Otter Wax and Waxed Canvas

I've made a few waxed canvas items now, two of which I used paraffin (the hand-sewn lunch sack and pipe roll you see below) and the third, I used Otter Wax. Unlike paraffin, it's an all-natural, non-petroleum coating that weatherproofs natural fiber cloth of nearly any kind and even some synthetic blends, as long as the percentage of natural fibers is higher than the synthetic. I really liked how easy the Otter Wax went on. It seems to have a much lower melting point, which may not be best in direct sunlight in the hotter months, but the Redhead cotton fedora I picked up at Bass Pro Shops a few weeks ago is likely not much of a summer hat, anyway.

I really like how the Otter Wax took the crisp hat and gave it a weathered, more rustic feel and look. The hat went from OK, to downright cool in my book. Well, as cool as a cheap old outdoorsman hat can get. It's not wool like a nice Stetson or Filson hat, but it'll do.

Here it is in action this past Saturday, doing a little urban Tenkara fly fishing on South Creek and at Valley Water Mill Park.