Difference between Perlon and Nylon

[catbirdseat]

I've wondered from time to time what is the difference between Perlon and Nylon used in accessory cord and ropes.

 

Turns out Wikipedia has the answer. The difference is small and has more to do with how the two are made than with their properties.

 

Nylon is Nylon 6,6, the condensation product of 1,6-diaminohexane and 1,6-hexanedicarboxylic acid. Perlon is Polyamide 6, the ring-opening polymerization product of caprolactam. It was developed by I.G. Farben in the 1930's to get around a patent.

 

The only difference is in the order of the amide bonds. Perlon resembles a natural polymer in that each amide bond are oriented the same way.

 

Despite the fact that we and vendors might call their product "Perlon", I believe most of what we use is actually Nylon 6,6.

[builder206]

Never let a chemist start a thread. Get it? "Thread?" bwahaha

 

Actually I thought 'perlon' referred to rope made from a particular method of combining materials (the continuous core + the woven sheath). I didn't know it meant a material.

[rob]

You know, wikipedia says that cake is often frosted with buttercream or marzipan, and finished with piped borders and crystallized fruit.....

[crackers]

I've wondered from time to time what is the difference between Perlon and Nylon used in accessory cord and ropes.

 

...

 

Despite the fact that we and vendors might call their product "Perlon", I believe most of what we use is actually Nylon 6,6.

 

I'm not sure I buy this explanation totally, but I'm too tired and dumb to actually look up the synthesis mechanism and the structures. Nylon and Perlon are both trademarks for fibers, Nylon is polyamide 6,6 (patented and trademarked by DuPont) and perlon is polyamide 6 (trademarked by some incomprehensible german organization) afaik.

 

In our terms though, I know from buying it that it's all the same raw material, and perlon is how brits say webbing or (less frequently) cordalette. I think that after wwII, there were no crackers (ha ha ha) in the UK, and the raw stuff came from either the US (but not in quantity after we geared up for Korea=>Vietnam) and from Germany.

[counterfeitfake]

That is interesting. Also interesting that "perlon" seems to have come to mean the rope-like stuff we use for prusiks and cordelettes.

[catbirdseat]

The important take home message is that there is not significant performance difference and you can use the two terms almost interchangeably.

[MarkMcJizzy]

Actually I thought 'perlon' referred to rope made from a particular method of combining materials (the continuous core + the woven sheath). I didn't know it meant a material.

 

That's a kernmantle rope

 

The important take home message is that there is not significant performance difference and you can use the two terms almost interchangeably.

Fuck, I told you that last summer. Perlon is German nylon. And it took you a whole year to figure out that I was essentially right.

[catbirdseat]

You were right about it being the Germans. I.G. Farben was the same company that supplied Zyklon B to the Nazis, if I remember correctly.

[mkporwit]

You were right about it being the Germans. I.G. Farben was the same company that supplied Zyklon B to the Nazis, if I remember correctly.

 

Yep, they were the the manufacturers of that. They also made extensive use of slave labor. They now live on as AGFA, BASF and Bayer...