"An incredible amount of extremely useful information on the subject of knots, hitches, splices, fancy work, block and tackle, and wire rope. Starting out with a description of the construction and care of rope, . there are tables of the breaking strengths and weights of various ropes, definitions of the names applied by sailors to different types of lines and advice on care and handling." —Yachting N GIBSO . E S CHARLE Handbook of Knots and Splices h wit k wor r othe d an s rope e wir d an n hempe BARNES &NOBLE BOOKS NEW YORK n Gibso . E s Charle y b 3 196 , 1961 © t Copyrigh . reserved s right l Al , Inc. , Noble & s Barne y b d publishe n editio s Thi . Inc , Books n Emerso h wit t arrangemen y b 1995 Barnes & Noble Books 6 1-56619-771- N ISB Printed and bound in the United States of America M98765432 Acknowledgement I AM indebted to Messrs British Ropes Ltd of London, England, and the Plymouth Cordage Company of Plymouth, Massachusetts, for much of the information in Chapters 1 and 9. Contents Foreword 9 PART ONE Ropes Synthetic and Hempen s rope f o e car d an n constructio e Th 1 13 2 Hitches with a single end 28 3 Knots joining two ropes 44 4 Knots with a rope's own strands 48 s rope n hempe g Splicin 5 56 g seizin d an g lashin , Slinging 6 70 s plait d an s mat , work y fanc e Mor 7 87 s tackle d an s Block 8 113 Foreword SOME people earn their living by using ropes. They are the k pic y ma y the n eve t tha e hop I t whils d an ; professionals up a wrinkle or two here and there, this book is not di- rected towards them. It is for the amateur, using that word in its true meaning of 'unpaid', not 'unskilled'; the man, s rope e wir d an n hempe e us o t s need o wh l gir r o y bo , woman in order to pursue his or her hobby or recreation; the yachts- . enthusiast f 'do-it-yoursel e th , scout e th , climber e th , man l practica e b o t s i , therefore , foremost d an t firs , aim s It and simple. It takes no knowledge for granted, yet even the person who already knows something about the subject, will, I think, learn more, for I have endeavoured to be as compre- hensive as possible. But 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' and there are considerable opportunities for 'play' with ropes besides skipping. Therefore, not the whole book is strictly practical; space is spared for some fancy knots and other forms of decorative ropework, so that after you have com- pleted your work safely by using the correct hitches and splices, you can settle down to adorn your surroundings with attractive decoration in fine, clean rope. To achieve the best possible results in work with rope you need to know something about its structure and other qualities. Chapters 1 and 9, therefore, deal neither with e wir d an n hempe h wit , respectively , but s splice r no s knot ropes as such. 9 10 FOREWORD s type s variou h wit s deal 8 r Chapte , reason r simila a r Fo of blocks and purchases. e ready-mad a e provid o t m clai t no s doe k boo s Thi answer for every problem you are likely to face in using - unfore , inevitable e th e invit o t e b d woul o s o d o T . ropes seeable situation for which a solution can only be worked e principl e th n explai o t y tr s doe t i t bu ; spot e th n o out e thes h wit d an , usage d an n constructio e rop g underlyin allied to common sense some solution will usually be found. PART ONE HEMPEN AND SYNTHETIC ROPES CHAPTER ONE The construction and care of ropes n i t shor , fibres n certai t tha d discovere n me o ag G LON e considerabl f o s thread g lon o int n spu e b d coul , themselves combined strength and they applied this discovery to the manufacture of cloth and many other articles, including— by no means the least important—rope. I. ROPE-MAKING MATERIALS d use e hav y the n the e sinc s place d an s time t differen n I many materials for rope-making, mainly vegetable in origin until the nineteenth century produced metallic wire rope and the twentieth man-made fibres. Today the materials : are r encounte o t y likel t mos e ar u yo Vegetable - rope r fo material t commones e th e onc h Althoug . Hemp l genera a s a e nam s it e gav h whic e on e th d an g makin l al t a d use y hardl w no s i p hem , ropes e fibr r fo n descriptio commercially. Nevertheless a relatively small amount is e th d indee d an , etc. , climbers , yachtsmen r fo d produce l stil f hal a d an e on n tha e mor s i e rop p hem f o e grad t highes , well s last e rop p Hem . manila t fines e th s a g stron s a s time , little s lose d an t we n whe l swel t no s doe , handle o t y eas s i a e b d shoul t i , New . tarred y lightl n whe h strengt , any if soft golden colour throughout, unadulterated with whitish jute. 13 14 KNOTS AND SPLICES Jute. This is used principally for cheap strings, clothes lines, etc. It has a distinctive smell. Manila. This makes a strong, smooth, hard fibre rope much favoured by yachtsmen, which is never tarred as it does not rot when wet, although water makes it swell. Under load, it stretches up to thirty per cent. New, it should be a light buff colour with no fibres sticking out at right . strands e th o t s angle Sisal. Another hard fibre rope, made from the leaves of East African aloes. Sisal is white, almost as strong as manila and very serviceable. It stands up well to sea water but swells when wet and is liable to be slippery. Cotton. New cotton rope is white, smooth, soft, smart and pliable, which make it very suitable for fancy work and for running over blocks. However, it is not as strong as manila, and once wet rapidly becomes hard, dirty and weak, although rope of Egyptian cotton remains softer than that of American. Flax. This is used, sometimes mixed with hemp, for high d an s twine g stron h smoot s a h suc s cord r smalle , quality e durabl , strong y ver s make o als t I . etc , log-lines d plaite y usuall e ar y the , expensive e ar e thes e becaus t bu , ropes made only to order. e mad s i ) Line s Gras d calle s (sometime e rop r Coi . Coir from the husk fibres of coconuts. It is cheap, very rough, t ligh d cent—an r pe y fift o t p u s stretche t elastic—i y ver enough to float on water, but it has only a quarter the strength of manila and far less durability. Moreover, it soon rots if not dried before being stowed away. Synthetic, man-made fibres e rop t stronges e th s make s thi , weight r fo t Weigh . Nylon o t s thank , which s plu , vegetable r o l minera , animal , all f o 5 1 S ROPE F O E CAR D AN N CONSTRUCTIO E TH its elasticity, it has an ability to withstand sudden shock loading that makes it ideal for climbers. This quality, how- ever, is a disadvantage where a rope must not 'give' at all s ha e rop n Nylo . halyards . e.g , taut p u t se n bee g havin r afte e fre y completel , smooth g bein f o s attraction r furthe e th from rot or mildew, easy to handle whether wet or dry, resistant to alkaline chemicals and very attractive for fancy work. Dacron. Although not quite so strong as Nylon, Dacron rope has most of its attractive qualities. It is, however, , which , elasticity s les s ha d an , alkalis t no , acids o t t resistan . purposes n certai r fo e suitabl e mor t i s make , course f o Metallic Steel. Wires (i.e. long, drawn-out threads) can be made from many metals, but the only one of importance in rope- making is steel. Because steel wire rope differs considerably s line c syntheti d an n hempe m fro g handlin d an e structur n i . Two t Par n i y separatel d treate s i t i II. THE STRUCTURE OF HEMPEN ROPE When reading through a book such as this one, it is best e th e practis o t h whic h wit y hand e rop f p h lengt a e hav o t various bends, hitches, knots, splices, seizings and lashings as they are described—on the spot, as it were.