I picked up a large spool in the fishing-shop, thinking I was very smart to avoid the shipping costs from the US, but my problem is the terms written on my old spools from Fusionbeads. Thay all says Bead Thread Size D, and some are B. But in the norwegian fishing shop the terms are a bit different ;) It just says 0.10 mm, 5.9 kg, and 270 meters. I'm not confused about the feet/meters thing, but I'm a bit scared this new thread is too thick for my seed beads. I need to get the thread through 4-5 times. I'm not able to look at the threads and spot any difference at all, but this spool is so big and expensive, that I'll rather take it back than to break the package and finding out it's wrong. Can anyone help me, please?

Hi Klippenberg,

I use 6lb test Fireline regularly - it is similar in thickness to I think Nymo B - it is definitely finer than Nymo D, I suspect the thickness you've bought is more like a "D", as 6lb equates to  about 2.73 Kilos, so am guessing it's more like a D thread. Anyone else any ideas?

 

Hm, that is a puzzle.  Doing the metric conversion, .10mm 5.9kilo = .004 inch 13 pound test.

The label on my spool of Crystal Fireline says .008 inch average diameter, 6 pound test, size D.

Translated to metric, that would be .20mm 2.7kilo - or, it's twice as thick as your spool but half the strength. 

Unless my math is backwards, sounds like your thread is superior - is it actually Fireline, or another brand?

 

It is Fireline all right. It's very strange, isn't it? I suspect that someone didn''t check, or doublecheck that the metric conversion was "translated" correctly, when the factory in Norway printed the labels for the box. Anyway, it should be fine enough for 11/0's, right?

I have also bought Berkely Fireline at the sports store. There was a difference in diameter compare to the Beadsmith fireline, which says "braided bead thread". Example:

Sports store - 6 lb. test diameter  .15mm  with 4lb  test at .13 mm

Beadsmith - 6 lb.(listed as "D") was only .008mm (the 4 lb is probably "B")

I found the thicker diameter was a problem with some 11's that had a ceylon coating, where some of the coating looked like it had bled into the holes. Even with the thinnest needle (12), the beads or needle broke. That's when I figured out the difference. It does feel a little less flexible, too.

It works fine in larger size beads, or if I'm only going through once or twice.

Hope this helps,

 Vicki

 

vickib, you're a genious. This is the case in a nutshell. - Berkeley's Fireline. But the funny thing is that it looks even thinner than size D. I will give it a go, and see what I think. Thanks a lot, you all.

Vicki, my spools of  6 pound test Fireline also have the Berkley label, produced for Beadsmith - but the .008 diameter measurement is in inches - .008" - which converts to .20mm (millimeters).  Which makes it twice as thick as klippenberg's line. 

However, my spool of Berkley Fireline 10 lb test (4.5 kg) purchased from the sporting goods store also lists the diameter as .20mm. 

So are the Beadsmith spools mis-labeled, do you suppose, and the thickness is actually millimeters, not inches?  Which would make the 6  lb test from Beadsmith thinner from than klippenberg's line.  In which case she might have a problem getting her thread  through her beads 4 or 5 times.

 Oh, and watch out on the "Lb. Test Dia" thing.  For instance, my 10 lb Fireline spool's label indicates that  "4Lb Test Dia .20mm" - that is, it's the equivalent of a 4Lb test diameter in monofilament line.  In other words, it's a 10 Lb test line at a 4Lb test diameter, making it 2.5 times stronger than monofialment.   So it's actually a 10Lb test line with a .20mm diameter.

I looked at my old spools from Beadsmith, size B = o.oo6 . That equals 0.15 mm. So, my new spool is actually thinner than the old size B. Right? And twize the strenght.....should be good. I will try it out and find out how it works. It feels very thin, so I hope it will give enough stability.

On the back of my spool I found this adress: www.Berkley-Fishing.com

klippenberg, I'm starting to wonder if the Beadsmith spools (the ones labeled "D" and "B") have the thread diameter measurements mis-labeled as "inches" when they're really in millimeters. 

So if the .008 measurement is actually millimeters, then your .10mm thread would be thicker than what Beadsmith lists as a size D equivalent thread.

My two spools:

Beadsmith Berkley Fireline 6# test .008, which converted to metric would be .20mm

sporting goods store Berkley Fireline 10# test .20mm

The 10# test is considerably thicker, and they both can't be 20mm, so I'm starting to think the Beadsmith spool is mislabeled as inches when it should be millimeters.

I see.... What to do, what to do. This is the closest I get on their homepage, but this is a smoke one, I've got cristal. FL30010-42 (1013048) Smoke 10/4 Lb. Test/Line Diam. 35.49 Did you get any wiser now? I sure did not!

Here I found exact what I have at home: berkley-fishing.com/prod.php?k=96304&sk=47013&u=FL300CY

klippenberg, I just thought of something - is there a number over the barcode on your spool?  My 10# test spool, for instance, says FLFS10-42, which matches the number on the Berkley website for this type of line.

Maybe your spool has a product number also, matching one of the Crystal Fireline numbers?  Then we'd know exactly which test strength it is.

http://www.johnsonfishing.com/prod.php?k=96304&sk=47013&u=FL300CY

Funny you asked that, I've been searching the Code for an hour, not finding the exact match. But here it is: EFL 30010-CY and: 1127403 I didn't find it. But I wish you luck if want to have a go.

Y'know, I'm guessing the significant numbers are the 10-CY part, which would make it a 10 Lb test, which would make it on the thick side for seed bead work. 

Up here in Alaska (the Norway of the United States - we actually have a town named Petersburg founded by Norwegian fishermen), I can never find 6# test in the shops because no one uses it - the fish are too big.  I wonder if you have a similar situation in Norway?

At last, the French website for Berkley has the exact product numbers as yours, as well as an equivalent to the US lb. sizes:

http://www.berkley-fishing.fr/

You'll no doubt figure this out yourself:

click on Catalogue, then Fils Berkley, Superline-tresses, Berkley Fireline Crystal.  Voila!  Your line is the equivalent of the US 4 lb. test, or size "B" thread. 

So it looks as if you're good to go!

You are a doll! Thank you. Yeah, the fish here is big enough, but Alaska has got quite a reputation when it comes to sizes...;) ......fish, trees, forests. At least, I know the fishing shop stocks the thinner lines as well, but I live in the south, and the bigger stuff is found up north. Thank you so much for helping me out. Size B suits me fine.

I usually have 4lb and 6lb fireline on hand, for my beading. I also am a lover of Nymo D and B. Be careful purchasing the actual fishing line from sporting departments. Many of them are made to disolve in the water and protect the environment. You wouldn't want you peice falling apart if it gets wet, or after many years of use. Even though the cost is more, I would play it safe with purchasing the beading supplied thread only. IMHO

 Erin

Oooops. Sorry. I missed the quotes that meant inches on the Beadsmith Fireline. It is still a little confusing. Thanks for all the work you all did!

It would be nice to get a definitive answer from Beadsmith or Berkely, especially after reading Erin's answer.  I sent a message to Berkely directly to see if they can tell us whether they are different.

 VIcki

Erin, monofilament lines deteriorate eventually, especially under exposure to the heat and UV rays in sunlight.  They don't dissolve in water - they just shrink, stiffen up, and get brittle.  They're composed of a single strand of nylon.

The Dyneema and Spectra fibers used in Fireline and PowerPro, however, are not nylon monofilament - they're actually braids of bundles of very finely spun fibers - "gel spun polyethylene" - coated either with wax or another layer of polyethylene.  They don't deteriorate.

Here's a link to Honeywell's Spectra fiber info:

http://www51.honeywell.com/sm/afc/products-details/fiber.html