Keeping your shibari rope in good condition extends its lifespan and, importantly, maintains its safety. If you choose to use natural fibre ropes like jute rope (see Shibari Study Rope Guide Part 1: The Basics for a five-minute crash course on the different types of bondage rope), conditioning your rope can make it more comfortable to use as well as increasing its longevity. If you use synthetic rope for shibari, you can probably ignore this article – synthetic fibres usually don't require any treatment and this type of rope is often washable simply by throwing it in a dishwasher and leaving it to air dry. By contrast, natural fibre shibari rope is a fickle beast requiring a whole bunch of steps to keep it in good condition. A small price to pay for those of us who prefer natural fibre ropes, especially if you know how to treat them…
When, why and how to condition shibari rope
The longer you learn and play with ropes, the more your practice begins to take on a distinctly personal flavour. This can extend to everything from how we tie to – you guessed it – how we treat and condition our ropes. Your own preference will depend on how soft or firm you like your rope, whether you’re conditioning a loose or tighter lay, or whether you want to subject your partner to a rougher or gentler experience.
Conditioning merely speeds up the natural relaxing and softening of your rope into its ideal form. In some ways, it's like breaking in a new pair of Docs or fresh Levi’s…
This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to condition your rope before using it for the first time. It will also soften over time through use and the natural oils of the body being transferred to the rope. Conditioning merely speeds up the natural relaxing and softening of your rope into its ideal form. In some ways, it's like breaking in a new pair of Docs or fresh Levi’s, knowing that the end result will be something that feels wonderfully robust, yet comfortable and gentle. Some people like to pretreat a little more than others; some of us (many Japanese kinbaku artists included) might just cut it straight off the reel, restrict it to uplines for the first few weeks and let nature take its course before using it for harnesses. During this time the rope will condition itself and most fuzzies and loose fibres will break off through friction and use.
Step-by-step jute rope conditioning
I find that rope conditioning methods fall into two camps: dry treatments and wet treatment. As jute rope is naturally hydrophilic, wet treatments can fundamentally affect the integrity of the rope, even after it has been dried, so I hugely prefer dry treatment methods and that's what I'll discuss below.
Ready to condition your ropes? Let’s go!
Step 1 - Secure the ends of your rope
Stopper knots come in many forms and whether you prefer the simplicity of an overhand knot, or the low profile of a thistle or Matthew Walker knot, the first step is to secure the ends of your rope so that it doesn’t unravel. For ease of joining during tying, I much prefer to use knots at the end of my ropes, as opposed to whipping or taped ends. However, if that’s your preference, that’s totally fine – rope is individual and what works for me may not be for everybody.
Step 2 - Tumble dry your rope
Tumble drying your rope introduces a small amount of heat to the fibres, which can help them to relax and soften after they have been through the turmoil of manufacture. This method may present a fire risk, so do be careful, or skip this step and just break your rope over a ring (more on that below).
What’s that smell? If running your ropes through the dryer generates an acrid smell, your rope was likely treated with jute batching oil (JBO). JBO is a kerosene-based oil used to keep machinery from clogging during the batching process of manufacturing rope, and if you use a rope that has been batched with JBO, you may need to stop and vent the dryer more often. If this is the case, ensure the room is well ventilated – JBO is a known carcinogen and you probably don’t want to vaporise it. Some people try to remove JBO from ropes using boiling or baking methods. However, this will dramatically reduce the strength of your rope by removing the lubrication that keeps the rope supple from between fibres. Once removed, this is hard to replace, so consider opting for a higher quality JBO-free jute instead.
When you tumble dry your rope, all the loose fibres will be shed and get picked up by the lint trap, leaving your rope with a few fuzzies left. It can, however, dehydrate your rope a little as it burns off some of the oils that keep your rope supple and strong. These oils will be replaced in a later step.
Be aware, you will be untangling a huge bundle of rope after this and cursing yourself for ever throwing 12 hanks of rope in your dryer. If you knot the ends of each rope together, it can make this easier (there’s some math on knot theory that can explain why closed loops don’t knot the same).
Note: If you don’t have access to a dryer, you can skip this step and, instead, break in your rope over a ring, bamboo or pull up bar using a method similar to the one I describe in Step 7. If you do this, it’ll essentially replace Step 2 in this process, before burning off fuzzies. I always recommend this is done on a large diameter hard point to avoid putting your rope under too much stress.
Step 3 - Singe off the ‘fuzzies’
After tumbling, your rope will be left with a few ‘fuzzies’, small fibres that stick out of your rope. These aren’t a problem but I like to burn them off as it gives a much cleaner appearance to the rope. To do this, light a gas flame (I use a portable camping stove) on high heat and pass the rope through the flame. Keep this moving quickly through the flame and the fuzziness will burn away without affecting the rope. I usually hold about 45cm (1.5 feet) between two hands and pass this through the flame back and forth for a second or two, gently twisting to get good coverage. You may find with JBO batched rope that this is a little more lively than JBO-free due to the batching oil.
Step 4 - Cleanse with rubbing alcohol (optional)
After singeing fuzzies, there can be a slight smell of burnt fibre on your rope. For some this is a homely smell, reminding them of campfires or the Christmas hearth, and if you’re one of those folks, just skip this step.
I like a nice neutral smell to my rope, so I put some rubbing alcohol (or sake or vodka) on a rag, and gently pull the rope through the rag from one end to the other and back. I go both directions to ensure that I’m not pulling imbalanced tension into the rope. This strips the rope of any burned smell and also removes any soot. From experience, this is worse with JBO batched rope and JBO-free rope tends not to hold any burnt smell for long.
Step 5 - Oiling the rope
Using the dryer method does dry the rope out, so applying jojoba oil will bring some hydration back to the rope. Think of this like skincare: not too much or your rope will become greasy and heavy but too little and it’ll be dry and brittle. I apply the oil to a rag, again pulling the rope from end to end and back again. I find applying using a rag gives a more even coverage compared to drawing it through my palm. When selecting an oil, always try to use something that has a long stable shelf life, such as jojoba or camellia oil, so this doesn't go rancid and spoil on your rope.
Step 6 - Waxing the rope (optional)
After oiling, I apply a small amount of wax. My personal wax is a mix (70:30) of soy wax and jojoba oil, which has the texture of caramel. Again, I apply a very small amount (less than a pea-sized amount per length) using a rag, or in the palm of my hand. As always, I go end to end and back.
Step 7 - Polishing the rope (optional)
Finally, I also polish my rope. To do this, I put one end of my rope over my bamboo, put two twists in the rope and gently draw the rope against itself. Usually, I pull this back and forth five times, then draw another section of rope and repeat, slowly working until I reach the end. I don’t apply a lot of pressure at this stage but it just helps to distribute the oil and wax evenly and give a nice lustre to the rope. This is totally optional and a somewhat ritualistic choice on my part.
These are my own steps for conditioning my rope. If I reflect on this, after cutting my rope and before it ever gets placed on someone's body, I have passed the entire length of every rope through my hands no less than 10 times. It gives me a great opportunity to look for any slight imperfections, remove any woody bits (mostly an issue on cheaper, lower quality ropes) and ensure my rope is in optimal condition.
From above: untreated jute rope, freshly conditioned jute rope, and lastly, a well-loved and used jute rope (the broken-in Levi’s equivalent).Jute rope maintenance
If you find that your jute or other natural fibre rope is becoming dry or getting fuzzy from use, you can repeat steps 3-7 to give your rope some TLC and get it back in good condition. Consider this a regular part of your rope maintenance – how regular really depends on how often and how intensely you tie. For someone tying infrequently or mostly doing floor rope, this might be once a year; for someone doing two or three sessions of intense suspension a week, this might be a matter of every eight to 12 weeks. Find a cadence that works for you and commit to keeping that rope in tip-top shape: poor condition rope is not only more difficult to tie with but can also be a safety risk.
I hope this guide has given some pointers and tips on how to condition and maintain your natural fibre bondage ropes. Watch this space for our next rope care article on how to store your ropes for shibari...
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