It’s not as fast as some synthetic ropes; because of the higher tooth, it will travel more slowly over skin and clothing. There’s also a greater likelihood of surface abrasion and friction burn if you move it really quickly or with great pressure. I realize that what I just wrote may be true, but it’s not actually useful. In fact, I’ve seen people exhibit immense frustration over such responses. In fact, I’ve seen people exhibit immense frustration over such responses. And to be honest, I’d much rather be helpful. Nylon, MFP (multi-fiber propylene), “Mixed Fiber” Rope, Poly-pro, Parachute cord. Pro: Better “tooth”, so it grabs better and takes fewer knots to hold securely. Not terribly pricey at Bunnings. Cons:.
Let’s start with cotton. To your right is a picture of braided cotton rope from one of the many 1-8 dollar shops in my city. But what I like really isn’t that important. Different people will have different priorities. In general, most synthetic ropes are like that, to one level or another. This is actually a hollow braid kind of rope; meaning it’s a polypropylene braid wrapped around a core of something.
Depending on the source of your rope, it can be a real pain in the ass of a rope for a beginner, because the knots in what I got from the 1-8 dollar shop compact down like you wouldn’t believe. You can spend ages trying to unpick those things, which leads to swearing and frustration and a general lack of cool. The knots used in the single column and two column ties which I posted about earlier will do a solid job of holding things in place, but feel free to use anything that isn’t a slip knot. Next we have a Zenith All-Purpose rope, which is a solid polypropylene braid. And tastes and priorities may change, which is cool. Mine certainly have: I went from feeling “so-so” about hemp to loving it, just by getting a different supplier. Which is fantastic! It’s always great to have some idea of exactly how much your rope can take. For our purposes though, what’s great about this bondage rope is the way it feels.
You need fewer wraps to get a safe distribution of pressure. I don’t see why there would be any issues washing it other than tangling; you wouldn’t have to dry it under tension because it’s not a natural fibre rope. It’s generally quite strong; you can usually put it under heavy load with minimal fear of stretch or breakage unless its obviously frayed. Goes well with the traditional shibari aesthetic; has that natural, organic kind of look. If you want to buy your own natural fiber rope and condition it yourself so that it is ready to use for bondage without being too prone to giving you or your partner rope burn, McVarij has a nice tutorial on what you need to do. Perhaps after doing this yourself once or twice, you will understand why bondage rope vendors charge what they do for bondage-ready rope!
TwistedMonk is great source and buying from othem helps support TheDuchy! Twisted Monk makes amazing rope explicitly designed for bondage. Somewhat pricey, it comes in a variety of lays (“lay” refers to how tightly it’s twisted together). The tighter the lay, the stiffer and more durable the rope tends to be. But every time I’ve used it, whatever I’ve been wearing or my partner has been wearing has wound up dusted in the stuff. It also makes things more likely to be itchy, sneezy, etc. Two kinds of braided cotton rope. They’re both technically braided ropes; however the rope on the right seems to have a denser kind of braid, which means it doesn’t have the same issue with the knots compacting down as hard as the stuff from the 1-8 dollar shop. So, interesting learning from that one; denser braid makes for less difficult knots. Tossa jute is just freaking amazing, and has given me very much the results that I wanted, when I wanted them. Yes, I had to break it in fairly extensively; but once that was done, it’s always served me well.
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