baler twine - does anyone know why it gets called Micheal?

Pennine Ploughing

Member
Mixed Farmer
Webster & Co.’s plant at Deptford was the first on Wearside to be driven by steam. It was also the world’s first factory producing machine made rope. Richard Fothergill, a Sunderland schoolmaster, had patented a machine to spin hemp in 1793, possibly working with Ralph Hills, clockmaker, shipowner and freeman of Sunderland. On Fothergill’s death shortly afterwards, his executor, the Quaker joiner and turner John Grimshaw, took up the rights in partnership with Webster, Hills and Scarth. RowlandWebster (1751 to 1809), magistrate, one time mayor of Stockton, and relative of the Wearmouth bridge builder
Rowland Burdon, financed the venture and gave it his name. Michael Scarth,
like Grimshaw, was closely associated with the Wearmouth bridge.

well it might not be right, but it maybe the right answer to the OP question, the "Michael Scarth" name may have been shortened to just "Michael" for every day use, and still called that for any make of twine up the north


https://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/sites/default/files/work-in-progress/rope.pdf


Craven and Speeding was established at Monkwearmouth in 1860 by Hiram Craven,
son of the contractor who built the South Dock, with his brothers in law James and
Edward Speeding. They made fibre and wire ropes, and a well known sisal binder
twine, at the Red Star Twine Works, supplied from their own sisal plantations in east
Africa.
 
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Cheesehead

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Kent
Sounds like another farm has got a shed named "the dungeon"
Sorry was supposed to be dungheap but I don't think my phone likes it as I think its worried that's where I'll stick it in 2 years. Do have a "dungeon" best way to to stop things getting nicked.
I may be wrong, but sure i read it somewhere that "Red Star" went belly up and was not bought out,
as I was looking for some on here a couple of years back, I did manage to find some, I just wanted it for display not to use,
the bag was to most wanted bit along with the heavy rope around it, and the ones i got was in poor condition,
they did make Red Star plastic string as well in the last couple of years in business, I have 1 pack of that, and the bag has lasted longer for that

if anyone has a Red Star pack or just the bag in good condition, I would still be interested
ah you're correct I think about Red Star as I think he said one when belly up and the other was brought by a foreign firm that was looking to use the name but just stuck their inferior quality sisal in that would go from nearly a centimetre to a couple of mill which left it snapping and fowling on the knotters
 
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Sisal string has been mentioned on here before not too long ago in relation to the reduction in use of plastics but how would it be for strength in big bales? To the best of my knowledge sisal has never been used in big balers, it had more or less been superseded by plastic by the time big balers came along. I know local contractor says some plastic string isn't strong enough, would sisal be up to the job?
 
Sisal string has been mentioned on here before not too long ago in relation to the reduction in use of plastics but how would it be for strength in big bales? To the best of my knowledge sisal has never been used in big balers, it had more or less been superseded by plastic by the time big balers came along. I know local contractor says some plastic string isn't strong enough, would sisal be up to the job?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baling_twine

Looks like about a third as strong. Question is of course - how strong does it need to be?
 

Selectamatic

Member
Location
North Wales
Sisal string has been mentioned on here before not too long ago in relation to the reduction in use of plastics but how would it be for strength in big bales? To the best of my knowledge sisal has never been used in big balers, it had more or less been superseded by plastic by the time big balers came along. I know local contractor says some plastic string isn't strong enough, would sisal be up to the job?

Sisal is not as strong as the plastic stuff.

That is one of the reasons I still use it in my small baler now! :)
 
Sisal string has been mentioned on here before not too long ago in relation to the reduction in use of plastics but how would it be for strength in big bales? To the best of my knowledge sisal has never been used in big balers, it had more or less been superseded by plastic by the time big balers came along. I know local contractor says some plastic string isn't strong enough, would sisal be up to the job?
Be back to wire:facepalm:
 

Danllan

Member
Location
Sir Gar / Carms
asking on behalf of an elderly friend who writes about the history of all kinds of rope

He was asked this recently and didn't know the answer, and is now extremely keen to find out if anyone knows where it might of come from or even if anyone has any theories.

Not sure if it's a regional thing or more widespread either.
It both amuses and delights me that we have people who will write upon such things. :)

(I have an old cast iron rope twister and made a copy to replace what was, I guess, my grandfather's or great grandfather's whimble, I like rope too... :whistle:)
 
It both amuses and delights me that we have people who will write upon such things. :)

(I have an old cast iron rope twister and made a copy to replace what was, I guess, my grandfather's or great grandfather's whimble, I like rope too... :whistle:)
I have great great grandad's hay-rope wimble. He was using it when he fell to his death near Salisbury in 1864, and it has been hanging on a nail in the shed for longer than I care to remember. (Whether it is the actual wimble, we'll never prove, but grandad said it was 50 years ago, and the story has been passed down since)
 
I may be wrong, but sure i read it somewhere that "Red Star" went belly up and was not bought out,
as I was looking for some on here a couple of years back, I did manage to find some, I just wanted it for display not to use,
the bag was to most wanted bit along with the heavy rope around it, and the ones i got was in poor condition,
they did make Red Star plastic string as well in the last couple of years in business, I have 1 pack of that, and the bag has lasted longer for that

if anyone has a Red Star pack or just the bag in good condition, I would still be interested
Yes I recall red star twine (sisal). Cumbrian farmers son here. I remember the paper bag and the heavy rope. Always called Michael. My uncle's preferred method of keeping his old coat shut.
 

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