The flax lead is the one piece in Gem's shop where the rope itself isn't hand-spun by her. It is made by Chatham Historic Dockyards, master ropemakers who have been laying flax rope by traditional methods in their historic workshop for more than four hundred years. The rope arrives from Chatham and Gem splices it into the finished lead in her Cambridge workshop.
Flax has a different hand to cotton. Hairier, more textured, slightly stiffer to start with and softening over time. The natural off-white (sometimes reading as soft cream) is the fibre's own colour, undyed. It looks more traditional than the cotton leads. More chandlery, more sailmaker, less rainbow.
The lead is finished with an eye splice, the same technique used on every cotton lead and the strongest finish available in the rope-makers' vocabulary. 100% stainless steel hardware.
Approximately 1.2m end to end, about 93cm from the base of the handle to the metal clip, around 2cm diameter.
Gem Bowes · Tightrope KnotsThe flax lead is the one piece in Gem's shop where the rope itself isn't hand-spun by her. It is made by Chatham Historic Dockyards, master ropemakers who have been laying flax rope by traditional methods in their historic workshop for more than four hundred years. The rope arrives from Chatham and Gem splices it into the finished lead in her Cambridge workshop.
Flax has a different hand to cotton. Hairier, more textured, slightly stiffer to start with and softening over time. The natural off-white (sometimes reading as soft cream) is the fibre's own colour, undyed. It looks more traditional than the cotton leads. More chandlery, more sailmaker, less rainbow.
The lead is finished with an eye splice, the same technique used on every cotton lead and the strongest finish available in the rope-makers' vocabulary. 100% stainless steel hardware.
Approximately 1.2m end to end, about 93cm from the base of the handle to the metal clip, around 2cm diameter.
Gem Bowes learned to make rope at Arthur Beale, the Shaftesbury Avenue chandlery that has been splicing line since 1500-something. She works now from a Cambridge studio, hand-spinning flax and dead-stock yarn for dog leads, doorstops, juggling balls.
Gem Bowes learned to make rope at Arthur Beale, the Shaftesbury Avenue chandlery that has been splicing line since 1500-something. She works now from a Cambridge studio, hand-spinning flax and dead-stock yarn for dog leads, doorstops, juggling balls.
