# Silk string?
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427
**Category:** General Yo-Yo
**Created:** [January 19, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427 "2024-01-19T17:13:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Hungrymushroom](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hungrymushroom)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/1 "2024-01-19T17:13:54Z")
Are silk yo-yo strings a thing? If so would they be awesome or terrible or just meh?
---
### Author:  [@mable](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/mable)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/2 "2024-01-19T17:36:05Z")
I like silk string a lot. It’s a little bit stiff but very smooth to the touch and basically doesn’t fray. It feels weightier than poly and especially more than nylon.
It’s like a better trilobal poly to me. I think silk varieties vary a ton and the silk selection at craft stores in the US is kind of grim. So if you want to experiment with silk you’re best off trying to import. Korean silk thread seems to be a lot nicer than anything available in the US.
I’ve got some on my Checkmate right now that I’ve been using for a few months. I usually melt the ends of my strings, but since silk is a natural fiber it doesn’t melt like poly or nylon. So I just do a second knot at where I cut it to prevent the fray from being big and annoying.
---
### Author:  [@Hungrymushroom](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hungrymushroom)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/3 "2024-01-19T17:37:40Z")
Interesting, I’ve never made my own string although I’d like to try eventually, do you know anywhere that sells pre made silk yo-yo strings?
---
### Author:  [@mable](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/mable)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/4 "2024-01-19T17:43:03Z")
Unfortunately no, I’m really not sure why none of the boutique string brands have silk options. I kinda hate nylon string, but it really feels like nylon is the only material people have any interest in outside of poly.
---
### Author:  [@Hungrymushroom](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hungrymushroom)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/5 "2024-01-19T17:44:21Z")
Dang! I guess I’ll have to make some eventually
---
### Author:  [@Slestak75](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Slestak75)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/6 "2024-01-19T17:44:35Z")
I’ve wondered what Kevlar might be like
---
### Author:  [@nappyrat](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/nappyrat)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/7 "2024-01-19T17:44:40Z")
just out of curiosity, how are your binds with silk? my biggest turn off with nylon is that my binds end up being really slippy, i’d imagine silk is on another level
---
### Author:  [@Hungrymushroom](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hungrymushroom)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/8 "2024-01-19T17:45:08Z")
I’ve wondered this as well
---
### Author:  [@Upmanyu](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Upmanyu)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/9 "2024-01-19T17:45:20Z")
Does silk do that thing where the slipknot on your finger keeps slipping around and becoming loose?
---
### Author:  [@Hungrymushroom](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hungrymushroom)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/10 "2024-01-19T17:45:49Z")
I really like zipline skyline 3 and it got me thinking about silk because of how smooth it is
---
### Author:  [@GTDropKnot](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/GTDropKnot)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/11 "2024-01-19T17:46:02Z")
@IoSonoFormaggio makes silk string and loves it.
---
### Author:  [@Upmanyu](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Upmanyu)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/12 "2024-01-19T17:46:32Z")
They used to have kevlar poly blends on here. Eagle strings I think. Neat concept but there wasnt enough kevlar for it to be much different
---
### Author:  [@Hungrymushroom](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hungrymushroom)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/13 "2024-01-19T17:46:38Z")
Looks like I’ll have to shoot them a message lol
---
### Author:  [@mable](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/mable)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/14 "2024-01-19T17:46:58Z")
Zero issues with binding, although I use flush permatex ultra gray in all my yoyos which is softer than pads and gives me aggressively grippy binds with pretty much any string. These are also just very thick strings, but I don’t have any snagging issues so the thickness is fine.
Your mileage may vary depending on how thick of a string you like and what your response setup is like.
---
### Author:  [@GTDropKnot](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/GTDropKnot)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:47pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/15 "2024-01-19T17:47:12Z")
I don’t think they sell it but prolly has good insights.
---
### Author:  [@Hungrymushroom](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hungrymushroom)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 5:47pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/16 "2024-01-19T17:47:45Z")
Gotcha, well I’d like to get into making my own anyway so any insight would be valuable
---
### Author:  [@suspense](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/suspense)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/17 "2024-01-19T18:10:40Z")
My only advice is to not use or buy Gutterman… it’s literally gutter tier thread.
I’ve tried all of their versions (nylon, poly, silk, cotton) and have not liked any of them. They’re usually what’s in stock at my local Joannes or Michaels.
---
### Author:  [@IoSonoFormaggio](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/IoSonoFormaggio)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/18 "2024-01-19T18:51:16Z")
Hi, I’m the silk guy pinged above. I source my strings from Korea. I’m Korean so it’s always been easy to source silk for cheap on my end, but I’m not familiar with silk prices in the US.
I get my string from here:
[http://hyunjinsa.co.kr/shop/list.php?ca\_id=30](http://hyunjinsa.co.kr/shop/list.php?ca_id=30)
There are 3 different types of thicknesses for each colour. The thinnest (견사) is the thinnest, the middle one (지누이도) is more or less the same thickness as most individual poly threads we see for yoyo string, and the thickest (아나이도) is about twice as thick as the middle option. You basically choose the colour and thickness you want. The colours are numbered so it should be easy to choose from the drop down menu.
I’m pretty sure they include international shipping options, but even if they don’t I’m sure you can find a proxy that will ship stuff from Korea to the US. I personally haven’t gotten anything internationally shipped from this website as I bought them when I was Korea and brought them with me when I moved to the US.
I highly recommend going for the thickest one. When I make my string, I’m pulling the threads hard every now and then during the twisting process to make sure the twist gets applied evenly across all threads and I found that for the thinner ones there is a small chance of it snapping during the twisting process. For the thickest one, you don’t have to worry about that.
I aim for 20-25% length reduction during the twisting process which results in a rather tightly twisted string, but I recommend you experiment it yourself as string tension preferences vary between people. More twisting result in a tighter string, increasing lifespan and whippiness but will lack when it comes to retaining tension so you’ll have to adjust tension more often. Looser string don’t last as long and are less whippy, but will hold tension better.
I get 5 thick strands and twist it to make what’s equivalent of fat yoyo string. I personally think they last way longer than regular poly and are much much much whippier. I pretty much only do slack tricks so this whippiness is essential for me.
Different colours perform differently. I have used white, yellow, and pink from the manufacturer before. I personally use white due to visibility preferences, but I think yellow lasts the longest and also performs the most consistent. Keep in mind, that silk string has a metallic sheen, so the yellow might reflect some light during play, so sometimes the visibility can take a hit during play depending on where you are yoyoing. White is also very good, but I think they’re ever so slightly less durable than yellows.
Pink is a tad too rough in my opinion and is monster whippy, I honestly think pink is most suitable for mixing with other types of threads, but I wouldn’t recommend making purely pink string.
Each spool costs around $2.50 each, and are rather small. Each spool can make around 3 strings depending on how much you twist and how long you make your string, but I’d say the material costs come out to be about a dollar per string. It’s high yes, but the durability makes it worth more than buying poly imo.
Also, silk string doesn’t really fray. I’d honestly consider it essentially frayless. I have months old silk string that frayed less than brand new poly string. I love this property of silk. Also I found silk to be more grabby for response than poly, so you will not have any bind slipping issues.
Silk stretches a little over time, but much less so than poly. If you were cutting your poly short to adjust for stretching over time, I’d recommend you cut less for silk. Silk stretching tops out pretty quickly so it won’t take that long for silk to break in.
Also speaking of breaking in, brand new silk is crazy whippy, but once broken in it becomes ever so slightly less so and imo more ideal for tricks. Brand new silk can often be too whippy and if you’re not used to it, it will often overwhip and introduce extra wraps and stuff during tricks. However, since the break in time is rather short, it will stabilize pretty soon and I’m sure you’ll like it.
Let me know if you guys have any other questions.
---
### Author:  [@Hungrymushroom](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hungrymushroom)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/19 "2024-01-19T19:01:49Z")
Thank you so much for all this information!
---
### Author:  [@Captrogers](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Captrogers)
#### Post date: [January 19, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427/20 "2024-01-19T19:37:29Z")
ive always wanted to try silk and on the opposite side kevlar. I do find it odd that there aren’t any silk boutiques in the US feels like a gap to me.
[Next page](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/silk-string/392427.md?page=2)