Mike-
Here is a source (and a brand name to look for on the web).
http://www.wolfffishing.com/spidspec20.html
-carl
PS- The rest of the story...
Spiderwire....
Scientists doing research in advanced materials have long known that a
spider's silk is the strongest fiber in the world by a wide margin.
Ounce by ounce, it's many times stronger than steel, yet it is incredibly
soft and resilient. In fact the US government has been funding extensive
research with spiders and spider's silk for years...attempting to develope
lighter weight, bulletproof materials for the military. Well known
chemical and fiber companies such as DuPont, Dow and AlliedSignal have also
spent hundreds of millions in their attempts to develop the ultimate high
strenght fiber...a synthetic spider's silk.
Back in 1965, DuPont scientists thought they had "the" ultimate high-
strenght fiber when they introduced Kevlar, and for years it was the
strongest, manmade fiber available for high stress applicaitons like
ballistic armor.
Then, in 1985, a team of researchers at AlliedSignal Inc. upped the ante
by introducing an entirely new class of fiber called Ultra High Molecular
Weight Polyethylene. This fiber, now called Spectra easily stops High-
velocity bullets and bomb fragments. It's a full 30tronger than
Kevlar, it's more than 10 times stronger than steel, yet spectra is
virtually transparent to radar! Needless to say, spectra is quickly
finding its way into high-tech applications far too sensitive to
mention here.
The scientists a AlliedSignal applied many of the structural design
concepts behind two of nature's strongest materials...spider's silk
and diamonds...to create spectra, the world's strongest and lightest
fiber. Their patented process first realigns the carbon atoms in
high density polyethylene. Then, this super tough material is shot
through a nozzle-like device called a spinnerette under extremely high
pressures. The result...much like what happens with the spinnerettes
found on a spider...is the excretion of tiny strands or micro-filaments
of spectra. These micro-filaments look and feel like angel hair or
the silky material produced by a spider as it spins a web. Soft as
silk, with virtually zero stretch, these micro-fine "synthetic wires"
are deceptively strong- ounce for ounce they're 10 to 15 times
stronger than steel.
The performance advantages of this virtually indestructable, ultra-
thin line add a whole new dimension to the sport. In fact, spectra
has created an entirely new class of line some are now calling
"Super Lines". That's the Good news.
The bad news is this stuff is always going to be a little pricey and
very hard to get. The raw material used to make spiderwire is
extremely expensive...50 to 150 times the cost of nylon!
It's hard to get because there's only one plant in the world making
spectra and almost all of it goes for military or life-saving
applicaitons. Even when spectra fiber is available, Safariland's
exclusive micro-braiding process is slow and tedious. It takes
one machine over two days to braid just 1,000 yards of spiderwire
and then, because safariland is totally committed to quality,
they inspect every inch of line by hand.