Jute vs hemp for shibari
Two natural fibres that tie the same ties. Jute is lighter, cheaper and more common. Hemp is the older tradition and lasts longer under heavy use. We stock jute and will tell you where to buy hemp.
Jute and hemp both work, they tie the same ties, and choosing between them is mostly personal preference. Jute is the more popular of the two today. Hemp is the older tradition and tends to last longer under heavy use.
We stock jute and not hemp. If you have decided on hemp, our jute is not a substitute, and we will tell you who does sell it.
At a glance
| Jute at 6 mm | Hemp at 6 mm | |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre | Fine, flexible plant fibre | Coarser, longer plant fibre |
| Weight per metre | Lighter | Slightly heavier |
| Published strength | See below, and treat it carefully | See below, and treat it carefully |
| Stretch under load | Low | Low |
| Feel in the hand | Light, dry, audible under tension | Heavier, coarser surface |
| Out of the packet | Ready to tie once finished | Ready to tie once finished |
| Smell | Faint oil scent at first | Drier, grass-like |
| Batching (pre-spin) | Mineral-oil JBO at source | Not JBO-batched |
| Finishing (post-spin) | Cleaned and hand-finished in Leuven | Wax, oil or bare, varies by shop |
| Where to buy in the EU | Widely stocked | Fewer shops, named below |
On strength figures, be careful. AMATSUNAWA publish ranges of 180-250 daN for premium jute and 230-500+ daN for hemp at 6 mm. Their measured figures include 230 daN for KIYOMI and 190 daN for HASHIRA. A daN is roughly a kilogram of force, so 230 daN is about 230 kg.
Breaking strength can be measured, but only by breaking the rope being tested. A test tells you where that sample failed. It cannot guarantee the strength of another natural-fibre rope, even one from the same batch, because fibres can contain defects and weak points.
Some people use jute or hemp for uplines without issue. Others reserve uplines for POSH or another synthetic rope because they prefer the consistency of a manufactured fibre. That is a decision about your own risk tolerance, not a question a single breaking-strength figure can settle. We have seen jute snap under load, so we do not present a published figure as a guarantee for the rope in your hand.
When jute suits you better
Availability. Modern kinbaku standardised on jute from the 1980s, and it is the fibre most EU shops lead with. The older Japanese tradition is hemp. Japanese does not separate the two: asanawa covers both, which is part of why English shop copy muddles them. Whatever you learn on, jute is the easier one to replace and match.
Lightness. Jute is spun into a lighter rope at the same diameter. Over a long tie, or in fine detail work, that is noticeable in the hand.
Friction behaviour. Dry jute grips dry jute. The slight fuzz on the surface is what lets a friction hitch bite and hold.
Price. Finished jute is generally the cheaper of the two. Ours is €20 for an 8 m rope.
When hemp suits you better
Strength, probably. Hemp has a general reputation for being stronger than jute. Both are natural fibres, so variation and hidden weak points mean a published figure cannot tell you the breaking strength of the rope in your hand.
Lifespan under heavy use. Jute is a short-staple fibre and hemp a long-staple one: the individual fibres in hemp run longer before they end. Fewer fibre ends per centimetre of yarn means fewer places for wear to start, which is the mechanism behind hemp’s reputation for lasting longer.
Not JBO-batched. Hemp is not processed with jute batching oil. If that is why you are reading this, hemp sidesteps the question entirely. The JBO entry covers what the question is actually worth.
Visual line. Hemp at 6 mm sits fuller than jute at 6 mm. Whether that is better depends on the image you want.
What hemp costs you
Hemp is not a free upgrade. The costs are real, and they are not the ones usually named.
- It costs more. Finished hemp from the EU specialists generally costs more, before shipping, and shipping is often from another country. Prices move, so check rather than trusting a figure in an article.
- Fewer shops stock it. Replacing or matching a rope later is harder. Subspace in Brussels is the nearest hemp source to us; otherwise expect to order from Germany or France.
- The finish varies more than the fibre does. Hemp is sold waxed, oiled or bare, and that changes how a rope handles more than hemp-versus-jute does. Ask what was done to it before you compare it to anything.
What is not a cost, despite being widely repeated: that hemp arrives rough and needs breaking in. Raw hemp does, but the EU shops selling hemp for shibari sell it already broken in, flamed and oiled. VÆGABØUND say theirs is ready to tie out of the box. Check the listing!
What both share
Both are natural fibres with low stretch that hold knots well. They also absorb moisture and are harder to clean than synthetic rope. Jute is usually spot-cleaned rather than washed; whether hemp can be washed depends on how its maker finished it. Repeated washing spends fibre, and either rope stays out of load-bearing use until it is dry all the way through. Damp storage brings mould and rot. Rope care covers the routine for both.
Why we do not stock hemp
- Hemp is not something we use day to day. Other EU shops do it well, we do not, and a third rope we finished badly would help nobody.
- We buy Ogawa jute in bulk and finish it in Leuven. Hemp means a second source and a second finishing process, for a fibre already covered.
- Focus. Two rope options and safety shears is the catalogue we can keep properly stocked at our scale.
We will revisit if enough people tell us they would rather buy hemp from us than from the shops below.
Where to buy hemp in the EU
- VÆGABØUND, Germany. Hemp at 5 and 6 mm in 8 m lengths, hand-broken, flamed and treated with jojoba oil, so it arrives ready to use. Spun in a German rope factory. This is the one to write to first if you want hemp specifically.
- Subspace, Rue Lebeau 13, Brussels. A shibari studio with a webshop, selling natural hemp at 5 and 6 mm prepared by hand in Belgium. The closest hemp to us, the shortest shipping in the Benelux, and a shop we know and trust.
- Place des Cordes, Paris. Four jutes and two hemps, so you can compare fibres in one order.
- TheRopestry, Germany. 6 mm natural hemp, untreated, sold by the metre or on 50, 100 and 200 m spools. The option if you want to finish it yourself.
One clarification, since it comes up: AMATSUNAWA publish the strength figures quoted above but sell jute, not hemp. Read that hemp range as a comparison guideline rather than a product spec.
Retting and finishing are different things
Shop copy often mixes these together. Retting is the microbial process that separates fibre from the plant stalk, before spinning. Finishing is what a shop does to the spun rope: wax, oil, flame, or nothing.
So “water-retted” describes the fibre, not the rope you will hold. Ask separately what was done to it after spinning.
Recommendation
If you are buying your first rope, start with jute or POSH. Both are easier to find at the diameters and lengths a class will assume.
If you have decided on hemp, buy from a shop that stocks it and explains how the rope was finished. Our jute is not a substitute and our advice would not improve your purchase.
If you already tie with jute and are curious, add hemp as a second fibre rather than a replacement. Plenty of people keep a small set of each and use them for different things.
The wider first-purchase question is in the starter-kit guide, the chemistry is in JBO and batching oils, and diameter is in rope thickness.