Yes, I know it’s well overdue but, finally, I have done a video overview of our latest jute rope variant, NewAsa. I’d like to blame other competing things in my life but, in truth, idleness and procrastination have played a big factor.
What’s the big deal with NewAsa shibari rope?
Good question. As always, the big deal is pursuing the Holy Grail of the perfect jute rope for shibari. Of course, the perfect rope is always subjective and will depend on budget. Let’s face it, if money is no object, perfection is always easier to obtain. Sadly, most of us have budgetary constraints, especially after the problems created by Covid.
Japanese, loose laid, single yarn shibari rope (asanawa) is usually regarded as the ideal. It looks, feels and handles beautifully. There’s no doubt that bad rope makes it much harder to tie well. Once you try quality, you won’t want to go back. However, Japanese asanawa tends to be very pricey and have a rather short life when compared to tighter, double-yarn ropes. Of course, the downside of the latter is the hardness, necessitating wet treatment, and the lack of flexibility. The Osaka range made this type of rope affordable but didn’t overcome the need for careful handling and maintenance.
The unique construction of our Clara Premium jute heralded in a new type of shibari rope which employs five sub-plies of seven very fine yarns in each of the three plies which added a counter-twist (See Sjox’s review). This meant that the rope is much more stable and forgiving of mistakes in handling. So far, our original set has been used and abused regularly by Nina and I for nearly three years but is still going strong, which is outstanding. Unsurprisingly, the quality of the material and manufacture makes it our dearest jute. If you want a really soft and super pliable rope, look no further.
All the pros of Japanese jute without the cons
What we wanted was a similarly priced rope with the look’n’feel of Osaka but with durability and resilience on a par with double yarn ropes. Until now, it has been an either or choice. Fortunately, by taking some lessons from Clara Premium, our suppliers managed both. NewAsa employs four yarns per sub-ply or, if you prefer, quadruple yarns, somewhat less than Clara Premium. The result is so good that even close inspection isn’t enough to distinguish Osaka from NewAsa and I can only tell by counting the yarns.
If you like single yarn Japanese asanawa but don’t like the price or durability, you’ll love NewAsa. We had hoped to entirely replace Tossa with NewAsa but we have kept it on after die-hard fans begged us. However, I feel it is only a question of them trying NewAsa for them to switch their loyalty as it doesn’t need wet treating and handles much better. At this stage, you might be wondering why anyone would pay more for Clara Premium. Quite simply, Clara takes this construction to the next stage for optimal flexibility, super smoothness and, compressibility to form very compact knots and frictions. NewAsa has a bit more body due to being a little tighter laid, is a bit less compressible and has more springiness. Hopefully, the video will help explain the difference further.