Why is whipping twine waxed?

[amanphoto]

I'm just curious why it's waxed? Please inform me.

[Chrisc]

Whipping twine is waxed to provide a bit of non-slip when working with it. For example, try tying a figure of eight knot. With non waxed twine you will have to put your finger on the first part to stop it slipping whilst you complete the knot. With waxed twine you will not have to do this. It will not (or should not) slip.

[Steve Bean]

Reduces fraying, lubricates when stitching. Originally with natural fibers.

[thinwater]

Also improves UV resistance and improves wear resistance.

Try working with unwaxed twine. Not much fun, so most folks keep a block of bee's wax handy.

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BTW, Dyneema twine is not waxed, doesn't take it well, and is thus very difficult for many uses. It is also provably 3-5 times WEAKER per rated strength than polyester twine unless you are sewing Dyneema. Tears through. It does wear better, but I need to do more side-by-side abrasion testing to know how that ends.

[Robin3]

I just threw away a reel of so-called whipping twine which was unwaxed., slipped so much the entire whipping came undone when I pulled on the end hard to tighten it. there should be a law against selling carp like that ( it came from a marine surplus store). Not so cheap and definitely not cheerful, leastways I wasn't

[delmarrey]

If it's not waxed then it's not whipping, it's some kind of string, not much use on a boat except maybe dropping weights down the mast to pick up a line. Even sail thread is waxed.

If its big enough, then it's called small stuff, for tying up wraps of line or cable, or for decorative knots around spars, stanchions or handholds.

[marujo.sortudo]

If you have some unwaxed thread, you can just pull it through a block of beeswax. Presto! Waxed thread! Heck, I do this even with waxed thread prior to whipping which makes if even better.

[HappyMdRSailor]

It's waxed because Mr. Miyagi says so....

Originally Posted by delmarrey

If it's not waxed then it's not whipping, it's some kind of string, not much use on a boat except maybe dropping weights down the mast to pick up a line. Even sail thread is waxed

Agreed... Unwaxed has (nearly) no use on a boat...

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

If it's not waxed then it's not whipping, it's some kind of string, not much use on a boat except maybe dropping weights down the mast to pick up a line. Even sail thread is waxed.

If its big enough, then it's called small stuff, for tying up wraps of line or cable, or for decorative knots around spars, stanchions or handholds.

THe blister pack it came in is labelled 'nylon braided Whipping Twine 100ft', from Bridgeline Ropes Trenton Ontario. Totally useless and a waste of the $2.95 the price sticker says I paid for it

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Robin3

THe blister pack it came in is labelled 'nylon braided Whipping Twine 100ft', from Bridgeline Ropes Trenton Ontario. Totally useless and a waste of the $2.95 the price sticker says I paid for it

Unwaxed twine is for stitch and whip or "sailmakers whipping". It means you need a needle to use it and different instructions. I posted it once with pictures; I'll try to find it.

EDIT:

http://www.sv-jedi.org/sv_jedi/2012/...ndlubber-.html

I used waxed thread I see, but it does work with unwaxed. I prefer waxed for all hand work and the biggest unwaxed thread I use is V138 for the machine.

[Robin3]

Ta but I dumped mine (but the pack was still on my desk) and I will stop by West Marine later today and get some proper stuff. I might also get some heat shrink tubing if I can find the size, all I'm doing is whipping some mooring warp ends...

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Robin3

Ta but I dumped mine (but the pack was still on my desk) and I will stop by West Marine later today and get some proper stuff. I might also get some heat shrink tubing if I can find the size, all I'm doing is whipping some mooring warp ends...

Heat shrink?!

Better not read my blog entry then

[Robin3]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Heat shrink?!

Better not read my blog entry then

I used to be able to do splices and whippings in my sleep but since I had a stroke i lost some dexterity and a whole bunch of patience (so she tells me!), we had a collection of heavyish three strand nylon docklines from our then liveaboard trawler and were merely adapting some of them to use as docklines for our new sailboat that will be left on the dock when we go out so are immediately available on our return. They had spliced loops each end and one of these loops was cut off and needed whipping. Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of a hot knife like yours so we started with a ragged end melted with a blowtorch power windproof ciggy lighter, the rest you know. I had used heatshrink tube before as a temporary solution on some lines that remained in use for over ten temporary years and was intending using it to hold the strands together whilst I put the whipping on (a simple one not the sailmakers one like yours), that way allows me to get away with the odd finger fumble without letting it all hang out and unravel again.

[amanphoto]

First attempted at whippings.

[Robin3]

very neat too, but is the black stuff self smslamating tape or heatshrink?