boiling sheeps wool is bad for fibers?

I'm sorry i'm a newbie does boiling sheeps wool with a little salt bad for the fibers? you can still use the wool right?

Heat won't necessarily damage wool but agitation while wet will felt it. If the wool is just at a simmer and not moving around much it should be fine. If it is at a hard boil and a lot of stiring and movement the fibers could easily felt together and be impossible to separate. I brng a pot of raw wool fibers to a simmer to clean it and or to natural dye. Another thing that will damage wool fibers is a drastic change in temperature while wet...like wringing out hot wet fibers and rinsing in cold water. I dont think salt would do any damage...some use it as part of the dying process.

I should have asked if this is a fleece?

Judith Browning wrote:Heat won't necessarily damage wool but agitation while wet will felt it. If the wool is just at a simmer and not moving around much it should be fine. If it is at a hard boil and a lot of stiring and movement the fibers could easily felt together and be impossible to separate. I brng a pot of raw wool fibers to a simmer to clean it and or to natural dye. Another thing that will damage wool fibers is a drastic change in temperature while wet...like wringing out hot wet fibers and rinsing in cold water. I dont think salt would do any damage...some use it as part of the dying process.

I should have asked if this is a fleece?

navajo sheep wool i got from my friend raw when i help her with them. ive got 8 bags of the stuff i was after the oil but i didnt want to ruin anything and was. im not sure about anything .. i wanted to know about the process because i was writing a book where the char. did something like that so i wanted to know the how and why and what. I'd like to make it into a basic yard because it feel like something i could do without messing it up to awful.

plus the oil!!! it would be cool to have some that i made. plus i know what those sheep go though since i had to sheep sit her flock more then once when she went on vacation. id have to say those sheep live a better life then i do lol

Sounds like a wonderful project...I never tried to remove the lanolin...did you get much? Lanolin is nice in the wool too while you are spinning it is nice on your hands.

Judith Browning wrote:Sounds like a wonderful project...I never tried to remove the lanolin...did you get much? Lanolin is nice in the wool too while you are spinning it is nice on your hands.

no and yes.. i found a way to mess it up not sure how i pulled that off but i did.. i got a decent amount but it has a pretty strong smell so im gonna try boiling the next one "slower" real slow boiling off the water and making sure non of the soil stuff gets in which i dont think got in the first batch i tried which was 2 bags. my friends navajo sheep seem to have less grease then say a shetland which was breed for rain and snow... once i stop freakin out and messing up (because i was over thinking it) i got a lot more then i thought wool greese makes up part of the weight of the wool on some breeds it's like 20%. i looked up some info and i read on wool process after the fact because im dumb and dont read directions enough when im in the middle of something i always want to contact a real person and ask no matter how stupid the question makes me sound. anyways "Each bale contains about 450 lbs. of greased wool from roughly 100 sheep." i took that amount and figured out the navajos seem to give less.


sited: http://hom-organics.com/process/process_wl.html

Fine wools tend to be greasier than coarser wools and most longwools (Eg Lincoln,  Wensleydale).  If you want a lot of grease, try a merino fleece.  

Also: some sheep breeds tolerate wet climates by virtue of having lots of grease, while others do so by virtue of being double coated.  For example, the fleeces of Icelandic sheep aren’t all that greasy. They stay warm and dry because they have a coarse outer coat that keeps the rain from soaking to the skin, and a fine, soft undercoat that keeps them warm.  Kind of like my mini Husky! In my experience Shetlands, while much greasier than Icelandics, aren’t nearly as greasy as the fine wools.

Check your library for a copy of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook.  It’s a great resource on the characteristics of fleeces of many different sheep breeds.

Tokunbo Popoola wrote:I'm sorry i'm a newbie does boiling sheeps wool with a little salt bad for the fibers? you can still use the wool right?

Try to keep no more than a bare simmer. Higher temperatures will tend to weaken the wool.  It will likely give it a harsher feel as well. I confess that I have spaced out and allowed my dyepot to reach a boil more often than I would like. If you like your wool, try not to do it.

The only reason to even let the water get that hot is if you are dyeing the wool. If you are washing it, 120 - 140 F with your wool wash of choice is more than sufficient. Most of the fleeces I have washed need more than one soak.  Using hotter water will not cut down on the number of soaks.  But do be careful not to let your wash water cool too much before moving the wool to the rinse bin or the grease will just re-deposit on the wool.  Warm water melts it, your cleaner emulsifies it, and your warm rinse sends it away.