like the sculpin wool. those little rippled peices in there are beautiful in texture, I wouldn't want to have that texture removed. the other thing is cost effectiveness, when you buy fly tying material, you are paying for someone elses work, and the peices are small, very small, when compared to buying raw wool.

 

[Fatman]

Great info redear!! I was reading on a website to use dawn (grease cutting soap) in a mesh bag to wash the raw wool so you don't lose it. They say not to go heavy on the soap as it does take a few rinsings to get the soap out.

Then lay it out to dry. If you're game!!! after you wash it take a little of it, put it in a paper bag with a hole cut in the side fold the top over and use a hair drier on very low heat and blow it into the bag.

A buddy told me about this when washing goose chest feathers he was prepping for fly tying.

Worth maybe wasting a tiny big to see if it dries quicker for you.

 

[redear]

thanks Doug!! think I'll first go through it and cull what I don't like then wash it, then sort it by color.

 

[Fatman]

Let us know how you make out and maybe some pics. I'd like to see it after you finish cleaning it up!!! Thanks for all the info on it.

 

[redear]

will do that Doug, I have this weekend off so I should be able to get something done, as nice as it has been during the day it would also be suitable for crappie fishing. I got something to put the wool in while washing it. I'm thinking maybe do it in a 5 gallon bucket, in the bathtub, using semi hot water and dawn for the first washing, so will see how it goes. this wool is packed so full into these bags that unless you culled some unusable scraps, you would never get it all back in there. lol have been doing some reading up on wool, and you would not believe the variations of it from one type of sheep to another, and even among the same subspecies. the people that are spinning the wool by hand into yarn really keep up with this info. there are variations of the fiber from very fine to coarse, and also the amount of crimp which I think is the ripples I am seeing in some of this stuff, and then they talk about the variations of softness. interesting stuff. gonna try to make it by joanns tomorrow, and check on the satin and pearlized sheer material. need to get some other stuff too, like large ziplock bags for storing this wool.

 

[Fatman]

Thanks!! Supposed to rain all weekend so may try some powder painting or pouring some more jigs - Like I really need to pour more!!!!!!LOL

 

[Hawnjigs]

Is it necessary to wash out the lanolin?

 

[redman]

Hawn I don't think you would want to wash all lanolin out. Think that the lanolin may have something to do with the waterproofing ability. One of the reasons that it has a great profile.

Redman

 

[redear]

I'm not really wanting to wash all the lanolin out, just get the dirt in the wool out to brighten it up.

 

[redgun]

I'm not really wanting to wash all the lanolin out, just get the dirt in the wool out to brighten it up.

Glad you are getting this stuff to work. As I originally stated, I purchased this wool for trapping lure holder, but after reading about the wool jigs, decided to try it. I have been making small crappie sized jigs, and in my opinion, it work's great. I am not sure how much of the "longer" stuff is in these bags though.

Great write up redear.:icon14: