There’s an informative article about the preparation of Okinawa jute rope by Steamybedtime on their site which they wrote about after receiving some from ESINEM-Rope. It has an illustrated guide showing their first, and seemingly very successful, experiment in treating rope, plus links to my free video tutorial and a couple of other guides. There’s no one right way to do it as the results will differ, as will your preferences. Of course, we all have our own favourite method, just like we all have a way we like our coffee.
Two common mistakes are, firstly, over-oiling or waxing, making the rope heavy and greasy. Secondly, poor burning off. Keep the rope moving to avoid scorching and use a clean flame, e.g. not a candle which tends to be sooty. A gas cooker is great but if you don’t have one, get a simple gas camping stove. They are for peanuts on eBay and the like. In fact, get one anyway, unless you want to clean burned rope stubble off your cooker and prefer to avoid the of he or she who demands a spotless kitchen. Although, I must say I do like the house being filled with that burned straw smell of freshly singed rope.