RomanArmyTalk

After pouring over the caliga links I realized I really could use some hand wax. It is not for sale anywhere in the USA. I found two recipes and here they are.

4lbs pine resin(rosin),1lb pitch(roofing tar will work), 4 oz beeswax, 3oz refined tallow. Heat until melted and mixed. Pour into cold water form into balls.

Popular Mechanics Dec 1907

4 oz Pitch, 1oz Resin, 1/4 oz tallow

Heat well over a slow fire. Stir until resin melts and mixes with the others. Then pour into a pale of cold water. When cool enough to handle make into a ball. Roll then pull like taffy until it is the color of pale resin. Roll out and cut into strips 1" by1 1/2". To make harder use more resin. To make softer use more tallow. Keep in water.

I hope this helps. Now to by plywood for my boat and make some caliga with modern soles so I don't make everyone angry about my hobnails.

Dean

did you try snowseal??

Not sure sno seal is the same stuff. it appears sno seal is a beeswax based product and also appears rather thin. Hand wax is used to coat and preserve natural linen thread and also acts as sort of a glue like substance to keep your thread together after it is sewn or threaded onto the needle. Handwax is a traditional cobblers item that no one uses much anymore because synthetic threads don't require it. Beeswax is fine for some purposes but I have found it lacking in some respects.

I just use a mix of beeswax and violin rosin, melted together. Good enough most of the time.
I add brewers pitch to it if I need it to set hard (when binding boar bristle onto linen thread to use instead of a needle.

I have found an extensive discussion on another forum. You can find it linked below. It is a pretty comprehensive thread spanning 3 years.

http://www.thehcc.org/discus/messages/4/1028.html

I found hemp thread and hand wax. They also sell bristles.

http://carreducker.blogspot.com/p/hemp-t...-sale.html