Continuing my quest for the thickest and softest yo-yo string known to man, I decided to make some myself.
I made some string with random polyester thread I had lying around, but of course, it was much coarser and duller than yo-yo string you buy.
(But I did make some seriously thick string!)
So I’m wondering, where should I be buying really bright and soft thread?
This also leads me to wonder where most yo-yo string manufacturers get their thread supply. Do they actually manufacture their own polyester thread? I kind of doubt most do…
SO, naturally, I’m wondering if I can get some similar ingredients!
Soft is Wooly Nylon, a lot of brands will mix in polyester with the blend to achieve the balance they want.
Within this style of thread, each brand that produces wooly nylon has a slightly different type of thread. Some are thick, some are stretchy, some are thinner, and it all comes down to you testing them and figuring out which one you like best.
All purpose polyester is more coarse, and what is most commonly used in bulk string.
Trilobial polyester is shiny and slick, and becomes extremely coarse when reducing the string a lot (like a markmont string feels)
Making thick and soft string is “easy” but finding the perfect blend and formula to match your own tastes is simply just trial and error.
I think the best bet for you is to read up on it a bit if you don’t know what reduction is.
Lots of good info here, and the last post has a link that leads you to a treasure trove of information.
Making string is simple, but also kinda not if you have a very specific goal. It’s why Zipline charges boutique prices, he modifies his blend over and over and over, small tweaks here and there to refine what he was looking for.
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No real recommendations because they all serve their purpose. All I’ll say is, do not buy Gutterman wooly nylon (i got this at Joannes), it’s the only one I hated. Everything else that I’ve tried all has it’s place depending on your preference or goal.
I don’t want super soft string like mazal top, or zipline’s Skyline. If that is up your alley, I’m going to go on a wild guess and say they use YLI Wooly nylon.
The rest of the wooly nylon is literally just thinner or thicker, stretchy, or not as stretchy. So those variances can be an advantage or disadvantage. It’s why I don’t think recommending one brand is good. You can even try mixing two wooly nylon brands together … i don’t think anyone’s tried that except me.
I’ve tried YLI Extra Wooly, and it wasn’t for me, but it could be what you want. That’s what I’m saying about just trying brands and experiment with different combinations, reductions, etc.
Thanks! I haven’t seen that topic before. I’ll definitely give it a read.
And yeah, I’m definitely a string making newbie, hoping to learn more. As I said, my total experience is around 45 minutes of messing around with sewing thread and a drill, haha.
That thread and the last link should give you all you need to kinda get a good idea of it all.
Everything after that becomes whatever you can do based on setup, rig, and preference on what you want your string to perform/feel like.
Read that up and make some nylon strings, experiment a bit, then hit me up if you have any questions and I can help you refine the string if you need any help. But it’s really straight forward, i think you’ll find your way really easy!
In terms of buying, honestly anywhere, amazon, ebay, or threadart, there’s a ton of thread websites you can search through too. I am hesitant to recommend a local store, as they may not specifically carry “wooly nylon” as none of mine here in SoCal had any except that awful Guterman stuff… cause you can buy a normal nylon thread. Specifically the “Wooly Nylon” gives it the fluff and softness you experience with a Skyline string.
