Right on time, the samples of the new reinforced jute arrived this morning. As an added bonus, I discovered they can also do a 4mm version which is good as rope always seems to put on an extra 1mm when you treat it or be slightly over specification in diameter. Admittedly, it’s hard to measure accurately. When do you take the measurement? As it goes on the reel when it is presumably at maximum tension? When it has been treated and has relaxed? Once it has been used a couple of times but not treated? Anyway, the picture shows a normal cigarette for comparison which is 7mm and the ropes are 6mm and 4mm respectively. They samples are both still new and stiff so I’d expect them to add 1mm once treated and used a bit; the 4mm might be just right for me at that stage.
The rope seems to be made of a good clean jute fibre with no dark coarse bits in the samples. The twist appears tight and very consistent with a high thread count, I’m very pleased with the quality, which is almost as high as my best tossa. The 4mm is 7 jute threads and 2 polypropylene threads per ply, whilst the 6mm is 10 and 4. It seems very similar to Tossa Asanawa off the reel so I have very confidence that it will be beautiful once treated and be extremely durable.
The key point of this rope is the reinforcement. Each of the 3 plies contains, not just one like other products, but several polypropylene mono-filament yarns. Not only does this lighten the rope but, most importantly, it adds greater strength to improve your safety margin. Judging by the number of rope break reports recently, this is an area that needs to be addressed. The glib answer is to use a rated rope but these tend to be synthetics which are unsuitable for other reasons. The purists want jute, there’s no getting away from that. Some of us have tried to solve the problem by adding synthetic fibres. In practice, too little has been added to make a significant difference and the white fibres become rather obvious as the natural fibre darkens with use. My rope solves this by using polypropylene fibre dyed to match the rope so it is very hard to detect.
The best thing about it is that the manufaturer is confident enough to quote breaking strains, e.g. 115kg for 4mm, 150kg for 5mm and 180kg for 6mm, if I recall. However, due to the natural fibre content, I would take these as a guide not as absolutes.
My suppliers don’t have more than 2,000m of each size. I’ll be taking half of that. Apparently, they can easily get more but how fast is the question; my Tossa Lite has a 3 month lead-time. Hopefully, the reinforced jute will be in stock in my eBay shop in the next few days, along with some rather cool hook safety cutters and suspension mounting hooks. The latter comprise a galvanised steel hook and ‘biner with nylon bearing and threaded bar M12 length 140mm, supplied with two nuts and two washers, for use with a wooden beam up to 125mm thick. It’s design ensures the hook cannot accidentally unscrew.
