[QUOTE=room2ndfloor;1196682][QUOTE=Elf;1196677]Well said. It reminds me of a point a friend of mine often makes. If one never uses something because it is too expensive, it is as if one never had it in the first place. That would be an even greater waste of one's precious coin.

Agree, heartily! Better to use it and to enjoy it than to have it rot anyway. As one who knits by hand, including kilt hose, I am more pleased by someone wearing out my knitting than when they save it for "best". I've been knitting the patterned kilt hose so that eventually, I can detach the worn toes and heels and replace them.

Good wool hose will last a long time IF they are properly cared-for. You must wash them gently by hand, in tepid water, without wringing them; then you must rinse them well, and lay them out flat to air-dry. (That lint in the clothes-dryer? It is tiny bits of your clothing, wearing away.) Never wear a pair of hose two days in a row, let the wool relax and recover. Don't wear your hose without shoes on synthetic- fiber carpet. Those synthetics are much harder than the wool and the fibers will make small cuts in the wool.

Finally, Gentlemen, mind your foot-hygiene. Trim the toenails well and file them smooth, and use a pumice on the rough skin. Those rough spots will wear out the hose from the inside.
Invaluable information! Thank you so much for that! I honestly really needed that!