a kind of wax used on threads for inseaming and outseaming. Coad acts to:
- bind cords of a taper together
- bind bristles to tapers, making usable waxed ends
- adhere stitches in place by liquefying from the friction of stitching, then re-hardening after the stitches are pulled taut
Common Ingredients
- Beeswax
- Tallow
- Rosin, a byproduct of turpentine distilling, made from tree resin tapped from living trees
- Pitch
- from trees, such as pine pitch made by boiling or burning off pine tar
- from petroleum, as bitumen or asphalt
- from coal, concentrated from coal tar
- Tar similarly from trees, oil, or coal
Seasonal Waxes
Many sources report using different wax mixtures in winter and summer to reach the right consistency in prevailing temperatures. Many summer waxes use a greater proportion of rosin, while winter waxes use less.
Waxes for Hand Sewing
The Crispin Colloquy has part of a long-running thread on “Hand Wax / Coad” here
- Panhandle Leather Hand Wax
- Scott’s Highland Supply “Cobbler’s Wax”, or via American reseller Henderson’s. Bagpipers use the wax to wrap sections of their pipes with hemp thread as a kind of gasket.
- Semperfli “Cobblers Wax” marketed for fly tying
- Gunpowder Custom Tackle waxes
Media
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Company of the Staple: “How to Make Coad”
- 60 grams Pine Rosin / Colophony, Powdered
- 30 grams Beeswax
- 2-5 grams Tallow
- Makes golf-ball-sized portions.
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Hugh McDonald