Best Silk for Whipping?

[Wyrda]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone knew a good silk for whipping English livery arrows? One of the problems I have is the silk being very weak and often breaking during fletching or in use. I've tried Guttermann silk which is very weak, I've also tried another brand of silk which is 30 weight - about the same thickness of the Guttermann linen thread and is about as thick as I'd like to go - and while it's a bit stronger it's still very weak and nowhere near as strong as linen.

[Wyrda]

Ok well, not replies but I found a pretty good silk. I got some Japanese Daruma silk which is quite good, very fine at around 50 weight, about the same size as the Guttermann thread for easily separating of barbs, but it's a fair but stronger.

[Aaron1726]

Never tried silk before, but looked up the Daruma silk, looks interesting, I might have to get some to try.  I really like sinew, but would be nice to have something that could get wet without as much worry.

[sleek]

Ok well, not replies but I found a pretty good silk. I got some Japanese Daruma silk which is quite good, very fine at around 50 weight, about the same size as the Guttermann thread for easily separating of barbs, but it's a fair but stronger.

Id blame the lack of response on most of us just not having an answer. I super glue my fletch in place and when the occasion arises to whip ( you just taught me thats what its called btw ) I take whatever woven string I have and separate the strands to get the diameter I want. It never looks good so I rarely do it. Maybe its because im not using silk lol. I think Del on here has done some proper arrows, he may have an answer if he sees this.

[Robert Pougnier]

I'm currently using Belding corticelli "A" size pure silk. I found a big box of spools on ebay. It's not the strongest but works great for wrapping fletching. I saturate the wrap with tung oil and after its oxidized about 20 minutes rub in a few successive layers of pva wood glue. The tung oil and the non-water components of the glue polymerize into a neat waxy compound that holds up great and looks historically accurate.

[agaronline]

Pure sewing silk tends to be too weak for whipwork because it’s designed for needlework, not load-bearing wraps. Look for silk that’s meant for upholstery, bookbinding, or leatherwork, as these are usually stronger and more tightly spun. Some traditional bowyers also use silk-covered linen or silk-covered polyester thread — the silk gives the look you want, and the core gives the strength.