Anyone Have a Clue about this?

[hanshi]

And again at the range today I again noticed something that seems, on its face, counter-intuitive.  I shoot patches cut from two types of canvas; The duck crushes to about .019"-.020" and the heavy canvas crushes to .023" or so.  The difference in the weave tightness and general feel is very noticeable.  The thicker heavy canvas material seats so easily I don't worry about the thin, .32 & .36 wood rods.  The 20th load seats as easily as the first in a clean barrel.  And the canvas shows very little evidence of ever being fired.  The duck, on the other hand, seats well but requires more force that I prefer to subject a tiny RR to.  Anyone have an idea why this happens?  I certainly don't.

[T*O*F]

Patches are like people...some are slicker than others.

[hanshi]

Patches are like people...some are slicker than others.

Good one! 

[stubshaft]

Canvas has a coarser weave and Duck has a higher thread count.  This would allow the fibers in canvas to compress more easily.

[hanshi]

I had thought about that and it is probably the case.  The duck is rather smooth but the heavy canvas is rough and pretty stiff.  I now know that my .32 really does like the heavy canvas; now to further experiment with the larger bores.  The canvas worked just fine in the .32, .36 and the .40.

[LH]

try washing a piece of the Duck and see if it loads any easier.  It might. 

[T*O*F]

try washing a piece of the Duck

If you're gonna wash a duck, make sure you use Dawn dish soap. 

Environmentalists swear by it.   

[hanshi]

I do wash both the duck and the heavy canvas.  The duck canvas is really good patch material but the heavy canvas seems to be even better.