Topic: Rope question (Page 1 of 1)

For the past while I have been doing a lot of rope stuff. I can tie a variety of knots and can weave in several patterns. It keeps my hands busy and a small part of my brain focused while another part of my brain things about other things.

One of my big problems is that I don't like synthetic ropes at all. They are just so nasty. Doesn't feel right. I have quite a bit of cotton rope, but I can't seem to find 1/2" cotton or bigger. And I'm not sure where in my area to look for 1/2" cotton or bigger.

So I bought some twine. Only 50' and I think it's 1/4" or so. Not sure what kind of fibers exactly, but definitely natural if a bit rough.

My problem with the twin is that it's all curly and stuff from sitting all wound up for so long. Any idea if it will be okay to soak in water for a bit and let it dry? Will this take the curliness out and loosen it up a bit? Normally I would just go ahead and do it, but it's spliced in a few places and I don't want to inadvertly un-splice the twine with water.

??

Wow. I think that's the first rope-related question in the Asylum.

-S

My guess would be that it would soften and then shrink upon drying. If you were to soak it and let it dry while it is wound on a large drum (24"-36") or something to keep it stretched would probably be best.

A quick Google yielded these for cotton rope up to 1":

http://www.rockportroost.com/partsrope.html
https://www.knotandrope.com/catalog.php?r=browse&c=cotton&gclid=CM7pie-v5pgCFRBbagodQWxdcA
http://www.webriggingsupply.com/pages/catalog/rope/rope-3strand-manila.html#E

Best unit cost I saw was $0.37.

HTH

GD

The rope that I bought only cost $3. So, I decided to give soaking it a go. As soon as I dropped it in the hot water, it started to smell very much like a corn fiber broom. Makes me wonder if I should have tossed in some salt as well. Let is soak for about 1/2 hour.

So far it seems to have dried just fine. Wish I would have waited for Gryth's suggestion of wrapping it around a drum, but I got antsy. (Sorry, Gryth, but I currently have to keep my purchases local. Definitely thanks for trying, though. At least now I know what to expect with respect to prices if I find anything around these parts.)

One thing I highly recommend is learning to tie an adjustable grip hitch. See the first knot here: http://www.layhands.com/Knots/Knots_Hitches.htm. That knot right there has saved my butt multiple times in a variety of situations.

I am thinking about poking around the seedier areas of knot tying. One idea that tickles me pink is doing a plant pot hanger thingie using bondage-oriented knots instead of the usual macrame.