Slipe Wool

SLIPE WOOL

The wool obtained from the skins of slaughtered sheep by treatment with lime. Through contact with the lime, which penetrates the fibre, wool treated by this means is harsh in handle and grey and dull in colour, while the operation of washing is made much more difficult and expensive. Lime is only sparingly soluble in water, it loosens the fibre quite well, but it also dissolves substance and leaves the wool drier and less elastic. The lime also combines with the internal yolk, forming a lime soap which is exceedingly difficult to get rid of. Besides this the " slipe " usually contains free lime in the form of small pellets embedded in the staple. Some wools are put on the market containing 8 per cent of free lime, while the combined lime may amount to 2 per cent of the weight of the wool, depending on the strength of the solution and the duration of the immersion. Every pound of free lime destroys 15-lb. of soap. "Slipe" wool is largely employed in crossbred top-making for serges and hosiery of medium-class types. Low qualities are also employed in the manufacture of cheap hosiery, carpets, woollen suitings, blankets, flannels, and rugs.