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| Der_Morgenstern |
No things haven't got that bad here that I'm eating rope for sustenance, but to give me something to do while Barak Obama was being sworn in, and Aretha Franklin was raping and murdering whatever song she was howling out like some demented wolf, I decided to boil a few lengths of rope.
I decided a short while ago to give natural fibre rope a go, and while there is lots of advice all over the interweb about conditioning rope, I haven't seen anyone explain how they got to the method they currently use. It seems as if the methodology was handed down from on high some time ago. Then there is the other problem, all the conflicting advice out there.
So, I decided to do my own experimentation, just so I could see how different ways of conditioning rope would affect the finished result. I didn't want to reinvent the wheel, I just wanted to understand how we arrived at it.
I started with 90 metres of 6mm jute rope from Esinem cut down into lengths of approximately 7.5 metres. From those lengths one piece was boiled for two hours before standing for thirty minutes to cool down before being stretched out to dry with a two kilo weight hanging from it.
The second piece of rope was boiled for two hours before standing for thirty minutes to cool down, it was then spun in the washing machine and tumble dried until just damp. Finally it was stretched out to dry with a two kilo weight hanging from it.
The third piece of rope was washed at 90 degrees in the washing machine before being stretched out to dry with a two kilo weight hanging from it.
The fourth piece of rope was washed at 90 degrees in the washing machine, spun in the washing machine and tumble dried until just damp. Finally it was stretched out to dry with a two kilo weight hanging from it.
A fifth piece of rope was boiled for two hours before standing for thirty minutes to cool down, it was then spun in the washing machine before being stretched out to dry with a two kilo weight hanging from it.
What I have found is that the washing machine doesn't do the best job. The rope does feel softer, but the twist in the rope has lost something and the rope feels thicker.
The pieces of rope that have been boiled feel best and have retained their colour but the one dried in the tumble drier doesn't feel quite as good, the others feel crisp, yet flexible. Sending the rope through one spin cycle does reduce drying time a lot without having any other effect on the ropes feel or looks.
Boiling, instead of using the washing machine, also reduces the amount of fluff that you have to burn off. For that task I've found that a chef's blowtorch is perfect, the one I have can be adjusted so the flame isn't as intense which produces better results.
Tomorrow I'm starting to oil the rope, I decided to use Jojoba oil as it is easy to get from Holland and Barrett as it has had good write up's else where. I may try testing one piece with Vaseline, just to see how it works out.
I know it might seem odd to go through all this when there is plenty of good advice out there, but sometimes I think it is good to test the established knowledge, and to see things for yourself.
| 21 Jan 09, 6:43 AM mrs_whipkick UK(CB), 8 yrs |
jojoba oil is actually a wax not an oil, just so you are aware
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| 21 Jan 09, 9:34 AM Jahc99 UK, 5 yrs |
Oddly enough, I have recently stopped boiling mine! Used to bung it through the washing machine (Tie the ends together - it keeps all the turns in the rope so they go back in, mostly when you stretch it out by hand afterwards), then coil it into the old home brew pan and boil it for a good couple of hours. Then stretch it as much as possible - I sling it between two trees, first pulling very hard as I sling it up, then hanging a couple of buckets of water off the middle. This time of year it doesn't dry in the garden, so bring it in after a couple of days. If it is fluffy, I use an old campig gaz stove to burn off, then use either mink wax or tsubaki oil (from Esinem). I put as much manhandling into it as possible as I go along as well - there are various techniques to make it extra soft like thrashing it against a concrete floor, or dragging it through 5 or 6 links in a 1" chain under tension, or what The Hungry Tiger call 'chaining' which is a chain tie in the rope and twisting it hard. I just like to wrestle with it and show it who's boss! More recently, I also experimented and did half like that and half just by washing it three times. and that is so much less hassle and the feel of the rope so similar I did the whole of the last batch like that. Also meant I could do a whole 220m spool in one go, which, apart from being less agg, means less wastage when cutting to lengths. Being lazy, I usually finish the ends with shrink wrap rather than whipping, but will do if specifically asked. And are you sure it was hemp? Esinem does mostly jute, I thought? I do both, but generally prefer the results I get with the hemp. Why poison your liver when I could eat it for you? | ||
| 21 Jan 09, 10:41 AM Der_Morgenstern UK(LA), 7 yrs |
Thanks for posting that, lots of info and more things for me to try. It is jute rope:
I have just got 300ft of hemp rope, so I'm going to experiment with that next and I might well try the washing machine and a good battering against concrete.
New Labour: Proof positive that 345 villages are missing their idiots. | ||
| 21 Jan 09, 11:02 AM Say_it_with_string 3 yrs £ |
Cool. Thrashing 300m would be a bloody good workout! That was recommended to me by Ellie the Nomad, but I have never tried it because the only clean concrete available is me garage floor, and that's covered in motorbikes.
May I ask where you got it from? I get 220m spools from bristol rope and twine - I am sure it's not the best, but it's cheap and very easy for me since they are just down the road. I recommend a go with this: http://www.leprevo.co.uk/photos/mink_paste.html - can take a few days in the airing cupboard to soak in but smells lovely and lasts for ages - years. I am impressed with Esinem's tsubaki oil as well, so maybe try both of those and see wotcha fink? | ||
| 21 Jan 09, 11:22 AM Der_Morgenstern UK(LA), 7 yrs |
I got the 300ft of hemp rope from ebay http://search.stores.ebay.co.uk/ROPE-AND-NETS-FO... I offered £10 per 100ft and it was accepted, but I think you need to buy in multiples of 3 to get a best offer accepted. New Labour: Proof positive that 345 villages are missing their idiots. | ||
| 21 Jan 09, 12:14 PM Jahc99 UK, 5 yrs |
They are new to me - hope you get a good result! Why poison your liver when I could eat it for you? | ||
| 21 Jan 09, 12:47 PM Platinum UK(W), 9 yrs |
Obvious, I know, but mink oil/paste is not something some vegetarians would like to be wrapped in. Do you use Tsubaki or untreated ropes for such people, or at least give them the option?
P | ||
| 21 Jan 09, 2:05 PM Jahc99 UK, 5 yrs |
Me? I ask when I am selling it, for sure, but when I am tying it's kinda tricky since it all lives in the same 4 boxes anyway. I guess I could go back to the other boxes of cotton and synthetic stuff. It's just a reflex to reach for the hemp these days...... Why poison your liver when I could eat it for you? | ||
| 21 Jan 09, 3:50 PM Der_Morgenstern UK(LA), 7 yrs |
Thanks Jahc, I'll be starting with it properly tomorrow, I may try giving 4-5 pieces three goes in the washing machine on a boil wash, I know I need to get rid of some of the smell. New Labour: Proof positive that 345 villages are missing their idiots. | ||
| 2 Feb 09, 4:44 PM Say_it_with_string 3 yrs £ |
Actually a tad dissappointed with the last batch - it is harsher than I wanted - I think I will have to go back to boiling it again, alas.
Not boiling it, I could process a whole 220m spool in one go, but it really isn't as soft as usual. I'm sure it will be with use, and I do enjoy feeling a rope evolve like that, but the stuff we sell should be softer from the word go, I think. ETA: Pulling the rope through a few links on a 2 1/2" chain made it all lovely and soft! Yay! Edited 19 Mar 09, 2:18 PM by Say_it_with_string |
