I have been scouring the world for even better jute to expand the range of shibari rope at ESINEM-Rope. Above, you’ll see the new jute that is on its way to me now. I think it will fly out the door but as I have only ordered an initial 100kg of the blonde and natural colours, you might need to be quick. Like Osaka, Tossa Lite and Ichiban Light, this will a loose laid rope that doesn’t need wet treatment to make it soft and flexible. It comes pre-washed to save you a lot of hassle and avoid the risk of damaging it by incorrect wet treatment. If you have tried, you will know that, without a lot of care, wet treating can ruin rope that doesn’t have a hard twist.
The new rope will be of a similar feel and fibre quality to Ichiban Light but with much stricter quality control, both during manufacture and prior to shipping. Unfortunately, some of the Ichiban Light suffered from a ply imbalance and I had to exchange quite a few ropes. As it was pre-packed, we were unaware that some of the delivery was not up to standard until we had some returns. As our rope is usually supplied on the reel, every inch passes through the hands of an experienced rigger, i.e. Nina, Mosaru or I, so it is checked by feel and eye. The new jute will come on the reel so will be subject to the same rigorous (or should that be rigger-ous?) inspection to ensure it meets the high standards I demand.
To keep you coming back and to stay ahead of my competitors, I never rest in the search for better rope so always aim for the ultimate. I’m very excited by the look of the sample below. It looks very much like the very best rope I have had from Japan. Japanese rope to be of mixed quality as, inevitably, they suffer the same variance in fibre as everyone else. When it is really good, it seems to be the gold standard. Although I only have a photo from my supplier, the sample on the right looks very promising and certainly reminds me of that standard of rope. It has a high count of very consistent yarns with a lovely blonde hue reminiscent of some of Osada’s best batches. Of course, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating as they say. I should get my hands on samples in the new year so I can tell you how it feels.
They also sent me some images of some very unusual hemp that they manufacture. I’m not sure what to make of it so have asked for an opinion on a Fetlife thread. Tell me what you think.
