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The Felting of Animal Fibres
Author(s) -
Menkakt J.,
Speakman J. B.
Publication year - 1948
Publication title -
journal of the society of dyers and colourists
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1478-4408
pISSN - 0037-9859
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-4408.1948.tb02483.x
Subject(s) - softening , shrinkage , hardening (computing) , materials science , composite material , deformation (meteorology) , chemistry , layer (electronics)
Previous work on the related subjects of felting and milling has been reviewed and it 1ms been shown that seemingly divergent theories are complementary rather than contradictory. Special attention has been drawn to the peculiar effects of variations in temperature and p H on the rate of shrinkage in milling: it has been argued that the existence of a critical temperature for milling in alkalis, the nonexistence of a critical temperature for milling in acids, and the decreasing rate of shrinkage with rise of p H in alkaline media are due to two causes. The first, which was originally suggested in 1933, is conflict between case of deformation and power of recovery from deformation; the second, arising out of Martin's theory of milling, is conflict between ease of deformation and penetrating power of the root ends of migrating fibres. Conflict of the second kind suggested that it might be possible to augment the felting power of wool fibres by differential treatment of root and tip ends. Hardening the root ends with cross–linking agents, e. g. mercuric, acetate, and softening of the tip ends with sodium metabisulphito, have both been shown to give fibres of increased felting power, the former by increasing the penetrating power of root ends and the latter by increasing the ease of deformation of the fibres. The highest rate of felting is obtained when hardening of root ends is combined with softening of the tips. The chief importance of the investigation is in relation to the carroting of fur fibres. Although sodium hydroxide was suggested as a possible carroting agent some years ago, increased felting power seems always to be obtained in practice by softening the tip ends with oxidising agents, and the successful use of sodium metabisulphite to augment the felting power of wool confirms an earlier suggestion that the essential function of carroting agents is to cause disulphide bond breakdown. There can be little doubt, therefore, that the range of carroting agents will be extended to include all compounds which promote disulphide bond breakdown. Further, it now seems likely that processes in which hardening of root ends is combined with softening of tips will replace present–day carroting processes, forwhen large–scale experiments were carried out with rabbit fur, which had been cross–linked with mercuric acetate and then carroted with mercuric nitrate, a dramatic rise in felting power was obtained.