Waxed popper thread? Poly popper thread?

[Indiana Jake]

While looking on ebay, I did a search for waxed poly thread. A number of listings made me curious. What do you think of using waxed poly or waxed nylon thread for poppers? What brand or size are you buying to make them? and how do they perform?

In an obsessive search to find some poly thread at several local hardware stores, I was surprised at what I found - or what I didn't find. A friend gave me a piece of Poly thread that he really liked for popper making. We assumed it was this stuff from Lehigh.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014CSEY2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I couldn't find it anywhere locally, so I went ahead and ordered some on-line. I'll keep you posted when it arrives.

I also ordered some poly thread from Mike Murphy Whips in Australia. To me, it makes a good popper.

Getting back to my recent hardware store search. I found alot of bulky nylon and bulky poly thread that I would not consider using for poppers because the thread diameter is too large. Most of this was the mason twine stuff.

I'm interested in opinions, sources, results, etc.

Thanks,

Jake

[riku1914]

The wax causes it to be more difficult to crack, I've used some waxed poly and it doesn't work as well as normal poly. Try this

site:

http://www.thethreadexchange.com/miva/m ... gory_Code=

http://www.thethreadexchange.com/miva/m ... gory_Code=

[sylviarosat]

Actually i never tried to wax the cracker,but i often thought that i have to try it.for now i'm using polyamid and i'm quite happy with it.

[riku1914]

I think he's talking about using pre-waxed thread, like artificial sinew.

[Holmes]

In my experience waxed crakers aren't bad if you A) have a good waxed thread, and B) break it in well. Waxed crackers last a really long time and can be good crackers, BUT they hurt like no other if you mess up wich is why I don't use them if I'm trying to learn something new.



I rest my case.

[louiefoxx]

I found the polypro that Murphy sells is fairly thick. I ended up splitting the polypro to get half thickness crackers. You can see a picture of the full width next to half widths on my blog at: http://bullwhips.org/?p=430

Louie

[Canuck Digger]

Holmes - I haven't seen a scratch/cut like that since I stopped ridding my bike into things as a kid! Wow that looks like it would hurt! I hope you are wearing safety goggles...

As for poly I haven't had much luck locally either. I can find mason line anywhere, and it's a long-lasting nylon, but it's very floppy and tends to get entangled a lot more than poly.

I personally love the poly Mike Murphy sells, I use it as is. It's just a shame I can't find anything like it here.
Cheers,


Fraanco

[Dalexs]

I don't know if its the same stuff, but I read somewhere that upholstery thread was a good material for poopers.

I finally got some from a local upholstery guy, who was more then willing to spool about 100' off his 1000' roll and gave it to me.

Now I just go to Joannes and get it because the new one here carries the heavier version.
(which they didn't use to.)
Works great.

[PyramidBlaster]

Along the same lines as upholstery thread: I've used 65lb. test 'PowerPro' Spectra braided fishing line since 2008, with spectacular results. They make ratings up to 150lb. test, and in four colors: White, yellow, red and (my favorite) dark green.

The poppers take a little while to break in, since they're varnished somewhat...But they crack loud, and they're pretty much as close as I've found in my many years to indestructable. In fact, I haven't had to replace ANY of them yet....And they're used pretty darn often. They're great for hitting targets, since the darn things WILL NOT GET CUT. It's difficult to cut the stuff with scissors, in fact....

I posted a thread (unintended pun) in '08 about my experiments:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=27743" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm so happy with the results, I'm pretty much sold for life.

I was also experimenting with Dyneema (another formulation of Spectra), 'Gorilla line'...It cracked a little louder, but stuck to the whip or targets much more frequently (especially if I was clipping branches)..And since it was made with a non-Dyneema 'tracer' filament that frayed much more quickly, they looked bad pretty quick...BUT they did hold up well.

[willthebold]

Just got back from my local (Austin, TX) Lowe's, and managed to find some Blue Hawk Dazzle Twine poly thread like this one from their website:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_349239-258-0715 ... facetInfo=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just tested it out, and it works great for crackers! I'd still like to find some locally in black or white though... Just wanted to pass it along!

-Will

[riku1914]

Just got back from my local (Austin, TX) Lowe's, and managed to find some Blue Hawk Dazzle Twine poly thread like this one from their website:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_349239-258-0715 ... facetInfo=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just tested it out, and it works great for crackers! I'd still like to find some locally in black or white though... Just wanted to pass it along!

-Will

Have you tried bailing twine?

[Canuck Digger]

Just got back from my local (Austin, TX) Lowe's, and managed to find some Blue Hawk Dazzle Twine poly thread like this one from their website:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_349239-258-0715 ... facetInfo=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just tested it out, and it works great for crackers! I'd still like to find some locally in black or white though... Just wanted to pass it along!

-Will

Have you tried bailing twine?

Pretty much the same thing, no?

[willthebold]

I think so, yeah, but I've had a hard time finding this kind of poly string locally. I found some baling twine online, but you have to buy a huge roll that's like $40. This is nice because each of those rolls is about 90 cents.

[Canuck Digger]

Will,
I could be mistaken, but this looks exactly like the stuff Mike Murphy sells and it makes great crackers! Very loud and crisp cracks too! The only downside is the fluff gets worn pretty fast compared to mason's line (nylon thread), but it's stiffer so it doesn't get tangled in the fall as often. I love it personally. Good find!

Franco

[willthebold]

Will,
I could be mistaken, but this looks exactly like the stuff Mike Murphy sells and it makes great crackers! Very loud and crisp cracks too! The only downside is the fluff gets worn pretty fast compared to mason's line (nylon thread), but it's stiffer so it doesn't get tangled in the fall as often. I love it personally. Good find!

Franco

Yeah, I've only seen pictures of what Mike Murphy sells, but this thread fluffs up very nicely after just a few cracks, giving you a crisp, boomy crack. I've been searching around for the last few weeks with no luck, and then I just stumbled on it tonight! I had the same problem as you with the mason line tangling too easily, though I liked the crack from it better than the upholstery thread I tried. You can also find this thread on Amazon for a few bucks more than what Lowe's sells it for by searching for dazzle thread.

-Will

[riku1914]

Will,
I could be mistaken, but this looks exactly like the stuff Mike Murphy sells and it makes great crackers! Very loud and crisp cracks too! The only downside is the fluff gets worn pretty fast compared to mason's line (nylon thread), but it's stiffer so it doesn't get tangled in the fall as often. I love it personally. Good find!

Franco

I thought it looked like the stuff on murphy's also

[louiefoxx]

Unless Murphy has changed what he sells Dazzle Twine is different from you get from him.

Louie

[Canuck Digger]

Unless Murphy has changed what he sells Dazzle Twine is different from you get from him.

Louie

Ah ok, it looked like the same thing from the pic. Thanks for clearing that up Louie!
Cheers,


Franco