The rod-pull method originally described by Padday(4) has proven a useful technique for the determination of surface tension. However, as generally practiced, it requires that the sample wets well the bottom of the rod. A variation on this method is described in which a low surface energy substrate makes contact with the sample. A smooth-bottomed rod of Teflon is used, and the surface tension of nonwetting samples is determined by fitting an experimental force curve to a family of simulated curves, The use of a low surface energy substrate may be of some utility in the study of fragile interfacial films.