Just a quick note from and old military avionics tech: "Tape, Lacing and Tying, Aramid" (sorry, can't remember the NATO Stock Number offhand, but I used to order a couple of skeins a week at one time) will cut you up badly until you develop the appropriate scars and calluses. It's basically 25-pound test waxed flat dental floss. Because the knots (a clove hitch secured with a reef/square knot) are quick, easy and repeatable, you'll be through the skin before you notice the beginnings of the damage. (And taking a month off of lacing is enough for the toughened skin to get back to its ordinary, weak self.)