Japara Source

[Allchin09]

Hey,

Does anyone know where I can source some Japara or similar material? I'm looking at making some of my own gear to replicate what was used by early bushwalkers.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Alex.

[Moondog55]

Loomstate japara at Spotlight
~$15- a meter
Cotton binding tape ditto
I have not seen treated [ i:e Rotproofed ] japara on sale for a long long time and i have been chasing recipes for treatment myself

[Mark F]

You are likely to be rather disappointed with modern "japara". The secret to the old stuff was a very high level of twist in the yarns which helped bulk up the already tightly woven fabric. This extra bulk meant there was more fibre to swell when wet and added to the waterproofness. Worth a try but I would get a very small amount proof it and test.

For waterproofing just use a proofer for cotton canvas - one old brand was Birkmeyer(?). The proofing Paddy used to sell was paraffin wax which was melted and mixed with turps. The gear was soaked in the mix and then hung out to dry.

[north-north-west]

The proofing Paddy used to sell was paraffin wax which was melted and mixed with turps. The gear was soaked in the mix and then hung out to dry.

That is one thing I don't miss doing at all. Melt, mix, soak, remove, clean up afterwards . . .
And for some reason the smell was particularly unpleasant.

[Allchin09]

Moondog - I had a look on the Spotlight website and couldn't find anything about Loomstate Japara. I'll have to visit my local store just to check though.

Mark - Shame that the material has changed overtime. Hopefully I can find a proofing mixture that does the job.

[Moondog55]

Not listed on the website; that's why.
It's called "Loomstate" because it has NO after weaving treatment. It is a very fine, very tightly woven cotton. Downproof and windproof; it is not waterproof.
Also it rots and mildews if allowed to stay damp.
Having wax proofed a tent once I caution to avoid like the plague; although waxing a fly sheet would be OK and these tents do really ( I mean REALLY ) need a fly when used in rain.
@ MarkF I think Paddys proofing went through a number of changes over the decades; the one I remember was beeswax based and smelled like lemons and way back they also sold a range of Joseph Liddys products for proofing the old black waterproof jackets. Water resistance is easy if you want to use a modern product not so much if you want traditional. What is going to be hard is rot-proofing; as I noted earlier I am still chasing a proper recipe but basically it involves boiling [ or at a minimum heating] the fabric in a solution of Copper-Ammonium salts which give "Japara" it characteristic bright green colour. If you want a sample of the Paddy japara I may have a small bit left in my box of spares and off-cuts.
Most of the japara comes from China now, I believe that the looms from Bradmill went there. The alternative is the lightest weight Ventile but that is heavier than the Spotlight fabric, a compromise may be a japara tent with a Ventile fly. That would be perhaps the best of both worlds and still "Traditional"

[fishfruit]

I know this is an older thread, but I was wondering if the material in the following link is something like what was being discussed or otherwise suitable for making a tent or tarp shelter. http://www.homeupholsterer.com.au/Fabri ... uct_id=760 . Also, as the company in the link does not send out samples, I was wondering if anyone knows where one might currently obtain smaller quantities?

[Note by moderator]
Link seems okay, unlikely associated with this user. New users with a link in their first post are scrutinized.

[Moondog55]

Thanx Mods
Hi Fishfruit; I'm not familiar with that seller but I think I have some of that fabric here
From a casual glance it does look like the fabric Evan at TerraRosa is using in his japara flysheets and tarps
Coarser and heavier than the one sold at Spotlite
Have you called them direct to talk to them?
Sometimes if you send a stamped self addressed envelope with a request for a swatch they will oblige, a swatch being 50 * 50mm usually, same goes for Evan he may have some small scraps
20 metres is a small quantity really and that price is really good, a third of the Spotlite cost for the finer fabric.
If you came across a good anti-rot recipe please share

[fishfruit]

Thanks Moondog, Evan currently has a anti rot recipe on his web site to use with his japara tarps. It uses a decoction of high tannin tree bark, black wattle to be specific. This is what has revived my interest in japara gear, before that I was stuck on the mold factor. Do you see any problems with that recipe, or had you not found it yet? Also, I have no actual experience with japara tents, do you think that some sort of waterproofing is necessary, or should a steep taught pitch and taking care not to touch the walls be adequate? I generally camp in SE Qld so the rain can get pretty heavy but not as bad as the full tropics and no chance of a blizzard although it can still get chilly in the hills in winter. Most of the recipes I have seen for waterproofing any sort of cotton will result in an oilcloth which I understand defeats the breathability factor of japara and use some sort of heavy solvent, which I have some specific health issues with using. Do you have any suggestions?

[Moondog55]

No experience with the Black Wattle recipe
I use Nikwax for waterproofing cotton and redo as needed, good stuff as water based. I still have my old PaddyMade japara tent and made the mistake of waxing it. Don't wax or oil treat if you want it to breath
Use a fly sheet instead.
I have far too many tents so I'd be willing to sell you my old PaddyMade 4 man if we could come to an agreement of price, it is no longer suitable for my needs
It needs some very minor repairs but none major or structural

[thejungleisneutral]

G'day fishfruit, I made the black wattle tanning vid on Evan's site. It's quick, easy and very effective - all for the price of a a couple of strips of fresh black wattle bark from the back of the property. I've taken the "tanned" Terra Rosa Gear japara tarp out on several trips so far (usually as a hammock tarp) and despite rain and being set up for 48 rainy hours in one place on one trip, there has never been a sign of mildew. Just make sure it's perfectly dry before packing away.

Also, the japara fabric at the link posted above has a very high shrinkage rate and the roll is pretty narrow. The stuff from Evan is pre-shrunk and the roll is just over two metres wide. It's the same weight as the bushwalking tent japara fabric from the olden days. It's such a tight weave you can't blow through it, making it great for windproofs too.

I waterproof my japara gear (the TRG tarp and two vintage Paddymade japara tents) with Paddy Pallin's 1930s-era home recipe for proofing/reproofing solution which I have adjusted for modern materials and is as follows:

50g beeswax (Bunnings sells it in 100g blocks)
50g Paraffin wax (normal white household candles)
1lt of White Spirit (also from Bunnings)

- Shave or grate the wax and place it in a tin with a press-fit lid - a large coffee or milo tin works great
- Add boiling water to a bucket and (well away from any flame or heat source!) place the wax tin in the boiling water to melt the wax.
- When the wax has melted, add 1lt of white spirit to the wax tin and mix well with a wooden stirrer
- Secure the lid on the tin and allow to cool.
- Make sure the japara to be proofed is perfectly dry and pitch it taut
- When the solution has cooled, paint it on with a wide paint brush. I do one coat, but double-up on the seams. Reseal the tin and save some of the proofing solution for next time.
- Allow to dry for a couple of days, preferably in sunlight. The white spirit will evaporate off, leaving the the wax embedded in the fibres of the japara. This is a dry finish, so doesn't come out like oilskin.

After I did the japara tarp with the waterproofing solution and let it dry completely, the weight increase was very minimal - something like 20g.

Hope it helps.

Cheers.

[fishfruit]

Thanks thejungleisneutral, that is sounding pretty promising with the black wattle treatment. It would be interesting to see how things stand up to a couple of weeks of rain but it sounds good enough for me to give it a go at any rate. Going by the weights, it sounds like you ended up with maybe a quarter of the wax out of the original mixture in the tarp. Not a lot of wax for the volume of fabric really. Since as I mentioned, I have particular difficulty with solvents, I am thinking I might try rubbing a bar of wax mixture onto some fabric and ironing it in. Just to help me figure out if my experiments are effective or not, can you give some indication as to how much the treated fabric wets out compared to the untreated fabric? I will probably conduct my initial trials on some old sheet scraps so I wouldn't expect it to be as waterproof as coated japara, but there is no point spending money on fabric until I have a fair idea something will work.

I did successfully make a sample piece of oilcloth without solvents a couple of years ago. I tracked down some solvent free cleaned linseed oil (Allback brand, who I think only had one Aussie distributor at the time), wet out a bit of old sheet with it, and left it pegged out to dry until it was thoroughly cured and then left it out a bit longer to make extra sure it wouldn't self combust and burn the house down. It was fairly waterproof and quite flexible, but I decided that I wasn't sufficiently keen on a full tent like that to go to the trouble of making one at the time. My scrap got filthy pretty quick, which I gather can be an issue with some oilcloths attaching readily to dust.

Would I be correct in assuming that even when proofed as you described above, the japara would need a steep pitch? I had thought of doing a hooped design like the modern tent swags, but I suspect that would be outside of the limitations of the choice of materials and the old fashioned A shape might be the better way to go.

[Moondog55]

What you describe fishfruit is sold as Greenland wax, just melt together beeswax and paraffin 50/50 and rub the solidified wax over the surface. you can even take a small bar of this with you and do it at need if the fabric is dry and you have a little sun. With cotton I would usually say steeper is better but the PaddyMade I have only has a 45 slope and a hoop does approximate that so "Give it a go" and see what happens.