Colors

Colors are first of all a matter of personal preference. However, most experience bondage masters will use either different colors or different color tips at the ends of the ropes to identify ropes for special purposes (such as ropes that are only to be used in the genital area). You can die your ropes yourself, using textile die for synthetic fabrics.

Please note that the colors used in the illustrations have no specific relevance. Colored fibers, braided into the rope, will usually indicate size and/or strength.

Maintenance

Maintenance is paramount. You need to wash your ropes regularly to avoid unwanted infections. Simply put them in your washing machine and wash using a mild soap. If you wrap them into a blanket first, they are less likely to get entangled.

Ropes, used in the genital area, should be used for the same person only, in order to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

Regularly check your ropes for damaged fibers. A damaged rope is a potential danger, especially when used for suspension purposes. be aware that sudden moves, fighting and suspension may cause considerable peak tension and a damaged rope may break unexpectedly.
Tips

One thing that requires attention are the rope endings, the tips or “tackles”. There are various ways to secure the ends of your rope. The easiest way, suitable for synthetic ropes, is to simply hold the end in a candle flame and melt it together. That is the fastest, easiest way, but not necessarily an aesthetic way.

Boat shops will sell special fluid for your rope ends. Just dip the end of the rope into the fluid and leave it to dry for a little while. Latex based glue will do exactly the same thing and may sometimes be easier to find. Finally, if you wrap the end tightly with a plastic tape and shrink it carefully over a mild heat source you will create a very nice plastic tube that secures your rope end. By using different colors you can easily identify your ropes.

Experienced sailors will tell you there are other – more professional – ways to finish and secure your rope ends as well. If you buy a book about fisherman’s knots for example you’ll find all sorts of examples of such more professional rope tips. However, since most of these techniques are complicated, we will concentrate on the easy techniques here.

We strongly advise to use sets with different rope lengths. Using different ropes – instead of one or two very long ropes – makes it easier to tie and untie the bondage, allows for adjustments and in general is a lot simpler and safer. There is no telling what your rope set should look like – every dominant has his own requirements and some couples are into more complicated rope bondages than others.

Your very basic set looks like this for a small to medium size female sub (for bigger sizes add approximately one yard per size):

1/ four 5 to 6 MM (0.24 inch) diameter ropes, each about sixteen feet/five meter long (most frequently used) – the dimensions of these ropes may vary based on individual physique. These ropes are used for many purposes: to tie ankles or wrists or to tie a limb to something else for example.

2/ two 5 to 6 MM (0.24 inch) diameter ropes, each about thirty three feet/ten meter long, used for body harasses

Softening your ropes

Most people will want to soften their ropes. New rope is usually somewhat rough and stiff. A good start is to simply throw your rope(s) in the washing machine, wash them at a standard medium temperature program and use fabric softener. One or two machine washes will dramatically soften your rope and regularly washing your ropes is a good idea anyway, for hygienic reasons.

A laborious technique, favored by many experienced bondage masters, is to buy twin kernel rope (which is considerably more expensive) and pull out one of the kernels. This is a tough job to do, but the main advantage is that your ropes will be softer and more smooth on the skin, without losing strength (double kernel ropes are used by mountaineers for their safety lines, hence removing one of the kernels will still leave you with a very strong and durable bondage rope).

The proverbial bandage scissors

You’ll see it advocated on the net and elsewhere: have a pair of bandage scissors or heavy duty emergency shear used in ER’s. Another good safety The best safety measure is to make sure there are panic hooks or panic hitches at your critical release points and to have a sail maker knife (available from boat shops) available for the (unlikely) event you need to cut ropes.

The above article is a reprint from our information/educational site Kink Culture.
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