That beautiful buttery soft rope has served you well, infused with the sweat, oils and essence of every rope session that it has been used in. People who practice shibari spend many hours becoming intimately acquainted with their rope from the first moment it’s opened, unwrapped or cut from the reel, adding stopper knots and conditioning it with love, care and attention. However, all good things must come to an end, and this is especially true with rope.
Within the rope community, I have lost count of the number of times people have asked me when to retire rope, how long a rope kit will last or whether a specific rope can still be used. It’s a question we are asked here at Shibari Study too. As with many things rope related, the answer “it depends” is the most accurate but also, frustratingly, the most obscure.
Within the rope community, I have lost count of the number of times people have asked me when to retire rope, how long a rope kit will last or whether a specific rope can still be used.
It depends on how often you tie. It depends on what you are using the rope for. It depends on your rope handling and what style of rope you prefer. Maybe you’re using rope casually in the bedroom for some light restraint to accompany other activities… Or perhaps you’re using your rope for semenawa
The life cycle of a shibari rope
For many people practicing shibari, ropes go through a similar life cycle. For those using their ropes for suspensions, a nice, fresh new rope will often start life as an upline to break it in, before being promoted to harnesses and body rope after time and use has softened it a little. Then a time comes when a rope is removed from any suspension activity and becomes a “floor only” rope – it has served its time in load-bearing use and instead continues its life in floor-based bondage. This inevitably leads to the descent into the “messy rope” category: think outdoor rope, wet rope play, wax play, etc. Eventually, each rope will get taken out of circulation completely.
A time comes when a rope is removed from any suspension activity and becomes a “floor only” rope – it has served its time in load-bearing use and instead continues its life in floor-based bondage.
You might think that ropey folks really don't like letting go of their rope, and in my experience, you would be correct. We spend hours of time with our ropes (not to mention the money we invest in good-quality rope ) and tend to want to get the most out of them, so although a little tongue-in-cheek, this “life cycle” is a story I’ve heard many times over from many rope practitioners. That said, sometimes a rope will fast-track its way from any phase directly to the retirement home as a result of damage, and it’s this damage, as detailed below, that we would look for when judging whether a rope has tied its last futomomo .
Psst! We’re about to get technical here, so if you need a little refresher in the composition of a rope, first check out our Shibari Study Rope Guide Part 2: What Is Rope ?
High stranding
High stranding can either refer to a single yarn loop popping out of a strand, or an entire strand (although this is usually an imbalance – see 'Rope imbalances' below). When a yarn loop appears in your rope, this is usually either down to a problem with manufacturing, rope handling issues or some form of damage. The result is that that strand can be weaker as not all the yarns are taking load. Persistent high stranding is a significant problem when it comes to the structural integrity of your rope. This would definitely be a reason to retire the rope for any kind of suspension activity . You might still use this rope for completely floor-based bondage , but I would personally never use a high stranded rope where it is required to take any form of load. The severity of high stranding can vary, but it would look something like the below image. Commonly, this can happen near the bight where the largest amount of friction occurs or due to the continued bending of the rope at the halfway point (see 'Worn out bight' below).
Rope imbalances
Rope imbalances occur when a single strand of the rope is not laying in unison with the other strands . There are many reasons why this may occur, but it’s usually down to manufacturing faults where compression waves along the length of the rope cause them to be turned together unequally. Imbalances can also occur due to mishandling of the rope while crochet hooking and accidentally pulling one strand unevenly to the rest. This is a reason for practicing rope handling until it’s smooth and consistent, preventing damage to your rope. Imbalances can also be introduced when tying stopper knots, particularly as this can require you to unwind some of the strands. If, while tying the knot, you do not equally tension each strand, imbalances can occur.
This type of damage can again cause issues with the rope’s ability to take load, as either two or just one of the strands is taking more load than the rest. This weakens the overall length of rope. Rope’s strength comes from each strand sharing some of the load it is under, so imbalances can lead to other damage like broken yarns. In shibari, weakened ropes can have serious consequences, such as uplines breaking during lifts and suspensions.
Rope’s strength comes from each strand sharing some of the load it is under, so imbalances can lead to other damage like broken yarns. In shibari, weakened ropes can have serious consequences, such as uplines breaking during lifts and suspensions.
If the imbalance is occurring just at the end of your rope, such as where this was caused by tying a stopper knot, it’s possible you don’t need to completely retire the rope. Instead, you can cut off the affected end and re-tie your stopper. If the imbalance is in the middle or around the bight, again you might be able to cut your rope down and keep it as a “half length”.
Broken yarns
Broken yarns are pretty self explanatory, but identifying them takes a little understanding of rope construction. When rope is made, individual yarns are often spliced together with a small knot, either an overhand or weaver’s knot. In most cases, this is tiny and unnoticeable save for a small bump in the rope. If you see a little bit of yarn sticking out of your rope next to this splice, it probably isn’t significant. However ,if you find a section of rope with a broken yarn that isn’t near a splice, this indicates some form of damage. This could be that the rope has become weak over time and the yarns are starting to degrade or may be the result of some damage from a sharp object. Consider broken yarns an indicator to retire or cut down your rope as they will reduce the strength of your rope and possibly indicate bigger issues such as your rope being too dry or brittle. In most cases where rope breaks during shibari, this happens suddenly and without warning, so why take the risk?
Worn out bights
This refers to the likelihood of damage occurring at the bight of the rope. In shibari, we typically work with a doubled over rope, so the bight of your rope (where you fold it in half) is consistently being manipulated over and over. Just like taking a piece of wire and bending it back and forth until it breaks, this friction will cause damage to your rope localised at the bight. You might start to see early indications of this if your bight is twisting a lot, or you see fraying of yarns at the bight. Being that it’s in the centre of the rope, rope suffering a worn out bight is a good candidate for cutting in half to prevent further damage. Although your bight will commonly not be taking significant load in any uplines or harnesses, this kind of damage is again indicative that your rope is getting weaker and might need to take the next step in its life cycle.
Other reasons to retire bondage rope
These types of damage, although not exhaustive, represent the most common reasons you might want to retire your rope. Other less critical reasons may be that your rope has become wet, which causes the strands of your rope to swell and become imbalanced. Alternatively, your rope might have been used in a particular place where it has become soiled, for example, outside, during wax play or for more intimate activities, as any foreign dirt or debris that your rope picks up has the potential to cause damage over time.
The connective nature of rope is a very powerful part of its appeal and, for some, you might feel that your rope is “energised” with the person you tie with, so it’s totally valid (but less highlighted compared to safety reasons) for you to retire a rope for this reason.
Certainly less safety critical but something that people may also find is the emotional attachments we form in rope partnerships. I personally would not use the rope set I have for my wife with anyone else and where I have cut custom lengths of ropes for other rope partners, they have been retired from active duty if that rope relationship comes to an end. The connective nature of rope is a very powerful part of its appeal and, for some, you might feel that your rope is “energised” with the person you tie with, so it’s totally valid (but less highlighted compared to safety reasons) for you to retire a rope for this reason. If your rope has certain memories or emotions attached to it, you may want to consider retiring it even if it’s still perfectly functional. In these cases, you might want to memorialise the rope by turning it into a piece of art, a fun rope gag or even an impact toy.
Community contributions
We asked our Shibari Study community to provide some examples of ropes that they have removed from their regular rope kit and their reasons for doing so. Some examples below:
rope imbalances by @IJhus rope imbalances by @Canalynx frayed strands @Devil Mask Society damaged rope by @Canalynx Knowing when to retire a rope certainly falls into the spectrum of art, not science. However, if you're looking to replace your rope, you can now buy your rope directly from the new Shibari Study Store .
