Quick! I need rope!

[Black_Bunny]

My PYL has set a task for me to gather some things for the coming weekend, I have everything except rope! What do you recommend? More importantly, is there good rope readily available? I'm without transport at the moment, so I'm trying to avoid the hardware store. Is anything available in the supermarket, department store, or even the sex store? What on earth am I looking for when buying rope?

 

[Primalex]

My PYL has set a task for me to gather some things for the coming weekend, I have everything except rope! What do you recommend?

Hit him with a club.

Do you tie him up? No.
Do you prepare the play session? No.

So it doesn't make sense at all that you purchase it, especially as you lack the experience.

Does he plan fire play? Then avoid nylon rope.
Does he plan to just make you immovable or does he want to make you feel the rope much more? This can determine whether it should be braided or twisted rope.
How long will he tie you up? This determines the rope thickness - the thinner the rope, the earlier you need to untie.
How experienced is he with bondage? Should the rope be easily cutable with scissors in case of an emergency?
Does he want to do traditional shibari? Then hemp or jute rope is mandatory.

...

Well, with a task like this, I guess he expects 3/8" hemp rope. Garden centers might be another option to the hardware stores. No idea about the sex stores in your area, but here you'll just get padded handcuffs....

 

[Black_Bunny]

Hit him with a club, hahahaha

Thanks for your all your info. I don't mind at all that he's given me the responsibility. He told me to write a scene description to give him an idea of what I like (and maybe other reasons unknown to me perhaps?) Then he asked me to gather the materials needed for this scene. He will pick and choose whatever aspects of the scene he feels like, but if I'm to go by my scene, the rope would be used for heavily binding the hands and feet, and vertical suspension, for only a short period of time. He is experienced, although I don't know if this is a little or a lot when it comes to rope bondage. Fire play is a hard limit so nylon would be fine but how is this on the skin? And what is shibari??

Ok, so 3/8" hemp rope, meaning...

I've seen "Japanese Love Silk Rope" in our sex stores but never paid much attention to it. It's also how we came across the awesome bondage tape. And the cuffs you see in my pic.

 

[Lizzie_Borden]

My PYL has set a task for me to gather some things for the coming weekend, I have everything except rope! What do you recommend? More importantly, is there good rope readily available? I'm without transport at the moment, so I'm trying to avoid the hardware store. Is anything available in the supermarket, department store, or even the sex store? What on earth am I looking for when buying rope?

Ouch. Umm.

You're gonna have to go to Bunnings I think... the stuff you could probably get elsewhere I think might do more harm than good.

But if you're desperate, KMart, usually in the auto/hardware section will have something.

 

[Primalex]

Fire play is a hard limit so nylon would be fine but how is this on the skin?

Uhm, usually more comfortable, unless you have a nylon allergy..

And what is shibari??

A word used in the western states to express the concept of "bondage as art".

Ok, so 3/8" hemp rope, meaning...

http://hempbasics.com/shop/ccp0-catshow/Hemp-Rope.html

I've seen "Japanese Love Silk Rope" in our sex stores but never paid much attention to it. It's also how we came across the awesome bondage tape. And the cuffs you see in my pic.

I wouldn't use silk rope for suspension, after all, it's the weakest kind of rope. I suspect the safe working load of this "play rope" is around 300 pounds. This is sufficient to lift someone vertically, but knots decrease the working load of a rope - then add some momentum...

But I'm no bondage guru, there are some people here with much more experience and knowledge.

 

[rida]

*snip* the rope would be used for heavily binding the hands and feet, and vertical suspension, for only a short period of time. He is experienced, although I don't know if this is a little or a lot when it comes to rope bondage.

When it comes to rope bondage and rope suspension, there should be a lot of care involved. A full suspension from wrists only (as opposed to being straining on your toes while you are half hanging from your wrists) it is very dangerous and sure way to get serious nerve damage.

If you want to go ahead anyway, make sure that the rope is not slippery and it holds the knots well. Make sure that it can carry the weight load you'll be hanging (with yute or hemp, usually stay on the 8mm one), and also make sure that the ties on your wrists will not cinch and lock tighter with suspension.

My suggestion would be to use rope simply to bind your body and in that case, any kind of rope that you like the feel of and that can be cut quickly (make sure to get sheers as well) is fine. For wrists suspension, there are suspension cuffs in the market (I got mine from huse.com) that should reduce the risks. I have to say however that mine still hurt as I have a severe case of carpal tunnel.

I've been personally hang by wrists and ankles with cuffs and with the ability to hold on a bar with my hands. It was still a very dangerous suspension for my wrists. I trusted my PYL also because he can hold me up with one arm and took me down very quickly.

ETA: "shibari" literally means "tie", from the Japanese word: shibaru = to tie

 

[Black_Bunny]

Thanks all.

I thought Bunnings would be the best Lizzie but it means paying for a taxi probably

rida, I don't think it will be full suspension, in fact, enough to hold my arms up while my feet remain flat on the floor may be all it is. I hadn't thought of using the cuffs together with the rope, that might be a better idea

 

[rida]

Thanks all.

I thought Bunnings would be the best Lizzie but it means paying for a taxi probably

rida, I don't think it will be full suspension, in fact, enough to hold my arms up while my feet remain flat on the floor may be all it is. I hadn't thought of using the cuffs together with the rope, that might be a better idea

Why keep your feet flat on the floor when you could be on your toes?

And cuffs and rope together makes for a lot of fun play

 

[Evil_Geoff]

I'm just a bondage dabbler, not the rigger on this board, Homburg is the go-to guy. I've seen him work, and he's good. Pop him a PM for rope advice.

 

[Homburg]

I'm just a bondage dabbler, not the rigger on this board, Homburg is the go-to guy. I've seen him work, and he's good. Pop him a PM for rope advice.

Thank you, EG. I consider that high praise coming from you.

--

As to rope, if you want an in-depth discussion of type, I've got a post linked in the thread that is in my sig. The big questions were already asked by Primalex though. Rope is somewhat specific to its' use. Any rope, at the end of the day, can be used to affect immobility, but many will work better than other for that purpose.

If you want what I would consider the simplest, I would suggest a nylon/poly blend in solid braid, and, judging from your pics, go with 1/4" or 38" (6mm and 8mm respectively). You are in Australia, so your terms might be different, as may your availability. Here, nylon/poly blend bought off the spool is generally the best bet. I'd avoid bagged rope as, frankly, you never know what you're getting.

I would strongly advise against suspension if the person tying is not well experienced.

 

[Homburg]

I wouldn't use silk rope for suspension, after all, it's the weakest kind of rope. I suspect the safe working load of this "play rope" is around 300 pounds. This is sufficient to lift someone vertically, but knots decrease the working load of a rope - then add some momentum...

But I'm no bondage guru, there are some people here with much more experience and knowledge.

While I agree with you on the "play" silk rope being horribly weak, properly laid silk is beautifully strong stuff. I wouldn't use it for suspension for other reasons, but the load is not one of them. Unfortunately, it is really tough to judge working load on a lot of the organics as, well, they aren't actually tested more often than not. And the few that do test are subject to the variances of natural material. They are just not going to be as consistent as synthetics. This is why my primary suspension line is some lovely premium yachting nylon twist rated at 3800lb. I'll save the pretty organics for the actual harnesses where that are reinforced 18 times, and leave the point load-bearing to more trustworthy synthetics.

I am picking nits here, not criticising your post. The questions you ask and advice given were spot on. Bondage guru or not, I agree with what you posted. The bits about knots decreasing working load is something that very few people realise. Good on ya.

If you ever decide that you want to play with good silk, Madame Butterfly is the person to go to. She is the one that makes silk rope for Monk and I believe she is the supplier for Kinky Ropes too. Her silk is incredible, and her bamboo is really lovely as well. (And Madame Butterfly herself is an absolute gem to hang out with.)

 

[00Syd]

[silk rope hijack]

Seb got some silk rope a year ago, and damn that's some nice stuff. Not sure where he bought it from, maybe Kinky Ropes? I don't know. But it's really, wonderfully soft. The only problem with it is that any knots tighten down a lot, and become almost impossible to pull loose with hands alone. Seb almost always has to use his Marlins Spike.

[/silk rope hijack]

 

[Homburg]

[silk rope hijack]

Seb got some silk rope a year ago, and damn that's some nice stuff. Not sure where he bought it from, maybe Kinky Ropes? I don't know. But it's really, wonderfully soft. The only problem with it is that any knots tighten down a lot, and become almost impossible to pull loose with hands alone. Seb almost always has to use his Marlins Spike.

[/silk rope hijack]

This is one of the reasons why I would not use it for suspension

 

[00Syd]

This is one of the reasons why I would not use it for suspension

Yeah, he never uses it for suspensions, either. It's usually reserved for more intimate moments, because it's not good for suspension (which we can only ever do it public), and because it's my rope, so to speak

 

[Black_Bunny]

I'm going to have a look at some of the silk rope on Thursday, they reckon it's "Quality Tested, High-Tensile Construction." Not sure how 'quality' the testing is though :-/ My Dominant is not stupid enough to do something that he's got no clue about... in fact I'm the one 'throwing caution to the wind' while he is taking care of everyone's safety... that's his job right? So I'm sure if I present him with rope that's no good for suspension, he won't use it for suspension. But it's ok to just hold the weight of my arms up right?

 

[rida]

But it's ok to just hold the weight of my arms up right?

Sure!
Just watch out for carpal tunnel nerve compression

Depending if the tied wrists are the meat of the suffering, or just a prop for other activities, you want the tied wrists to be as comfortable as possible, so that you can keep the position for long.

 

[Black_Bunny]

Depending if the tied wrists are the meat of the suffering, or just a prop for other activities, you want the tied wrists to be as comfortable as possible, so that you can keep the position for long.

If I go by the scene I've written, the tied wrists are to enable some whipping action But then, depending if he needs to cut it off or not, I'm sure we would use the rope again for another purpose

 

[rida]

If I go by the scene I've written, the tied wrists are to enable some whipping action But then, depending if he needs to cut it off or not, I'm sure we would use the rope again for another purpose

Mmmmm ... Whipping

Sounds like a delicious scene (I can picture the dancing your feet will ne doing)

 

[Black_Bunny]

Ahhh, have to stop thinking about it... I still have to wait four more days!

He he

 

[Evil_Geoff]

*sighs*

Sounds like such fun! Too bad I'm literally half-way around the globe.

 

[YourCaptor]

They sell basic rope good for restraining at most sex shops. It's soft cotton or something like that.

If you plan on being tied too something, remember their has to be something to be tied onto.

And don't be stupid, you don't want a darwin award or a special mention in some medical journal. Really it happens, Ive seen the articles.

 

[Black_Bunny]

I bought the Japanese silk rope at the sex shop today. It is surprisingly soft It also came with a little booklet all about safe rope bondage... here's a bit of trivia from the book: "Most bondage injuries are not with beginners, but rather with experienced players who get too ambitious and do risky things." Hee hee hee I just thought that was interesting

 

[FungiUg]

Is anything available in the supermarket, department store, or even the sex store? What on earth am I looking for when buying rope?

Depending on how experienced the rope top is may make a difference to the type of rope you want to purchase as well. For example, I haven't graduated to hemp, I'm still on basic cotton rope (which I can buy from various places at usually about $2 a hank.) Cotton rope is also good for dying in various colours.

At the far extreme, if you are looking to do suspension with rope, you're best buying stuff specifically designed with that in mind. A sports store with a climbing section would have that.

You can also look at marine stores, hardware stores. Supermarkets may have twine of some form, but it's usually plastic (not a great choice for bondage).

Another thought: you may want to look at how best to store and care for rope. Silk and cotton rope can be washed (throw them in the washing machine inside a bag or pillow case). You can do a form of macrame to link them for storage. Other ropes need to be hanked for storage, and may also need to be hung.

For safety, make sure you also have a pair of shears handy if things go wrong.