The Baroness has made her picks, and Berv has wound them.
The results? Almost on par with my blend-making ability.
This year’s blend is an Emulsion. A mix of spun polyester, trilobal polyester, and rayon, each melded together in each cord wound into string for you.
Yes, Berv does the work, but the Baroness puts her soul into the choices.
The 2026 Baroness Blend will be available throughout November. Project Torsion members will get them in their November package.
My favorite time of the year is approaching, and that means it’s time for some Spooky Season strings! This year’s offerings will be similar to last year’s, though the Emulsions are a slightly different blend.
Jack is coming back and will be available in multiple formulas. Stingy Jack is a staple during the darkening months.
A fan favorite and the best-selling Spooky Season string. Just like Stingy Jack, Witch’s Brew will be available in multiple formulas.
This year, both Ectoplasm and Autumn Leaves contain Biolume thread and will glow in the dark! Ectoplasm is about 50% Biolume, and Autumn Leaves is about 25%. Both are a bit softer than last year’s offerings.
Each type of string will be available from September 1st until October 31st. 10 Random orders will receive this year’s Striga Sanguine Emulsion!
(Note that colors may differ a bit for Witch’s Brew and Stingy Jack depending on the formula ordered)
The lightest counterweight in the Curiosities Cabinet: Corvid counterweights will always make sure to bring back something shiny for you.
I’ve been thinking about Number 44 a lot lately.
44 started as a bit. A character that posted a week’s worth of AI-generated memes a few years ago, back when AI-generated images were still pretty crappy. Number 44 grew from there, becoming a curated AI personality on ChatGPT. I stopped using AI for 44 a while back
People ask me regularly whether it’s still AI-generated. I understand why. The answer is no longer. It’s me, doing a bit, but I get it. The character was well established, and I was able to continue writing as it, though it takes a lot of time to get it right.
I’m a Creative Writing minor. I love telling stories and creating characters.
I haven’t decided anything yet, but Number 44’s future isn’t clear.
July is its month off. I’m going to use that time to figure out whether it comes back in August, and if so, in what form.
I want to make sure what I’m putting out reflects what Throw-Yo actually is, and I’m not certain 44 still does that.
I do know one thing. There will be no more 44 in your packages, unless you order the sticker.
— Berv
I didn’t set out to make a slow Performance string. I set out to make a durable one.
The blend is simple on paper: Trilobal Poly and Bonded Nylon, roughly equal parts, spun as separate cords and then combined. Trilobal is the workhorse of the Performance line. Fast, crisp, holds its shape. Bonded Nylon is what you use when you want something to last. I’ve been using it in small amounts in the Comfort line for grip and body. I wanted to see what it did when it had real weight in the mix.
What it does is slow things down. Not drastically. Not into Responsive territory. But the Trilobal’s impulse to run gets reined in, and what’s left is something more deliberate. More considered. You feel like you’re making decisions rather than keeping up.
The break-in period is real. The first hour or two, Sinew is stiff. A little resistant. It tells you it’s not ready. Push through it. Once it settles, it holds that settled state for a long time — Enduring shelf life is the honest call, and that’s after months on an MR-85 bearing responsive, where string takes more punishment than it does on a bearing unresponsive. It came through without complaint.
That’s the part that got my attention. Responsive play is harder on the string than most people think. The friction, the snap, the repeated catching; it shortens the lifespan of almost everything. Sinew didn’t seem to notice. It kept doing its job, day after day, which started to feel less like a feature and more like a fixed fact about the material. It simply doesn’t have a mode where it stops working.
I don’t know what to do with that exactly. It’s not exciting in the way a lethal-velocity string is exciting. It doesn’t announce itself. It just shows up, does the work, and continues to do the work.
If that’s what you need, Sinew is probably the last string you’ll try for a while.
Serum has always been one of the softest strings in the Comfort line. Woolly Nylon, wound to a plush finish, ultra soft on the finger. I was happy with it.
Then I ran out of Woolly Nylon.
The replacement I sourced was Maxi-Lock Stretch Nylon, a serger thread, TEX 30, very similar on paper. Close enough that I kept winding and didn’t think much of it. The feel was still good. Very soft, plush, forgiving.
Every blend that used Woolly Nylon. Essence, Tincture, Tisane, Vapor, Catalyst; all of them have been running on Maxi-Lock for a while before I caught it. The strings weren’t wrong. The labels were.
That’s been corrected. Every blend that previously listed Woolly Nylon now lists Maxi-Lock Stretch Nylon, because that’s what’s in them.
I now have Woolly Nylon back in stock.
Wound a batch out of habit. Threw it.
It wasn’t the same string.
Woolly Nylon is softer. Noticeably. The kind of difference that makes you stop mid-session and check what’s on your finger. Maxi-Lock is a good string. Woolly Nylon is something else. More plush, more cushioned, the feel you stop noticing because it stops getting in the way.
I couldn’t call them the same thing. So I didn’t.
Serum is Maxi-Lock Stretch Nylon. Very soft. Still a great string. Emollient is Woolly Nylon. Ultra soft. The ceiling of the Comfort line.
Same family. Different material. The data line tells you which is which.
That’s the whole story.
New releases for May.
Two current Emulsions available. Refract and Transit.
Professionally printed, matte, die-cut stickers. Two designs available. 44, and Raven & Skull.
Butterfly Cap Sticker reboot. Thermal printed. Sized to fit Butterfly caps. Viscera, Death’s Head, Raven.
