Oh, also,
until fairly recently, there was a paper cord that had a yellower color. I mean, the paper itself was yellower. This is apparently no longer made. Your chair may have this yellower cord in addition to having been shellacked.
I wish they still made the yellower cord. I like the color of the other stuff but it'd be nice to have a choice.
Silly question?
Does artificially altered cord outlast naturally aged cord? Personally, I find shiny cord less desirable visually, plus it always looks dusty. Their must also be a maintenance issue with artificially altered cord if the altered finish eventually "flakes". But then, I'm a bit of a flake....however high maintenance I am?.
just curious,
Aunt Mark
Mark,
I don't think that adding a finish to paper cord makes it more durable. I think it's merely done in an effort to make it less vulnerable to staining. Ok, and maybe to add some gloss, but not to make it last longer.
Shellac gets brittle with age and won't flex with the cord; that's why it flakes off.
Much better to do a soap finish! It's easily renewed and protects well. My son-in-law recently spilled coffee on one of my corded seats that I had treated with soap. He cleaned it off with just water and you would never know that anything had been spilled.
Spanky: please tell me about...
Spanky: please tell me about this soap treatment for corded seats. I've not heard of doing that.
And I don't think there is a durability difference either. I really dislike shellac'ed, lacquered, or otherwise sealed cord, but that is just me.
Oh, and spanky, this is tangentially related, this huge roll of cord I have is unbelievably tangly. Have to put the box on a lazy susan to use it at all. It is laced cord, and before I've used unlaced. I am a bit suspicious that the tighter winding of laced cord is what makes it so tangly. thoughts?
First, the cord gets tangled
because the strand you pull on gets caught on another loop and pulls that away from the roll inside, then it pulls the next one and the next one and the next one and pretty soon you have an unbelievable mess. I have spent many hours undoing the tangles that have resulted from this.
I don't know if laced or unlaced is more likely to do it. I don't think so. I think one of those--I never remember which--is just smoothed out after twisting, not twisted that much tighter.
The way I have finally conquered it is to pull verrrrry carefully out of the center. I watch to make sure the cord is not catching on other loops and if it does I just undo it immediately.
A lazy susan or other easily-spun device helps to keep the cord from twisting tighter as you weave but I don't think this has anything much to do with the loops getting caught. I turned my spool religiously and still had huge tangles until I finally just learned to stay on top of it.
So! That's that.
Soap treatment: it's on the board somewhere but it's easier to just explain again. LuciferSum, who isn't on much anymore, first mentioned it. You can buy a product called Soap Flakes but I just grate Ivory bar soap---essentially the same thing.
The recipe is 2 tablespoons of soap flakes in 1 qt warm water. Let it sit a few hours to dissolve. Then simply dampen the whole seat with it and let dry.
It should not be dripping, though I did that with my first one and it didn't seem to make any difference. Make sure you get the whole seat damp, no dry areas otherwise you'll get water marks.
To clean spills, use the same mix. The soap acts as a wax, sort of, and it repels dirt. This is the same thing used on soft pine floors in Scandinavia for centuries. If done regularly, the floor never needs refinishing.
My $02
If I would believe anybody, I guess it would be Spanky. He is one of the practioners like me who I trust. But I have been working away on cane, and Danish cord myself and have access to Swedish and Danish journeymen. This is what I have gleaned from them.
1) Danish caner has suggested to me that the best thing is to use soap on the caned chairs. (I will summarize later)-
2) A Swedish Master, (this means he has been examined by masters and received a masters degree) told me that the KEY is to ensure that the cane/cord/whatever is kept nurtured by oil and moisture. This is a guy who is from Central Europe - his name is Michael Vammerlund - who has received his Master certificat after years of apprentiship. His cane work is exceptional and he does a lot of Danish cord work. (I am bragging but I know MORE than he does about caning a Bambi chair but that is the only thing).
SUMMARY:
Cord break (I deduce) because of drying. If you use neutral Soap (check the pH) on the cane, it gets moisture and also fat. Fat/Oil may be the key.
If you wax/oil your cane/cord it will last longer. It is really like polishing shoes. Take good wax and buff it into cane. Use a shoe brush. (He showed me). It is really a question of putting nutrients back into natural fibre.
I have learned this from watching masters. You watch, learn, but they don't say so much. You just watch what they do.
That makes a lot of sense.
I think a lot of wear on cord is from the cord rubbing back and forth on the wood a tiny bit each time someone sits down, gets up, or shifts his weight in the chair. A well-soaped seat will help a lot to keep those little fibers sticking together and not breaking off, and to lubricate the cord so it slides on the wood and doesn't catch.
PS--I'm not a guy!
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