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Twine annotate p1050367

A few weeks ago, cut 3 130" lengths from a spool of the Bed, Bath and Beyond Twine that I purchased in 2012 (the 17 unfluffy thread kind). 

All three strands were soaked in water and Dawn Pro in the sink for an hour, rinsed and hung to dry.

The remaining two twine lengths were simmered/boiled for 30 minutes.

Both of those lengths were hung to dry.

One of those strands was soaked for 30 minutes in 1 tablespoon washing soda and 8 ounces water then rinsed and air dried.

The final length of the strings was 118" for the unboiled twine. The other two strings were 110".

The strands were marked with different colors using colored permanent markers (red, green, and blue Sharpies) and then tied to make a loop. Split rings were attached with lark's head knots.

This morning I went out for a few minutes to try them. I had three dipping containers into which I poured  about 300 ml of an HEC-based juice.

I did 8 dips of each loop in its own juice container. My impression was that the red and blue marked loops were very similar. They could make close to 20 foot open tubes or 3 or 4 3-foot diameter bubbles. The green-marked loop seemed to release the juice more slowly. The tubes were slightly longer. I could get up to 6 3-foot bubbles. It just felt better than the others.

The red and blue loops were quite self-closing AFTER making several bubbles or a 20 foot tube. The green seemed possibly less self-closing.

When I did the test, I had no idea which loop was the soda washed one. The green-marked loop felt very different.

It turns out to have been the soda-washed twine.

I didn't do any video and will need to compare a few more times, but it looks like Brian's soda washing has a distinct benefit.

This loop -- under these conditions with this juice -- performed as well as a 30" top-string loop of the Lehigh SecureLine diamond braid cord with which I often test.

WASHING SODA NOTE. Washing soda is hard to find but easy to make. Baking soda put in the oven at 275F or 300F for an hour or so will do the trick. BE CAREFUL. Washing soda is very alkaline. Handle it with gloves and don't breathe in any dust.

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