Waxed cotton
Encyclopedia
Waxed cotton is as the name suggests, is cotton
impregnated with a paraffin
based wax
, woven into a cloth. Widely used from the mid-19th century to the mid-1950s, the product which originated in the sailing
industry in Scotland
, became widely used by many to make themselves waterproof. It is now replaced by more modern materials but is still used by the country sports community.
, out of the worn remnants of which they cut waterproof cape
s to keep themselves dry, the forerunner of the fisherman's slicker. The result was efficient sails in the dry, lighter sails in the wet, and drier sailors.
From 1795, Arbroath
-based sail maker Francis Webster Ltd had perfected the art of adding Linseed oil
to flax
sails, creating an oiled flax. Lighter than wet sailcloth, these started to be used by the Royal Navy
and the early tea clippers. As the tea races increased in competition, the clipper designers and captains looked for weight reductions. As the clippers were often used to ship cotton from Egypt
, experiments were started with this lighter material.
In the mid-1920s, three companies co-operated to create paraffin-impregnated cotton, which produced a highly water resistant cloth, breathable, but without the stiffness in the cold or yellowing with age. Woven by Webster's, it was taken to Lancashire
for dyeing
(black or olive green), and then to London for cupro
–ammonia
treatment. The cloth was then returned to Lancashire for waxing, and then back to Webster's for storage, sales and distribution.
Webster's were cautious about disrupting their home market, and so sent the new product to another part of the British Empire
with similar climatic conditions and a love of sailing for testing: New Zealand. Given the local name Japara, as the material proved a weather and sales success, it was adopted as the trademark
by Webster's.
Waxed cotton became an instant success with the commercial shipping industry, and Webster's as primary manufacturers turned to thinking of alternate markets that the product could be used in.
One of the early adopters was J. Barbour & Sons
in the outdoor industry, producing waxed jacket
s for farmer
s and gamekeeper
s; and as motorcycling
was then the predominant form of personal transport, the new company of Belstaff
also developed clothing.
Waxed cotton came in either black, or an inconsistent dark olive. Colour was controlled by the amount of copper left from the cupro-ammonia treatment, and because of variability of the olive a complementary dark brown corduroy
collar was placed on dark olive jackets.
Barbour's entered the motorcycling market from the early 1930s, with the Barbour International motorcycle suit, developing their market presence through sponsorship of the British competitions and teams in motorcycle trials
. Barbour International suits were worn by virtually every British International team from 1936 to 1977, and in the 1964 International Six Days Trial, actor Steve McQueen
and the rest of the American team.
Adopted as the first choice waterproof clothing for the British armed forces during World War II, uses of waxed cotton escalated in the late 1940s and 1950s as spare material and army-surplus was sold off cheaply.
Rubber
had never been able to displace waxed products in rain wear, being both heavier and colder/non-breathing through having no air pockets. By the early 1960s wartime-developed materials including Nylon
and PVC
had come to the commercial market in volume. These materials were also lighter, more waterproof, more durable and cheaper to manufacture.
Although the uses of waxed cotton have reduced considerably, today there are various forms of waxed cotton with differences in look, touch and performance between each one. Modern uses of waxed cotton have niched to those areas where its greater warmth provides a greater benefit over its cost, weight and maintenance disadvantages.
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
impregnated with a paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
based wax
Wax
thumb|right|[[Cetyl palmitate]], a typical wax ester.Wax refers to a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents...
, woven into a cloth. Widely used from the mid-19th century to the mid-1950s, the product which originated in the sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
industry in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, became widely used by many to make themselves waterproof. It is now replaced by more modern materials but is still used by the country sports community.
Background
Early mariners noticed that wet sails were more efficient than dry sails, but due to their weight slowed the vessel down. From the 15th century, mariners applied fish oils and grease to their heavy sailclothSailcloth
Sails have been made from cloth for all of recorded history. Typically sails were made from flax , hemp or cotton in various forms including canvas. However, modern sails are rarely made from natural fibers. Most sails are made from synthetic fibers ranging from low-cost nylon or polyester to...
, out of the worn remnants of which they cut waterproof cape
Cape
Cape can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho, but usually it is a long garment that covers only the back half of the wearer, fastening around the neck. They were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon, and have had periodic...
s to keep themselves dry, the forerunner of the fisherman's slicker. The result was efficient sails in the dry, lighter sails in the wet, and drier sailors.
From 1795, Arbroath
Arbroath
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...
-based sail maker Francis Webster Ltd had perfected the art of adding Linseed oil
Linseed oil
Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...
to flax
Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
sails, creating an oiled flax. Lighter than wet sailcloth, these started to be used by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and the early tea clippers. As the tea races increased in competition, the clipper designers and captains looked for weight reductions. As the clippers were often used to ship cotton from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, experiments were started with this lighter material.
Development
The first waxed cotton products of Egyptian cotton with linseed oil applied, started to appear from the mid-1850s. Tea clipper sails were made from strong two-ply yarns in both warp and weft, which provided lighter cloth with extra strength for the larger sails. The recipe for waxing each cloth remained unique to that cloth, but all cloths suffered the same problems: stiffness in the cold; and a patena to turn a shade of yellow towards that of pure linseed oil, creating the early yellow of fisherman's clothing.In the mid-1920s, three companies co-operated to create paraffin-impregnated cotton, which produced a highly water resistant cloth, breathable, but without the stiffness in the cold or yellowing with age. Woven by Webster's, it was taken to Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
for dyeing
Dyeing
Dyeing is the process of adding color to textile products like fibers, yarns, and fabrics. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material. After dyeing, dye molecules have uncut Chemical bond with fiber molecules. The temperature and time controlling...
(black or olive green), and then to London for cupro
Cupronickel
Cupronickel or copper-nickel or "cupernickel" is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. Cupronickel is highly resistant to corrosion in seawater, because its electrode potential is adjusted to be neutral with regard to seawater...
–ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
treatment. The cloth was then returned to Lancashire for waxing, and then back to Webster's for storage, sales and distribution.
Webster's were cautious about disrupting their home market, and so sent the new product to another part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
with similar climatic conditions and a love of sailing for testing: New Zealand. Given the local name Japara, as the material proved a weather and sales success, it was adopted as the trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
by Webster's.
Usage
One of the early adopters was J. Barbour & Sons
J. Barbour & Sons
J. Barbour & Sons Ltd is a British clothing manufacturer and importer, founded in South Shields, best known for making waterproof and outdoor clothing...
in the outdoor industry, producing waxed jacket
Waxed jacket
A Waxed jacket is a type of hip-length raincoat made from waxed cotton cloth, iconic of British country life. Today it is commonly worn for outdoor rural pursuits such as hunting, shooting and fishing....
s for farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s and gamekeeper
Gamekeeper
A gamekeeper is a person who manages an area of countryside to make sure there is enough game for shooting, or fish for angling, and who actively manages areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland for the benefit of game birds, deer, fish and wildlife in general.Typically, a gamekeeper is...
s; and as motorcycling
Motorcycling
Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. A variety of subcultures and lifestyles have been built up around motorcycling.-Benefits:Robert M. Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was a paean celebrating motorcycling...
was then the predominant form of personal transport, the new company of Belstaff
Belstaff
Belstaff, an English brand, founded in Longton, Staffordshire in 1924, is a garment manufacturer best known for producing high-performance waterproof jackets...
also developed clothing.
Waxed cotton came in either black, or an inconsistent dark olive. Colour was controlled by the amount of copper left from the cupro-ammonia treatment, and because of variability of the olive a complementary dark brown corduroy
Corduroy
Corduroy is a textile composed of twisted fibers that, when woven, lie parallel to one another to form the cloth's distinct pattern, a "cord." Modern corduroy is most commonly composed of tufted cords, sometimes exhibiting a channel between the tufts...
collar was placed on dark olive jackets.
Barbour's entered the motorcycling market from the early 1930s, with the Barbour International motorcycle suit, developing their market presence through sponsorship of the British competitions and teams in motorcycle trials
Motorcycle trials
Motorcycle trials, also termed observed trials, is a non-speed event on specialized motorcycles. The sport is most popular in the United Kingdom and Spain, though there are participants around the globe....
. Barbour International suits were worn by virtually every British International team from 1936 to 1977, and in the 1964 International Six Days Trial, actor Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
and the rest of the American team.
Adopted as the first choice waterproof clothing for the British armed forces during World War II, uses of waxed cotton escalated in the late 1940s and 1950s as spare material and army-surplus was sold off cheaply.
Rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
had never been able to displace waxed products in rain wear, being both heavier and colder/non-breathing through having no air pockets. By the early 1960s wartime-developed materials including Nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
and PVC
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
had come to the commercial market in volume. These materials were also lighter, more waterproof, more durable and cheaper to manufacture.
Although the uses of waxed cotton have reduced considerably, today there are various forms of waxed cotton with differences in look, touch and performance between each one. Modern uses of waxed cotton have niched to those areas where its greater warmth provides a greater benefit over its cost, weight and maintenance disadvantages.