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How long can a knot be left before fibers weaken

S

ShortFuse

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2020
Messages
93
Perhaps this is more of a manufacturer question, but perhaps with the vast amounts of knowledge floating around here maybe someone has an answer.

being that I am extremely curious by nature, I want to know as much as I can.

does everyone untie the knots they use to girth around the tree after every hunt (for example a figure 8 with d link attached to tag end) or do you leave your knots tied? Is there a strength degradation with leaving knots tied vs untying them after each time.
 
ShortFuse said:
Perhaps this is more of a manufacturer question, but perhaps with the vast amounts of knowledge floating around here maybe someone has an answer.

being that I am extremely curious by nature, I want to know as much as I can.

does everyone untie the knots they use to girth around the tree after every hunt (for example a figure 8 with d link attached to tag end) or do you leave your knots tied? Is there a strength degradation with leaving knots tied vs untying them after each time.
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This is a good question that I've never heard raised. Rock climbers seem to untie their ropes and coil them up after use (you don't see them take their harness off and leave it tied to the rope). The quickdraws I've seen where soft and hard materials are joined are sewn webbing and not knots. I do not untie ropes, but instead rely upon routine inspection and good care. I have been considering full replacements every few years however.

Edit: There could be a possibility that tying and untying could do more harm than good because you are bending the fibers various ways and possibly working any grit down into the fibers. For instance, you are better off leaving a pistol magazine fully loaded than to routinely unload and reload in the hopes of "resting" the spring. The action of unloading and reloading accelerates wear and tear.
 
raisins said:
This is a good question that I've never heard raised. Rock climbers seem to untie their ropes and coil them up after use (you don't see them take their harness off and leave it tied to the rope). The quickdraws I've seen where soft and hard materials are joined are sewn webbing and not knots. I do not untie ropes, but instead rely upon routine inspection and good care. I have been considering full replacements every few years however.
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I was just curious, by taking it in and out of the knot, would that be more detrimental to the rope, kind of like bending wire back and forth vs leaving it locked. I’ve googled this to death and just can’t find anything.


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ShortFuse said:
I was just curious, by taking it in and out of the knot, would that be more detrimental to the rope, kind of like bending wire back and forth vs leaving it locked. I’ve googled this to death and just can’t find anything.


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Click to expand...

As you were writing this, I edited my comment and had the same idea.

There is a channel that does break tests.


They tested old gear and it did break more easily than new stuff.

But with age you have all sorts of things going on, so it is hard to tell what about use and age most weakened the ropes.
 
I’ve always wondered if by untying and tying again, if I weaken things over time. Especially after bearing load. I look forward to seeing some of the responses, and better yet, I might have to reach out to sterling or some others.
 
Barbed wire won’t break when it’s bent, but repetitive bending and in bending will cause it to break over time, I think the same case would for any rope or such


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I have rescue ropes that have had the same knots in them for 20+ years. They're retired to tree work now..ie. speed lines and pull ropes. They've had hella strains on them over the years and still going strong. A couple are so stiff from the strains they no longer coil into the bags. I won't hesitate to continue using them.
 
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