Me and My M0co

I’m a gourmand. Cigars, coffee, whiskey, wine, food, my range of palate choices are basically “yum“, “yuck“, with a few adverbs like “kinda” and “totally” thrown in there. When people talk about “cedary” or “earthy” or any kind of “notes” in their reviews, I just nod my head and know that I’m not going to be there.

Rope is that way for me too. So I’m not going to be able to sit here and compare M0co jute with things like tossa or golden or 9-strand vs. 21 strand or etc. Sorry. Thankfully, there’s a whole bunch of other people who have a much more distinguished feel and experience for such things.

That’s ok. Thing is, I am going to paraphrase my friend Andrew, who, when asked what the “proper length” of a rope is, said on the Ropecast: “It’s whatever length of rope is in your hand when the naked girl in front of you asks you to tie her up.” The right rope to use is the one that’s in your hand at that time.

Which is why I have my m0c0 jute at the top of my bag.

“Energy” = Focused Attention

Here’s the thing: I watched M0c0 make this rope, at least some of it. I talked with him about his concerns about the new kind of twine he was using (spoiler: it turned out to work just fine). I saw his rope “run”, with the taped-down markers for other customers like Lochai and Hammer. I listened as he explained for Kink Academy how he came to be making rope, and the tools necessary.

What I heard in those words was the voice of a craftsman in the true sense of the word. Someone who has taken a tangible product and infused it with his own style in the same way a jazz musician makes a run-of-the-mill instrument sing with a unique voice.

Then I saw something else. I watched him use the drills to wind the rope, to make the threads magically come together into a beautiful golden cord. I watched his face and his eyes and his hands as he gauged the tension, slowing the speed, watching the rope, testing the tension, strand upon strand. He was careful. It was like watching a chef add just the right amount of cardamom – there was an ineffable sense that he was tasting the tension, until it got just right.

That was the moment that stayed with me. We finished the shoot, he gave me a set of ropes for review purposes (note: these were not predicated on a positive (or, as it turns out, timely) review; it was predicated on me using them and talking about them. But I’ve only ever seen one other person put that much attention into their rope: M0co’s sort-of competitor, Twisted Monk, when I visited the Abbey. Incidentally, I do not think they are competing. If you’re going organic, you should have both hemp and jute in your rope bag.

I know of other passionate kinky craftspeople. Bob from MauiKink, may he rest in peace, put that kind of energy and care into his toys. I hear it in Angry Bunny Man or Lily the Rope Ho when they talk about his dyeing processes. I see it in a few other vendors I know, glimpses. But that hands-on coiled-order-from-tangled-chaos creation of rope right in front of me will remain etched in my brain.

You could say that he focused his attention on the rope. You could also say that he put a lot of energy into them. When I say that, I’m saying the same thing.

Perceived Value

It’s been proven time and again that we pay for the idea of a thing and also enjoy it for that idea far more than any actual material qualities. In other words, if I tell you the wine cost $120 a bottle, it will taste better. If I share a bottle of Menage a Trois with my lover, we’ll both feel sexier.

And when I reach for my M0c0 jute, yes, it’s just another rope – but I remember that energy he put into it. I recognize the care and expertise that went into creating it. That not only makes that rope feel better in my hands, it also instills in me a responsibility to do something good with this rope. I have to be worthy of the rope – not in the skill or the flashiness of the tie, but simply in the attention and care I give to whatever I’m doing.

Blah Blah, Gray, How’s It Tie?

(sigh) OK, fine, here’s my best “actual” review of the stuff:

If you don’t like fuzzy, this rope is not for you. As it happens, the people I’ve used it on (such as MissAli, EmberBliss, Curious Zee, and my slave Naiia) have all liked the feel of it a lot. It’s got that lightness that attracted me to jute in the first place, but not to the point of being uncontrolled. My particular jute set has what M0c0 calls a “tight” weave, which some don’t like. I feel it makes jute last longer, and as I’m not a wealthy man that makes a difference. One of the very few complaints I’d heard about M0co Jute was that it wore out – though the example they gave was Murphy Blue needing to buy a new set every few months. That’s kind of like criticizing the tires of a NASCAR driver because they need changing more than most.

The rope just feels good. My next set, whenever I get it, will be a few feet longer (I was spoiled with 30′ linen and hemp ropes for many years, so 26′ is just a little short for me). One thing I really like about this jute as opposed to others I’ve used is that there is no kerosene smell to work out of it. It has good bite for the suspensions, but not too much to make knots unwieldy. It also shows up nicely against a wide variety of skin colors and leaves gorgeous rope marks.

See what I mean? I really can’t say more than “I like tying with this stuff. My partners tend to like it to.” I’m relatively late to the party, though, so you can find lots of other people who will write about the technical stuff.

Me, I got tyin’ to do…