Rope Care Recommendations
Disclaimer – Use these instructions as a guide only. Rope treatment depends on the type of rope you own, the products being used, the intended use of the rope and your personal preference for the end ‘feel’ of your rope.
These are some recommendations on how to use our products.
Our Rope Conditioner, Rope Soak and Rope Polishing Bars will help to smooth, soften, protect and prolong the life of your ropes, leaving them with a light shine.
Well maintained and conditioned rope, is safer and longer lasting rope; less friction = less wear and tear.
For new, untreated ropes, we recommend softening them up first and de-fluffing a little, using a Dry Treatment Method or full Wet Conditioning.
If you can, cycle your ropes. Use the new ropes for your uplines only, until they have softened and smoothed down, then replace your older ropes.
However, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort initially, a full Wet Conditioning will yield the best results.
Just be careful not to over treat your rope, especially with heat, as this will weaken your rope and shorten it’s lifespan.
*Red Rigger Rope Conditioner (soft wax blend) – *
We recommend applying our soft rope conditioner to your new ropes, whenever your current ropes start to feel dry and/or scratchy and after frequent or strenuous usage.
Simply apply to a cloth or hands and run over your rope slowly, starting with light pressure and increasing your grip steadily as you run the length of the rope. If needed, start again until evenly distributed. You may need to leave the ropes for a day or two, to let the conditioner melt in, though this is not necessary.
If needed, especially if you have rope with a loose twist, we suggest lightly tensioning and twisting the ropes (in the direction of the twist) to re-set them. After you have twisted pull heavily on the rope from one end before releasing.
This process depends of course on your particular rope, so use as a guide to work out how best to treat your lovelies.
Rope Polishing Bars (hard wax blend) –
Our Rope Polishing Bars are best used after initial treatment, to help smooth down fuzzies and seal the rope.
Simply rub the bar lightly over your ropes, hold two bars together and run rope between them, or use a soft cloth to apply. Use this wax very sparingly.
By rubbing our hard wax over your ropes, you are helping to protect, smooth and seal them.
Rope Soak (no wax, just 100% Camellia Oil or Hemp Seed Oil) –
Red Rigger’s Rope Soak, is best used to initially treat new ropes. The oil will penetrate jute and hemp ropes, helping to soften the rope up and make it easier to handle.
Apply in the same manner as our Rope Conditioner, just use a little more of this.
Wet Conditioning
• Place rope in a large pot of boiling water. Fully immerse the rope (cover with something to weight it down in the pot if needed) and leave for up to 5 minutes. We have also placed rope in a lingerie bag in the washing machine on HOT, gentle cycle with minimum spin and hypoallergenic fabric softener. It becomes quite tangled though.
• Remove, unravel and dry the ropes in a straight line from end to end, under light tension, adjusting tighter as needed, as it dries. Ensure rope is completely dry before continuing. DO NOT MISS THIS STEP.
• Run the ropes through your hands or a cloth, slathered in our Rope Soak, (100% Organic Camellia Oil). Try to ensure even distribution along the ropes.
• Leave for 1 day, to allow the oil to penetrate. Apply more Rope Soak, as needed/until you are happy with the feel, waiting 1 day between applications. Note – we usually apply 3 coats of Rope Soak.
• Singe fuzzies off of rope carefully with a camp stove or similar, do not burn the rope.
• OPTIONAL – Run the ropes through a cloth to remove any soot from singeing. A little sake on the cloth can help.
• Apply Rope Conditioner (soft blend of camellia oil and beeswax) generously and wait one day for it to absorb. Re-apply if needed. Note – we usually apply 2 coats.
• Apply the Rope Polishing Bar (hard blend of camellia oil and beeswax) sparingly. Note – we usually apply 1 light coating.
• OPTIONAL – bake in low temp oven until for 5 min or so, just until the wax has melted in. Be careful not to ‘overcook’ the rope.
• Apply more Rope Soak, Rope Conditioner and Rope Polisher as needed during the rope’s life span.
Dry Conditioning
• Place one end of a rope over a carabiner and wrap the rope over itself three times, creating a kind-of figure 8 pattern. Then with one hand on each side of the rope, saw it back and forth three times, before changing hand position and moving along the rope, bit by bit until you reach the end. We call this ‘breaking the spine’. Note – we usually complete 4 cycles min. on each rope.
• Run the ropes through your hands or a cloth, slathered in our Rope Soak, (100% Organic Camellia Oil). Try to ensure even distribution.
• Leave for 1 day, to allow the oil to penetrate. Apply more Rope Soak, as needed/until you are happy with the feel, waiting 1 day between applications. Note – we usually apply 3 coats of Rope Soak.
• Singe fuzzies off of rope carefully with a camp stove or similar, do not burn the rope.
• OPTIONAL – Run the ropes through a cloth to remove any soot from singeing. A little sake on the cloth can help.
• Apply Rope Conditioner (soft blend of camellia oil and beeswax) generously and wait one day for it to absorb. Re-apply if needed. Note – we usually apply 2 coats.
• Apply the Rope Polishing Bar (hard blend of camellia oil and beeswax) sparingly. Note – we usually apply 1 light coating.
• OPTIONAL – bake in low temp oven until for 5 min or so, just until the wax has melted in. Be careful not to ‘overcook’ the rope.
• Apply more Rope Soak, Rope Conditioner and Rope Polisher as needed during the rope’s life span.
When waiting in-between applications of oil or wax, leave the rope hanging if possible, or loosely coiled but not hanked.