I haven't researched this extensively, but in the reading I have done, I recall seeing the terms "wiper," "worm," and "gun worm," but not "tow worm." In Spanish, this tool is called sacatrapos, literally "rag puller." I can't find a French translation. Maybe some of our Canadian friends can help us out with this. Do we know when the term "tow worm" came into use?
I have looked for tow on lists of trade goods and supplies being shipped to the western trading posts, but haven't found it. Tow may have been an item so common nobody bothered to list it, or idle hands at the trading posts may have been put to work picking fiber or oakum from old ropes, so hemp fibers may have been produced in that way "in the country." Regardless, I haven't seen tow mentioned in the texts I have read, which have admittedly pertained primarily to the trans-Mississippi frontier. In the east, which was settled more densely and at an earlier date, and where people were growing both flax and hemp (tow may be either flax or hemp fiber, according to Ned Roberts), we can assume tow was more readily available.
And please don't interpret this as a challenge to any of the terminology used above. I wanted to share information I have found, and I am seriously interested in learning something from others who post here.
Regarding the wiping stick which was the subject of the original post, I think it was well researched and thought out, and nicely executed. Attention to the relatively minor details like this helps in understanding the bigger picture of gun handling and maintenance on the frontier.
Thanks!
Notchy Bob
