How is Rope Made?
Men have always needed rope for the rigging of ships, for hauling things, and for tying bundles. So ropemaking is one of the oldest industries in existence. All fiber used in making ropes is generally called “hemp,” but it may come from many different plants. The best rope material is the fiber of a plant called the abaca, which grows in the Philippines. This fiber is generally known as Manila hemp. It is easier to work with and stronger than other forms of hemp. The century plant of Mexico provides a material for making rope and so does coconut fiber. Rope can be made from cotton and flax fibers, but it is too expensive for general use. Until the 19th century ropes were made entirely by hand on rope-walks. These were long, low buildings in which the ropemaker walked backward, step by step, unwinding the fibers from about his waist. At the upper end of the walk, a boy turned a wheel to which one end of the rope yarn was attached. This wheel kept twisting the yarn while it was being spu
The rope, like the wheel, is a very important tool in human history. Much like the wheel, the rope is a simple invention that completely changed the capabilities of man. It allowed the earliest inventors to pull heavy objects, connect objects, and bind objects together. Furthermore, the combination of the rope and the wheel gave rise to pulleys, devices that are still used heavily today. Rope is made by binding fibers into one continuous line by either twisting or braiding them. Rope is the largest in the family of string, twine, yarn, and cord. There are many different fibers that can be used to create a rope. Hemp, cotton, linen, sisal, and jute are some of the natural fibers that are used to make rope. There are also many synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon that can be used to make rope. For industrial use, rope can also be made out of metal fibers. This may sound unusual. Consider, however, the bridges that you have walked, biked, or driven across in your life. There is a
Natural fibres, derived from the sinewy parts of plant stalks and leaves, have been used to make rope since ancient times. Flax, sisal and jute are still used in Hawes. Hemp was formerly used a great deal but is now virtually unobtainable. Some older readers may remember their local ropemaker preparing yarn for ropemaking. Individual threads were twisted together on a hand-powered machine which resembled a large spinning wheel. The last wheel to be used in Hawes can now be seen in the Upper Dales Folk Museum near the ropeworks. Following the preparation of yarn, the rope was twisted in the traditional way (as described lower down this page). A necessary additional step with some ropes was to give them a smoother, less hairy appearance by treating them with size (starch) to stick down the surface fibres. Mr. George Robinson of Slaidburn remembers the Outhwaites sizing cow ties “to take the whiskers off them”. This process is no longer used. The introduction of man-made fibres has given
