Rope conditioning
Treating new natural-fiber rope, typically by breaking it in, singeing it and restoring oil or wax, so it becomes softer, cleaner and longer lasting.
Conditioning, also called treating, turns new natural-fiber rope, above all jute, into rope that is supple, sheds few loose fibers and feels comfortable on skin. Mo Bights of Shibari Study describes it as speeding up the softening that use would bring anyway and extending the rope’s life, and warns that poorly conditioned rope is harder to tie and can be a safety risk. Routines differ from one practitioner to the next. Common elements are breaking the rope in, singeing off fuzz and putting oil back in, often jojoba or camellia, sometimes followed by a wax; Shibari Study’s glossary also records the Japanese names bayu for horse oil, a traditional treatment for asanawa, and tsubaki for camellia, whose oil is used on rope. Sources split on wet methods: Nawa Kenshin describes washing or boiling and drying under tension, while Shibari Study prefers dry treatment and says boiling can significantly weaken rope.