Knot Tie-ing: Adjustable loop and knot that gets more secure as its pulled

  • Thread starter KingNothing
  • Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Loop
4 replies · 13K views · last reply
KingNothing
Messages
880
Reaction score
4
I do some rock climbing, and the most common knot you see is the double-figure 8:
Photo of a tan rope with blue flecks tied in a figure-eight knot, forming a loop at the top with a free end at the lower left.


That's because you can tie it at any point in the rope to create a loop for other climbers to latch into. It also gets tighter as you pull from any direction: the loop or either of the two single ropes coming out.

However, I am often faced with a different problem:

Say you have an infinitely long pole that you need to tie a rope around. You have to make a loop that will grip the pole tighter as the rope is pulled. You have access to one end of the rope, not both. You also need a knot that has this property of getting tighter as the rope is pulled.

Is there any such knot that fits this description?
 

Discussion

KingNothing said:
I do some rock climbing, and the most common knot you see is the double-figure 8:
Photo of a tan braided rope with blue flecks tied into a knot, with a loop at the top and a free end at the lower left.


That's because you can tie it at any point in the rope to create a loop for other climbers to latch into. It also gets tighter as you pull from any direction: the loop or either of the two single ropes coming out.

However, I am often faced with a different problem:

Say you have an infinitely long pole that you need to tie a rope around. You have to make a loop that will grip the pole tighter as the rope is pulled. You have access to one end of the rope, not both. You also need a knot that has this property of getting tighter as the rope is pulled.

Is there any such knot that fits this description?

I think I know the knot you are talking about, but I can't draw or remember the name :(

Its basically a situation where you have the main line (rope going to you) sandwiched inbetween two other pieces of rope, and a knot is formed with these two pieces near the pole.

I'd be easy to video conference and show you a crappy demo, but I don't think I can do that. It might be easier if I just told you to ask the guy with the face for some advice ;)
 
KingNothing said:
However, I am often faced with a different problem:

Say you have an infinitely long pole that you need to tie a rope around. You have to make a loop that will grip the pole tighter as the rope is pulled. You have access to one end of the rope, not both. You also need a knot that has this property of getting tighter as the rope is pulled.

Is there any such knot that fits this description?
It might help if you described the actual situation where you'd need such a knot, but I suspect the thing you are looking for may be a taut-line hitch (or adjustable hitch). The bowline is a very secure way to tie into a pole with access to one rope-end, but the loop does not tighten on the pole. With access to both ends of the rope, you could tie a prusik or klemheist or other similar friction hitch.