Tiger Thread: Is There Seriously Not A Comparable Braided Poly Thread In The United States?

[Brianm77]

I thought it come in sizes 800, 1000, 1200, and 1400?  

 

Do do you keep any on hand?

Edited February 23, 2017 by Brianm77

[SolarLeatherMachines]

1 hour ago, Brianm77 said:

I thought it come in sizes 800, 1000, 1200, and 1400?  

 

Do do you keep any on hand?

Those are ticket sizes.  The comparable Tex size that most are used to are 380, 500, 750, 1030.  

I don't keep any on hand.  That's what I'm saying...that I'm considering doing so, but am trying to gauge interest.  There's no point if it's only 2 guys.  A case of this stuff is not cheap, and thread does have a shelf life.  

Edited February 23, 2017 by SolarLeatherMachines

[Brianm77]

What would you carve for a couple rolls shipped to Texas?

[SolarLeatherMachines]

15 minutes ago, Brianm77 said:

What would you carve for a couple rolls shipped to Texas?

Dude, I'm IN Texas.  Just outside of Dallas. 

[Brianm77]

Lol, I thought I read you were from Indiana or somewhere. 

Ok so shipped a little south?

Edited February 23, 2017 by Brianm77

[bikermutt07]

59 minutes ago, SolarLeatherMachines said:

Dude, I'm IN Texas.  Just outside of Dallas. 

Haha! One day when,i can get a machine I'm gonna drive over. That one day is a long way off though.

[MADMAX22]

On 2/23/2017 at 1:47 PM, SolarLeatherMachines said:

Those are ticket sizes.  The comparable Tex size that most are used to are 380, 500, 750, 1030.  

I don't keep any on hand.  That's what I'm saying...that I'm considering doing so, but am trying to gauge interest.  There's no point if it's only 2 guys.  A case of this stuff is not cheap, and thread does have a shelf life.  

Whats the shelf life on this stuff and what does that mean for the projects sewn with it? 

[SolarLeatherMachines]

All thread has a shelf life, especially if exposed to UV for any length of time(shop lights can give off UV, too).  As a rule of thumb, we throw out any nylon over two years old, and any polyester over 5 years old.   Polyester is much more resistant to UV than nylon, but it will age, too.    About 1 in 10 customers that have problems with thread breaking that seem to be because they bought a bunch of cheap thread years ago, and it's been aging on their shelf ever since, getting ever more brittle.  

[YinTx]

On 2/27/2017 at 8:38 AM, SolarLeatherMachines said:

All thread has a shelf life, especially if exposed to UV for any length of time(shop lights can give off UV, too).  As a rule of thumb, we throw out any nylon over two years old, and any polyester over 5 years old.   Polyester is much more resistant to UV than nylon, but it will age, too.    About 1 in 10 customers that have problems with thread breaking that seem to be because they bought a bunch of cheap thread years ago, and it's been aging on their shelf ever since, getting ever more brittle.  

soooo.... I shouldn't expect anything I've stitched with Poly to last much longer than 5 years, and nylon much more than 2 years?  Or is it the binder that fails in that time frame, causing sewing machine issues?  Just wondering...

YinTx

[Bolt Vanderhuge]

The guy in the video on this page talks about thread shelf life. https://www.superiorthreads.com/videos/what-is-the-shelf-life-of-thread/

[SolarLeatherMachines]

Hard data is notoriously hard to come by from people who manufacture and sell thread. They don't want you comparing apples to apples. When I started looking at threads, I asked manufacturers about shelf life and tensile strength.  I didn't want my inventory dying on the shelf.  What I got back was really unclear.  So I started looking.  Most of the data is related to heat aging.  I couldn't understand it until I walked into the warehouse, where it was 95 deg with the AC on.  Then I realized that most of the thread warehouses in Texas are in a metal building with no AC, and the temps at the top could reach over 130 deg.  That type of long term heating would seriously age most plastics. And who knows how long those spools have been there.  

So, I seriously doubt polyester is "going to last a 1000 years".  Especially considering that microbes like to eat both natural and synthetic thread.  Let's get some science involved: 

I just picked up this one, and am learning a lot: 

Quality Assurance for Textiles and Apparel 2nd Edition
https://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/9781563675546
It's a little dry, but very informative. 

NC State has a textile college, and they do a lot of testing.  Here's a generic search on papers related to thread: 
http://ojs.cnr.ncsu.edu/index.php/JTATM/search/results  
Lots of great hard data there.  And it's probably worth sending an email to ask about shelf life.  I may do that.  

Google also has a "scholar" section that does a great search of articles and patents.   
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=10&q=polyester+thread+tensile+age&hl=en&as_sdt=1,44&as_vis=1

 

Edited March 1, 2017 by SolarLeatherMachines
added data

[MADMAX22]

10 hours ago, SolarLeatherMachines said:

Hard data is notoriously hard to come by from people who manufacture and sell thread. They don't want you comparing apples to apples. When I started looking at threads, I asked manufacturers about shelf life and tensile strength.  I didn't want my inventory dying on the shelf.  What I got back was really unclear.  So I started looking.  Most of the data is related to heat aging.  I couldn't understand it until I walked into the warehouse, where it was 95 deg with the AC on.  Then I realized that most of the thread warehouses in Texas are in a metal building with no AC, and the temps at the top could reach over 130 deg.  That type of long term heating would seriously age most plastics. And who knows how long those spools have been there.  

So, I seriously doubt polyester is "going to last a 1000 years".  Especially considering that microbes like to eat both natural and synthetic thread.  Let's get some science involved: 

I just picked up this one, and am learning a lot: 

Quality Assurance for Textiles and Apparel 2nd Edition
https://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/9781563675546
It's a little dry, but very informative. 

NC State has a textile college, and they do a lot of testing.  Here's a generic search on papers related to thread: 
http://ojs.cnr.ncsu.edu/index.php/JTATM/search/results  
Lots of great hard data there.  And it's probably worth sending an email to ask about shelf life.  I may do that.  

Google also has a "scholar" section that does a great search of articles and patents.   
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=10&q=polyester+thread+tensile+age&hl=en&as_sdt=1,44&as_vis=1

 

Gonna have to try some reading on that, let us know if you send that email and what ya get back. I always hear/read about how this thread is better then that poly better then linen or nylon vs whatever yet when you ask specifics about how much longer they last noone actually comes back with any accurate information that can be backed up with anything. People also chime in on the shelf life of this or that but how that affects the longevity of your projects is also a question I would like to find out in reference to modern threads. 

 

[DarkGoku]

On ‎5‎/‎22‎/‎2014 at 3:17 PM, Hi Im Joe said:

I just bought some medium weight Maine Polycord and love it. Made in the USA and really high quality with good prices and fast shipping.

http://www.mainethread.com/waxed_cord.html

Thanks for the link and recommendation, I just dropped an order and waiting now for it to come in:) I usually shop at Tandy's but their colors and types of thread are limited:( cant wait to try this. I feel I'm ready for the upgrade if its half of what I have been reading about it:)  

[St8LineGunsmith]

go to Amazon.com and search foe mandala crafts thread it is identical to Ritza Tiger Thread

it is a flat braided polyester cord available in many vibrant colors not offered by Ritza and comes in .08mm and 1.0mm in big spools the same price as sample sizes as the Ritza.

https://www.amazon.com/Mandala-Crafts-Leather-Sewing-Stitching/dp/B07BZT4CGZ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1538001419&sr=8-2&keywords=mandala+crafts+thread

 

pretty sure weaver has it also 

Edited September 26, 2018 by St8LineGunsmith