Barbour's Linen Thread Vs Tiger Thread

[karlpv]

"Linen is surprisingly tough. Plenty of old horse tack is still held together very well many years after its production -- and you should see how filthy a lot of it gets before being put away wet. It doesn't rot as easily as some will have you believe, especially when treated with natural antimicrobial substances when waxing; beeswax, pine rosin, tars and whatever else people use all contribute to this, including in repelling water."

That's been my experience too. I've gone through a goodly number of boots in work and leisure. In the past, I've had the welt stitching in the arch area give out after a certain number of years, both linen and synthetic. Somewhere along the line, I read the suggestion to coat the stitching with epoxy, and that has proved to be an effecive remedy. I have a pair of 15 year old Whites (non-rebuilt) that will be retired soon. On their website, I see they still list "Irish Linen Thread" as a feature. Too, if conditions are enough to rot stitching, without care, the leather can't be far behind?

[Tannin]

I am stll fairly new to all this and I have only used (generic ebay) linen thread a little. I've also used SpeedyStitcher's fine & coarse threads which look like natural linen but are actually waxed polyester and most recently I've been using Tiger thread, which is waxed, braided, polyester. They all worked fine, well enough for me anyway. I am happy to use any & all.

Folk sometimes complain about synthetic threads (usually nylon) stretching or being difficult to tension -- however I believe polyester does not stretch like nylon, at least that is my experience using braided ropes of nylon and polyester. The Tiger thread does stretch a bit (not unpleasantly) but I suspect that is due to its braided construction. I like braided cords and they are usually finer, stronger & more robust than their (cheaper) twisted equivalents. I find it slightly easier to run the needle through the ends of the cord, after threading my needle, and it holding securely than in non-braided threads.

I find it a little easier to thread needles and to sew with Tiger thread but that is probably because it is thinner diameter (0.8mm) than my other threads, which I suspect are closer to 1mm. Also, I only recently learnt to use the fine, waxed ends of linen thread - I used to cut those flat, oops!

[ClaireAshton]

......... and there was I thinkin' our cousins 'cross the pond knew everythin', whens obvious theyse knows nowt....

I coats my thread, reclaimed thread from worn out britches from the charity shop (thrift shop?), in WD40 (or PlusGas?) to keep the water outof the thread. I dus this in said charity shop sose I don't get it wet on't way home or in house as many slates missin'. After I stitches, if the wallet is for export to the States, I dips in suncream factor 30 which stops rottin' in the sun. If for UK, I doesn't bother. No sun here and, in certain parts, they never gets their wallet out for it to catch any light goin'.

Just my 2p worth (2 cents) from the ol' country.........

Claire

[Erystawi]

what you mean the linen thread is flat? Is it one particular brand?

The linen thread I use is 3 braid, 5 or 6 braid linen thread, called 12/3 or 18/3, 18/5, 18/6.

I suppose there are more brands of threads out there

[ramrod]

.......................... I resewed it with nylon and all was good. Not scientific at all, just my observations.

Aaron

i had read (and i cannot remember where) that polyester thread is uv resistant but nylon is NOT. did i read that right? i assumed (as was confirmed by a few others here) that it was mostly the beeswax / rosin etc. that keeps linen from rotting.

[Colt W Knight]

i had read (and i cannot remember where) that polyester thread is uv resistant but nylon is NOT. did i read that right? i assumed (as was confirmed by a few others here) that it was mostly the beeswax / rosin etc. that keeps linen from rotting.

Polyester is used for outdoor applications like sails, boat seats, patio furniture, etc. because it has better UV resistance than nylon.

[BAD HIDE]

I'm also approaching the craft to get away from plastic disposable culture, so using plastic thread would be kinda silly when there's arguably better and natural alternatives. Linen just looks nicer imho. The extra durability and strength of the thread itself isn't really needed, and it locks down on itself inside the holes much better than anything else, making the seam far more durable even with the threads worn away.

I don't think it makes that much of a difference, but I'm at least 1000 yards away from needing more hand-sewing thread. I use #138 poly in my walking foot on canvas goods, but if there was a linen alternative, I'd switch there too just for the hell of it.