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danyel
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some photographs of various Chinese and Japanese silk strings in order to show the scope of available material.
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danyel
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danyel
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jdowning
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Thank you for the images danyel - they look rather similar to the Chinese and Japanese silk strings that I have in stock as well as the latest
experimental strings made by Alexander Rakov (apart from the colour which is light brown not bright yellow). I will post images of these as well as a
covered qin string (ex John Thompson) for comparison.
To go back to my posting of the 13th when I asked for clarification from you concerning the statement taken from KT "the sages agree that the bamm
should be made of sheep gut because it vibrates in all its parts" implying that that the bamm string should be made of only of gut rather than silk -
yet KT contains instructions on how to make from silk the full range of strings from bamm to hadd. I asked if you had perhaps taken this statement out
of context from the section concerned with making gut strings where preference is expressed for sheep's gut rather than that of a goat. You have yet
to respond.
KT, of course says that either gut or silk strings may be used.
For those unfamiliar with the bit about gut strings in KT here is Dr Farmer's translation:
"As for gut strings, the gut from sheep is better than gut from goats. Some say that white sheep gut is better than black gut, but this is an
exaggeration .... If the gut be fine the bamm string is made for three ply, but, if coarse, of two ply. Some make the mathlath string similarly, but
really it should be less than the bamm string by one ply. The strings are stained with saffron or whitewash, this being rubbed into the strings until
they are dry".
The other reference to exclusive all silk stringing (according to Farmer) is in the 5th Epistle of the Ikhwan al-Safa (10th C). A copy of an English
translation of the 5th Epistle by Owen Wright is available on loan from Ottawa University Library through the Inter Library Loan service so I expect
to receive a copy for study within a week. I will report on what I find later. No need for me to learn Arabic or Farsi or for you danyel to feel like
my personal dragoman!
Another question danyel. your six course ud-i akmal is strung all in gut with the top string only in silk. If you say that all oud strings in the 16th
C came from China why are you not using Chinese gut strings for greater 'authenticity'? Do the Chinese make gut instrument strings?
You say that you have made the silk strings for your Dotar by soaking them in hot hide glue and then by wiping off the excess glue but that is not
the method described in Kanz at-Tuhaf translation by Neubauer (or Farmer) where the glue binder (with essence of saffron added) is rubbed into the
completed twisted string with a piece of linen until the glue has thoroughly soaked through all the fibres. The string is then left to dry. You say
that it is not significant (if the glue does not fully penetrate) but it surely is if you are to replicate these strings as the glue adds mass and
affects string stiffness). I am very familiar with use of hot hide glue for instrument construction and I would expect isinglas to be similar. Hot
hide glue gels quickly on cooling so I am curious to know if you diluted your glue to the consistency of, say, glue size in order to have any chance
of rubbing the glue binder into the string?
You allude to other sources of early Chinese string making other than those provided in English translation by John Thompson where the strings are
made by boiling raw silk strings in a concoction of glue - a trivial matter you feel. Yet all of my Chinese silk strings and those made by Alexander
Rakov are thoroughly glue soaked. Can you tell us something, therefore, about the alternative methods of string making described by the Chinese
literati - just how are the demands 'very frightening'?
Yes I was aware that the Kitab al-adwar illustration is in the Oxford Bodleian Library and that it was added about 40 years after Urmawi's death in
around 1334. Not to worry it is still the only geometrically accurate drawing of a 14th C oud.
A reasonably clear copy of the illustration that I came across was described by other researchers as a wood cut which I accepted not being in a
position to check the Bodleian copy for myself. Just goes to show that one has to be careful about accepting the claims of other researchers or 'real'
historians. BTW danyel have you had the opportunity to examine the original document in person to confirm that it is indeed not a wood cut/wood
engraving?
Forgive my ignorance but I always thought that wood block printing and engraving was practiced by the Chinese as early as the 6th C and that by 10th C
examples of wood block printing on paper began to appear in Islamic Egypt. So wood block print/engraving on wood might have been a reasonable
assumption for anyone who had not actually examined the original illustration?
In any case it does not matter if the drawing was made with a pen and ink - as I shall show in my topic 'Old Oud - New Project'
Of course Canadian sitka spruce was not used as a sound board material for ouds in the 14th C and neither was Black Ash or Brazilian rosewood pegs -
not because I could not be bothered to discover what woods might have been used in the 14th C but because I had these well seasoned materials to hand
in quantity and I thought it better to 'walk the walk' and go ahead and build a replica rather sit around just 'talking the talk'. Fortunately I have
50 years experience in researching and making replicas of early lutes guitars and other plucked instruments such as harps so the project was not a
problem to execute.
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danyel
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Kanz at-tuHaf does not mention goats. It says: "Sixth paragraph: On the twisting of gut strings. The sages agree, that bam-strings should be made of
twisted sheep-gut, because it can "tremble" (vibrate) in all its parts. The bam is also called "mother of strings". Intestines of male sheep are
supposedly better suited than that of females (bozîne, buzîna). Some say, white mutton-gut was better than black one, but that is certainly an
exaggeration." The black sheep, white sheep reference might be a political one (Aq Qoyunlu, Kara Qoyunlu tribes). Amongst "the sages" (Hokamâ‘),
the (unknown) author probably had al-Kindî in mind.
The Ikhwân aS-Safâ’ don't describe string making, they just give the number of threads in each string.
Owen Wright is problematic. Though he studied the most interesting subjects throughout his life and wrote books and articles on them (on Urmawî,
Maraghî, Kantemîrzâde, the Ottoman "songbooks"), he keeps messing up theory and practice and thus muddles his findings. He does not seem to
understand that Urmawî devised a practical fretting for the oud (seven frets LLCLLC) on which he projects (as an original composer and oud player)
the theoretical scales described by geometric fractions of string length (for which in practice one would need to fit countless frets on the oud) in a
previous chapter. Thus Urmawî creates a unified modal system which was the basis of a new, avantgarde practice, so to speak. Wright confuses these
two systematic approaches all the time.
His Kantemîrzâde (Cantemir) transcriptions are very valuable, though again he irritates by adding various sets of accidentals, according to
Kantemîrzâde's actual notation and modern Turkish practice, which is fairly irrelevant for the matter. Even in his articles on Marâghîs notations
he spoils the only extremely clear aspect, viz. the fretting referred to by Marâghîs notation (LLCLLC, being an Urmawî disciple) by muddling it
with the notorious "practice" (i.e. theory), in this case even (anachronistic) preoccupation with a certain modern Iranian main stream intonation
spread by Jean During.
I never said I believed silken oud strings were ALWAYS imported from China. There must have been many times and places and social strata in the
history of oud playing where Chinese strings would not have been available.
I am not aware of a Chinese gut-making tradition. I once bought various gut strings from a Pakistani company, unfortunately they quit making or at
least marketing them. They were quite good. I figure gut strings are more common with sheep breeding cultures, though the closer nomadic people get to
China, the more they seem to rely on silk strings.
My own silk strings were made first according to Kanz at-tuHaf (rubbing the glue into the strings), then soaking. I used both kinds of strings but
preferred the latter. It certainly depends on the viscosity of the glue and how generous you apply it whether the rubbing method works well. Kanz
at-Tuhaf seems to be concerned that no excess glue should distort the circular cross section and even gauge of the strings. I said it is insignificant
how I did it, because I am not a string maker and was just fooling around. I for one concluded I would not devote my life competing with Chinese and
Japanese string makers who learned their craft from masters, often in dynastic succession over centuries, and have access to all sorts of silk and
ingredients. Several Chinese sources mention how the silk worms should be fed and list the most obscure ingredients for the glue concoction. BTW Rakov
refers to Japanese strings being made of degummed silk…
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Jody Stecher
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Quote: Originally posted by danyel  |
He does not seem to understand that Urmawî devised a practical fretting for the oud (seven frets LLCLLC) ....... Even in his articles on Marâghîs
notations he spoils the only extremely clear aspect, viz. the fretting referred to by Marâghîs notation (LLCLLC, being an Urmawî disciple) …
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What does "LLCLLC" mean please?
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danyel
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L=limma (ca 92 cents), C= comma (ca 23 cents)
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Jody Stecher
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The intervals! Thanks. All I could think of was "Limited Liability Company" (twice) and that didn't make sense.
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jdowning
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Thanks for your response to my questions danyel.
You have confirmed that the reference to sheep's gut being the best for bam strings is only in the context of gut strings and so does not apply to bam
strings made from silk.
I find it strange that Farmer mentions goat gut and that your reference to the Neubauer translation does not - yet they are both working from the same
text (MS Brit Lib, Or 2361, fols 260b -262a). Have you examined the original primary source to confirm to your own satisfaction which of the two
translators might be in error?
Interesting that at least one early European source does mention goat gut as being used for instrument string making
I am interested in an English translation of the Ikhwan al-Safa not only to confirm Farmer's statement that only all silk stringing was recommended as
the stringing for this most perfect of instruments (the oud) but to satisfy my interest in the Brotherhood's philosophies as numerologists and other
beliefs such as the universal harmony (music of the spheres).
I plan to compare the English translation work of Owen Wright with that of Prof Ammon Shiloah (if I can lay hands on a copy) as well as that of Farmer
concerning Epistle 5 - particularly concerning strings. If you can provide your own more definitive translation of epistle 5 danyel - then I will
certainly be happy include this in my comparative evaluation.
It should be appreciated that Owen Wright is not working alone but is supported by a team of presumably expert editorial and advisory board staff (a
list is posted here for information).
I assume that you were not consulted for your comments of this work prior to its publication danyel but have you since - in the interests of fact
finding historical research and according to protocol - contacted Owen Wright and his research team to point out and discuss the error of their ways
(in your opinion)? Expressing those opinions on this forum will very likely not achieve such a positive objective.
I am very curious if there ever was a Chinese (or Japanese?) tradition of gut string making - which is why I asked the question. I have not researched
this aspect but have a suspicion (based upon a remark once made to me by Alexander Rakov (who was in direct contact with some Chinese string makers)
that the handling of animal offal (necessary for gut string making) was objectionable to the Chinese, based upon their religious (?) beliefs and
respect towards animals.
If you were 'just fooling around' in your silk string making endeavours then it is not surprising that you have had to admit failure. On the other
hand for Alexander Rakov this was a serious project and so it is for me.
There is a mass of information about how to successfully raise silk worm so it is really no great mystery. Oddly enough years ago as a 12 year old I
once raised some silk worm from eggs to maturity - just out of childish curiosity.
Note also that some of the world's silk comes from wild - not domesticated - species that are also suitable for string making but with differing
physical properties. The harvesting of wild silk in India probably predates historically even the Chinese domesticated Bombyx Mori species of moth
that is no longer found in the wild.
As far as the most obscure ingredients for an ancient Chinese stringmaker's glue binder concoction is concerned - check out page 5 of this thread for
a translation of one ancient recipe for identity of the ingredients. Not that knowing the identity of each ingredient makes them any easier to procure
in this modern day but at least it may suggest viable alternatives.
If your strings of silk have been dyed (yellow) danyel then they must have been made from degummed silk - in which case - if they are of Chinese
origin they have not been made in the traditional way. I know nothing about the Japanese traditional methods of silk string making but again, if the
strings are dyed then they were made from degummed silk.
[file]26383[/file]
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jdowning
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To clarify my previous posting concerning dyed silk strings - raw silk filament cannot be dyed until the natural gum sericin is completely removed by
heating in a caustic or soap solution (as were the KT strings). However the glue concoction in which the early Chinese strings were boiled after being
twisted can be dyed - probably any colour desired on demand in this day and age (including Saffron Yellow).
What may or may not be significant about coloured strings (silk or gut) is that the colour may be an indication that metal salts have been used to add
linear mass to a string - particularly important in the case of the thicker bass strings. Degummed silk readily absorbs metallic salts in solution (a
process called 'weighting' in the silk trade) and it is said that the mass increase of silk filament due to 'weighting' can be up to 400% (hard to
believe). Alexander Rakov has done some experimentation with the weighting of silk strings and Mimmo Peruffo ('Aquila' strings) has done the same for
gut. I am also experimenting with silk string weighting. The problem today is that the 'heavier' salts that may have been used in the past are very
toxic (lead, mercury etc) - perhaps of no concern in ancient times but a definite difficulty these days. My experiments with 'weighting' will,
therefore, continue to be restricted to materials that are relatively not so toxic (e.g iron, tannin etc) as well as tin and copper (less safe).
Checking back with the early translations of Chinese texts on qin string making provided by John Thompson I was unable to find a clear reference to
dyeing the strings with one exception (from the 19th C Yuguzhai Qinpu text that is supposed to refer to much earlier traditional methods). In the part
referring to the glue concoction there is the instruction "Or take mulberry leaves and pound them into a juice. Soak the old strings in the juice.
Their colour will be emerald green". This presumably is a method to revive old strings?
It is possible also that one ingredient of the binder recipe might have dyed the glue yellow and that is the addition of white bark from the roots of
a mulberry tree (pai-p'i) or just the bark from the trunk of the tree. The best silk came from silkworms fed on the leaves of the zhe tree (cudriana
triloba or cudriana tricuspidata) - the raw silk being white in colour. The bark of this species of tree is said to contain a yellow dye. It is
unclear however if the bark of this species of mulberry was used as part of the glue recipe or even if it was whether or not the dye might be
extracted from the bark by the boiling process.
Like the early ambiguous Arabic and Farsi texts, the early Chinese texts would seem to be equally or even more ambiguous and obscure.
Some interesting commentary by John Thompson, in conversation with a Mr Huang Shuzhi, is that the string construction mentioned in the earliest
manuscripts does not apparently reflect the practice of string making as it was in 1590. So there would appear to have been some some technical change
and development in Chinese silk string making technology (for the qin at least). So modern made Chinese silk strings may not reflect the construction
of strings as they were say in the 14th C?
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jdowning
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I thought that this extract from a recent article that I wrote in FoMRHI might be of general interest here. I argued that 'catgut' (a gut string
somehow supposed to always have been made from sheep's intestines) likely was once made from the intestines of - wait for it - a feline animal (i.e. a
cat!). Note that Ziryab (9th C) is said to have preferred oud strings made from the intestines of a young lion.
The extract is a reference to the writings of Athanasius Kircher, Rome, 1650.
Of particular interest is that the gut used for instrument strings at that time was from the intestines of "Ram, Sheep, Goats, Cats and other animals
but that the best came from the intestines of Sheep, Goat and Felines (as well as Wolves) but not cattle as their intestines are too soft and weak
".
Note that split beef intestines are often used today for making instrument strings so are not historically correct.
Kircher also mentions that instrument strings were made from silk and vegetable fibres such as flax (linen) and hemp.
My ability to read Latin never was any good so my 'free' translation here is open to correction.
[file]26396[/file]
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Brian Prunka
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Thanks for all the info, John, this is very interesting.
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jdowning
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My pleasure Brian. It would be great if all of this effort as well as danyel's informed input and his current work in using available silk and gut
strings might eventually lead to a greater interest in and use of historically correct silk and gut strings for the oud and related instruments (as
well as the lute, of course).
Greater demand might lead to lower cost silk and gut strings (but will never be able to compete in cost with the 'mass produced' plastic variety).
Long way to go yet!
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Brian Prunka
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I asked Mimmo about putting together some gut sets to try on the oud; he didn't want the trouble. I am going to try some from Savarez, I realize that
they are not correct for the ancient music but they are probably not too far off from what the greats like Farid and Sunbati used.
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jdowning
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I don't know what strings Farid and Sunbati used but from their time period as performers (around 1930 to 1970 say) it is very unlikely that they had
all gut stringing. At the start of their careers it is most likely that they used plain gut for the first three courses and copper wire (perhaps
silver plated or even solid silver) wound on a gut or silk filament core for the remainder.
Come the 1960's, I would be very surprised if they did not then switch to the new nylon monofilament and copper wire wound on nylon filament given
these strings are relatively low in cost, greater stability, greater wear resistance and less prone to breakage.
If that is the case then it would be historically correct to use gut and wire on gut/silk basses for any oud made prior to 1960 and so designed for
these strings (this would also cover surviving ouds from the 19th C). Furthermore it would also be historically correct for any oud built after 1960
to this day to use modern nylon stringing. Instruments are being developed (but not necessarily improved) all the time. Indeed if it were not for the
invention of and ready availability of low cost, good quality plastic strings then the oud likely would not be as popular today as it is.
I have no experience with Savarez strings but note that they make both plain gut and wound copper wire on gut core basses so these should be OK and
reasonably historically correct for any of the old surviving ouds from the late 19th C. to 1960. Otherwise stick to plastic!
Mimmo can supply 'historical' gut strings for lute covering the full range up to 11 courses. These strings are made first with high twist (for greater
elasticity and flexibility) and then of gut roped construction ('Venice' style) with even greater elasticity and flexibility (covering the 4th and 5th
courses). After that the strings are made of loaded gut to double the string specific gravity for the 6th and lower course. It looks as though he is
now only making wound strings with plastic 'Nylgut' core.
His strings are hand polished for uniformity (not ground to a perfect cylinder like modern gut strings) and oiled (not varnished like modern gut
strings)
The attached image shows how flexible gut lute strings were in the early 16th C - they came in bundles bound up like shoe laces. Try that with a
modern plain gut string all stiff and packaged in coils.
[file]26397[/file]
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jdowning
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During the 1970's I purchased some coils of Chinese silk instrument strings from a store in London, England specialising in oriental instruments. More
recently my eldest son - on a business trip to China - was able to purchase a few more. The strings are made like a rope - three or four twisted
strands, dependant upon diameter. The strings that I have measure about 10 metres to a coil in the following diameters - 0.52 mm, 0.58 mm, 0,88 mm,
1.04 mm, 1.06 mm and 1.10 mm (surprisingly few choice of diameters).
The natural colour of these 'off the shelf' strings is 'off' white to light brown - like gut.
The attached images of a Chinese silk qin bass string show the construction - a silk cord wrapping around a three or four strand roped core. The
wrapping is to add linear mass without significantly affecting the string flexibility/elasticity - akin, in principle, to a metal wire wound bass
string. See page 5 of this thread to see how the ancient Chinese wrapped their bass strings. No doubt today this wrapping procedure is done by
machine.
It was the practice, when the wrapping became worn, to remove the wrapping and reuse the core as a smaller diameter string at higher pitch.
With the coming of the Cultural Revolution in China (1966 - 1976) good quality silk strings became difficult if not impossible to find - no doubt
because any remaining traditional string makers may have been directed to take up activities more 'useful' to the State never again to return to their
former craft?
[file]26444[/file] [file]26442[/file] [file]26440[/file]
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jdowning
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Talking about lute strings bound up like bootlaces. My bootlaces and shoelaces are cords not twisted like Chinese ropes but braided. This type of
construction is commonly used today for making very flexible and elastic ropes used for example by mountain climbers, yachtsmen, fishermen, surgeons
and the like.
In smaller dimensions, braiding is used for making silk medical sutures (for stitching wounds) ranging in diameter from about 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm.
Braided cord often is braided around a central core - the core providing much of the tensile strength of the cord.
However, braided cord or rope is not a modern invention - although its mass production manufacture by ingenious machine, rather than by hand,
certainly is.
More to follow.
[file]26456[/file] [file]26458[/file] [file]26460[/file]
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jdowning
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But what have bootlaces got to do with instruments strings?
The scribe of the so called Capirola Lute Book of Italian lute tablature (dated circa 1520) mentions that the lute strings used by master lutenist
Vincenzo Capirola were made from sheep's gut from the intestines of wether ram. He describes some of the intonation difficulties inherent in the
strings due to the natural taper in the gut (the strings then were not ground to a perfectly uniform cylinder like modern gut strings). He states that
this difficulty was more acute with thin than with thick strings, and even more so with 'da ganzer' strings.
Robert Dowland writing about lute strings and their choice in 1610 talks about " strings of a more fuller and larger sort than ordinary ( which we
call 'Gansars'). These strings for the sizes of the great and small Meanes are very good, but the trebles are not strong" (So the Gansar strings were
good for the mid range strings of a lute).
Way back in April 1995, Mimmo Peruffo (Aquila Strings) noted that in French a 'ganse' was a cord or string of braided construction (FoMRHI Comm 1351)
and referred to an entry in Diderot's Encyclopedie, Volume 7 circa 1754 (see attached image).
Braided cords and ribbons in France at that time had mundane functions such as loops for tying buttons but were very popular for decorating clothing
and were sold everywhere in France.
Braid came in many forms made up from materials such as gold and silver wire and silk - and were flat, round or square in section.
There is a French proverb which runs "Quand on prend du galon on n'en saurait trop prendre" (The more braid the better or You can't have too much of a
good thing!). Braid was popular fashion in France!
Braid was made in much the same way as lace - tediously overlapping threads by hand on a cushion using bobbins holding the thread - or on a loom.
What is interesting, from a potential instrument (bass) string point of view, is not only the extreme flexibility of braid but the use of silk as well
as metal wires often incorporated into the braid. Could it be that 'gansar' instrument strings were not only of braided construction but were weighted
with metal wire to add linear mass (making them good for bass strings)- i.e. equivalent to a modern wire wound bass string but with the twisted fine
wires hidden in the core of a braid? Also were the strings made only of silk filament (rather than gut) which would be better suited to making a
uniform cylindrical braid than would a few strands of gut?
Making a gansar string would be more costly, require more skill to make and use more material than one of plain twisted or roped construction. The
first mention of wire wound instrument strings is in England in the late 17th C - another lower cost development perhaps by more easily putting the
wire outside rather than inside a string?
Any roping or braiding construction weakens a string (compared to a plain low twist string of either gut or silk) - which may explain Dowland's remark
that treble gansars were not so strong?
Of course, making spun thread incorporating gold or silver wires for decorative effect in clothing is a very ancient craft so is not an invention of
18th C France - so 'gansar' strings or their equivalent might date back far earlier than the 16th C in Italy?
As part of this project I shall try to make some silk gansar braided strings for the 4th to 6th courses just to see how they may turn out and perform.
After all most early sources on string making only talk about 'twisting' a string without going into detail about how it is done - and string, cord or
rope can be twisted in a multitude of different ways - including braiding.
[file]26470[/file]
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jdowning
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Making silk braided cord (with a core) by hand the old way is slow and tedious (but relaxing I imagine) - so here is one way to speed things up a
bit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoEv8HB9xRo
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jdowning
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...... or by hand using a much simpler apparatus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzh5leB8vHc
... or a lot faster with some practice!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnCggGQ-z3A
This is a traditional Japanese hand braiding apparatus demonsrtating the making of an 8 strand braid. The braid here is hollow being formed around a
metal rod.
For this project I plan to build this style of braider modified by replacing the metal rod with a simply twisted silk core (under tension) of
appropriate length for an instrument string (about a metre or so).
On completion the braided string will be boiled in a flexible glue concoction to bind the silk fibres into a uniform mass.
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jdowning
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The larger diameter strings of plain silk or gut need to be flexible in order to work. This flexibility is provided by increasing the twist in the
fibres of the string or by using a roped construction. Twisting the fibres lowers the tensile strength of a string - not generally a problem for the
thicker strings.
On the other hand for the thin treble strings flexibility is less of a problem but string breakage is. The top treble string must be tuned to as high
a pitch as possible (without frequent breakage) in order to give the thick basses the best chance of providing adequate performance. So, for maximum
tensile strength there must be minimum twist of the string fibres - just enough to form a cylindrical string - or zero twist in the case of a
monofilament string.
It is often useful - when trying to understand the properties of 'obsolete' materials and how they were prepared and worked - to look at other crafts
or technologies, not directly connected with musical instruments - where these materials might have been employed.
In the case of silk strings this approach lead me to investigate the fields of angling (fishing) and sutures (medicine) in the pre-plastic era prior
to the 1950's. It has already been mentioned that braided silk filament was once used for fly fishing lines (it still is for 'traditionalists' but the
silk braided lines are now very costly) and that fine braided silk cords are used for medical sutures (the silk must be degummed for this application
to avoid rejection by the bodily tissues).
However, there is another silk product - monofilament silk - that was once extensively used for fishing line leaders (to which the fishing hook was
tied) and for medical sutures. This material is known as 'silk worm gut' or just 'gut' or, more confusingly 'cat gut' (perhaps a compression of
'caterpillar gut').
Silkworm gut is a strand of pure silk obtained by killing the silkworm caterpillar with acid and then stretching the silk filled glands of the poor
creature to make a clear monofilament silk strand of small diameter. Over a decade ago I speculated (in the pages of FoMRHI) that silkworm gut might
have been used as treble lute string called a 'Minikin' in the 17th C - predating the nylon monofilament strings of today! The 'Minikin' lute string
may possibly have early Turkish connections.
The attached article that I wrote at that time (FoMRHI Comm. 1795 - see attached) is just one of many written to explore the possibilities of
materials other than sheep's gut as historical alternatives that may have been used for lute strings.
At that time (2002) I first made contact with Alexander Rakov who not only was interested in exploring the same possible alternatives but resided in
an area famed for manufacturing and supplying products to the fly fishing industry. Alexander, as a consequence, was able to obtain samples of
materials such as 'silk worm gut' for examination and testing.
More to follow.
Note: reading through Comm 1795 again, the statement that the silk glands of a Bombyx mori caterpillar were 15 inches (38 cm) in length is a typo
error (some caterpillar though!) - read instead 1.5 inches or 3.8 cm.
Attachment: Comm 1795.pdf red.pdf (883kB)
This file has been downloaded 480 times
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jdowning
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Here for information - and in graphic detail - is how silkworm gut is made. In this case the domesticated silk worm caterpillar Bombyx mori is the
victim - the species that was successfully used in Spain during the heyday of gut leaders for angling until nylon monofilament and other plastic
leaders became generally available in the 1950's.
The silkworm species and the treatment prior to the highly skilled procedure of 'drawing' the gut into monofilament strands is critical to the
properties and length of the final product.
http://www.wormspit.com/silkgut.htm
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jdowning
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THe production of monofilament silkworm gut in the 19th and early 20th C (until about 1950 when nylon monofilament became generally available) was big
business. The bulk of production supplied the demands of anglers for leaders on fishing lines and the remainder for medical sutures. The best silkworm
gut for both applications came from Spain.
The raw gut - when prepared for use after cleaning off the yellowish natural gum (sericin) debris- was clear and came in various diameters - by being
drawn though sizing dies - and in lengths generally ranging from about 25 cm to 75 cm (the latter for better quality material). However, it would
appear that longer lengths were also available - reportedly up to about 275 cm in length.
At first sight this material would appear to have a potential application for treble strings on an oud or lute (just as PVF plastic fishing leaders
have today). However, after further research this potential application seems to be less promising.
Spanish silkworm gut is stiff and brittle so must be soaked in water before use to make it supple enough to knot - not a problem for angling and
surgical applications where the gut must remain strong after immersion in water.
The attached image demonstrates the brittleness of silkworm gut where the gut has split longitudinally when tied into a knot.
This brittleness may be due to the way the gut is prepared (soaked in acid) prior to drawing out to length although the acid may only toughen the
walls of the silk sac to allow the sac (and its contents) to be stretched to maximum length permissible without breaking.
Perhaps there might be a chemical after treatment of the gut to make it more supple and more suited for an instrument string application?
The length of gut available would not appear to be a problem if available in length of a meter or longer. Attached is an advertisement for Spanish
silkworm gut leaders from the American mail order catalogue of Montgomery Ward (#57 dated 1895, page 494). Note the instruction to soak the gut before
use.
The lengths advertised range from 3 to 9 ft (90 cm to 275 cm) - more than enough for musical instrument applications. However, the engraving
illustrating the leaders seems to indicate that the leaders are not supplied as a single length but are made up from shorter lengths knotted together
(?). However, the engraving is not clear - so the question of available length remains open.
This applies to Spanish silkworm gut but what about a similar material made by other silk producing countries with a long history of sericulture such
as China and Japan?
More to follow.
[file]26520[/file]
[file]26522[/file] [file]26524[/file]
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jdowning
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For comparison here is the advertisement for silkworm gut leaders from the American Sears and Roebuck mail order catalogue #117 dated 1908 (page 758).
Silkworm gut imported from Spain and Italy. Note again the knots in the illustration of the leaders suggesting that they were not made in one long
piece.
Next to look at what the Chinese were making in the 19th C
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jdowning
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There is an interesting series of correspondence from the British Foreign Office about 'Chinese Silkworm Gut' reported in the 'Bulletin or
Miscellaneous Information' published by the Royal (Botanical) Gardens Kew, London, 1892, pages 222 to 227. Summarised as follows:
(Kiungechow, 1891) The silk was made from a species of caterpillar that thived on the feng tree (Liquidambar formosana, Hance) - prepared by throwing
the mature caterpillar into boiling vinegar and drawing the silk glands apart to form a thread say, 5 ft long and strong enough to make a line with
which to catch small fish.
(Kiungechow, 1892) In Canton the silk is called 'fish silk' or 'fish head silk'. In Hoihow it is called 'insect silk'. The best silk comes from Hainan
in the mountains of the Ling-mên neighbourhood. The male caterpillar produces a single thread of better quality than the double thread of the
female.
(British Consulate, Amoy, 1867) The silkworm gut drawn from the caterpillar is the sole use to which the creature is applied. For this purpose it is
not reared but captured on its descending from the tree to spin its cocoon. The mature worms are steeped in vinegar for a day and then drawn out into
gut which is used for fishing lines and for various economical and ornamental purposes.
(British Consul Amoy, 1867) The cocoons of the caterpillar (they are not Bombyx mori) are worked by the worm into the bark of the tree and are so
coarse and thin as to yield silk of coarse texture and in small amount so is unlikely to be of interest to Western cultivators. In this district the
Chinese use the worm only for the purpose of making silkworm gut. The true silkworm is only reared here in small non commercial quantities.
(Swinhoe report to Foreign Office , 1867). The caterpillars do not descend from the tree until they are ready to spin. They are then caught and broken
and the silk-gut immediately extracted, steeped in vinegar, washed and drawn out. The operation must be executed without delay - if the worms are kept
the gut is useless. Each gut if properly managed will draw out to 20 or 30 ft (610 cm to 915 cm). The gut is then dried in a shady place then rolled
up and considered ready for use.
(letter to Kew, 1892) The gut in China is in considerable demand for making fish lines and seems so strong and serviceable that there should be a
commercial use for it in England.
Charles Farlow and Co, Fishing Tackle manufacturers, London stated that the Chinese gut tested was very similar to the (Spanish?) gut that was once
available years ago but perhaps not quite so brittle. In their judgement it could not be used for fishing purposes and otherwise did not know for what
purpose it could be used (?)
(1892) Exports to Europe from Kiungehow of Chinese silkworm gut for making leaders for fishing lines sometimes amounted to 16,800 pounds (7,600
Kilograms)
The drawn silk was also called 'marvello hair'.
The tree on which the wild moth fed (genus Liquidambar) also provides fragrant gum resins traded in antiquity - Myrrh, Frankincense, Balm of Gilead,
Mecca Balm, Styrax, Storax and others.
('Digital Taiwan' ) The moth species - originally from Hainan Island in Southern China - is the Giant Silkworm (Saturnia pyretorum Westwood) also
known as the Fish-line Silkworm. Indigenous to India, Vietnam and Southern China with a domesticated breeding history dating back as early as the 9th
C.
The species was introduced to Taiwan during the Japanese occupation in the first half of the 20th C for commercial production of silk fishing lines
for export. The farms were shut down in 1950 (as nylon became generally available) after which the moths spread into the widerness and are now
naturalised.
Chinese silkworm gut was made from a different species of moth than the Spanish variety and prepared in a different manner to produce significantly
longer lengths of gut that was "less brittle". The production of the silk in China likely has a very long history but could it also once have been
used in the past for monofilament treble musical instrument strings perhaps sold to the unsuspecting West as 'catgut'?
I for one would like to know if anyone has more information about this material (i.e. made, according to tradition, from the Saturnia pyretorum
species of moth not Bombyx mori), if it is still being manufactured and currently available.
The Japanese were also in the market for manufacture and export of 'monofilament' silk gut for fishing leaders but made by a different process
entirely - perhaps even more suited to use as treble instrument strings.
More to follow.
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