Spun Nylon

[rosspti 2]

Hello everyone - I'm new to this forum, but have been shooting and ferretting in Cornwall for years. I like roughshooting, decoying, and put down a few hundred pheasants on a friend's farm too. But lately its thoughts of ferretting that keep me awake at night!!! AT LAST IT'S SEPTEMBER!

 

I wanted to ask about nylon / spun nylon... I started off with a load of free nylon nets from a friend. Later I started knitting my own hemp nets, and now use Spun Nylon from Johnsons Field Sports. You don't see much about Spun Nylon on the internet - but everyone talks loads aboud 4z 6z 10z, etc. Does spun nylon have any other descriptions - or is it just not talked about that much?

 

Down here we have Cornish Hedges which you dont find in other places quite the same, but I'm sure everyone knows about brambles! Our hedges are 4 - 6 foot high earth and stone walls with thorn, gorse, hazel etc. growing on top. They are about 6 foot thick at the base and most rabbits in Cornwall seem to live in the hedges. Ground sets are rarer. I find spun nylon so much more useful where there is so much thorn, etc. to get tangled up in.

 

((Anyone who's interested - try this link. Its all about Cornish Hedges and their rabbits. Bit of a history lesson but interesting site.))

http://www.cornishhedges.com/rabbits.pdf

 

Me g/f comes from up Narth in't Laakes (lol) and on 400 mile drives up to Cumbria its amazing to see all the variety in ferretting ground that there is out there! I love it.

 

The pic shows one set on the Cornish Coast that is in stunning spot. The headland has a ground set 50+ yards from the cliff which we purse netted, and then set a long net near the cliff edge because there are rabbit holes on the cliff face and if the rabbits slip the nets they bolt for those.

Edited September 4, 2007 by rosspti

[mole catcher 1]

some view that is

 

spun nylon nets handle and work in a differant manner to z twist nets. what i meen by work differant is they dont seem to get caught on every piece of twig, nettle and thistle like the lighter z twines do. most who have used doth types see the ztwist in a differant light once they have used the spun nylon nets. spun nylon has a wooly feel to it, much like hemp only its harder wearing and needs a lot less care after use. Its because of this wooly make up its a real joy to make nets from, both long nets and purse nets, it only needs a single knot rather than a double know thats needed on the shiney z twist nylons.

heres a net made from spun nylon

 

try using spun poly, much the same as spun nylon only without the stretch.

Edited September 4, 2007 by mole catcher

[rosspti 2]

Thanks Mole Catcher!

 

I love spun nylon for making nets, and the finished product is great. The only thing I miss about hemp is the smell, and when you use hemp it feels like you're doing something the traditional way. I'm all for tradition but when youve spent hours making nets for them to rot in the damp Cornish salt-laden climate its a bit soul destroyin!

 

I think if our grandfathers had rot-proof materials that lasted a lifetime they would have used it too.

 

Where are good places to get splun nylon & spun poly?

Also where can you get the cheapest ready made spun nylon / spun poly nets?

[mole catcher 1]

theres one or two good net makers on this site, sure they can put you in touch with a few handmade pursenets

[rosspti 2]

theres one or two good net makers on this site, sure they can put you in touch with a few handmade pursenets

 

Can people recommend any names for the netmakers I should try?

[maty j 6]

if your after spun nets, why not knit your own?? id imagine most will be too buisy thi time of year with ferreting, worth a try though. as i say though if your not making your own. welcome to the site btw

[rosspti 2]

if your after spun nets, why not knit your own?? id imagine most will be too buisy thi time of year with ferreting, worth a try though. as i say though if your not making your own. welcome to the site btw

 

Thanks - yep I do knit my own purse nets, just interested to know how cheaply (!) I can get hold of them. Spun nylon is the best I have found, prefer it to nylon and hemp (see above). Not tried spun poly -although it has been recommended to me on this board. Is it much different to spun nylon?

[Guest reload]

Get on to Pat @ Bridport nets, they have some lovely Yellow and Black Spun poly/ Nylon. I had some lovely ones made my a forum member and they are the business.

Regarding the Cornish Hedge, they are not all that different from Devon hedges, just devon hedges are faced with stone on the bottom, Dorset ones are just horrible.