This broke LOW!

I got a rope from the 1940s and I tested it against a new rope also made of hemp. The both broke at 2kN 8 to 8 but also IN A LOOP? Usually I get almost double. I can't believe people used to climb on that stuff. I really don't know how any of them survived.

[randydewees]

"The leader must not fall" - general rule back then

"Get the silk rope - it's under the bed" - Spencer Tracy (more or less) from "The Mountain". If you've not watched this 1956 classic do so. Spencer plays a humble Swiss goat herder who reveals his bad-ass mountain guide past when the going gets tough. Great Easter Eggs from the riggers and guides hired for the production.

[mica]

A Shibari rope test for valentines or April fools could be very silly. Especially if you deadpan it 😅

[CyberdyneSystemsSkynet]

You should buy some 8mm Hemp rope from Twisted Monk to break test. Not because it's Shibari rope, but because if domestically made hemp rope is going to be stronger than amazon hemp rope, or made to a quality standard closer to 1940s rope, that would be the place that would do that.

[vikingranch]

I think my grandpa was in one of your pictures at the start. I have his hemp rope from the early 50s. Still use it for guiding trees down. It does last a damn long time at very least.

[allan]

The Mountaineers used to have rope garages where you could check out a rope. Most of them were hemp and only a few goldline due to cost. There was a Mountaineers climbing accident on Mt. Rainier Emmons glacier in 67-ish. Larry Penberthy became involved in investigating the accident which led him to investigate rope forces, ice axes, boot ax belays and carabiners. This eventually led to him founding MSR. He either invented or popularized the metal ice axe and studied the angle of the pick for the best arrest and ice climbing. Patagonia was still selling hickory shafted ice for a couple of years after the Thunderbird came out. He developed ice screws that are remarkably like modern screws. He'd probably be better known if he wasn't such a brilliant engineer with a bit of a curmudgeon personality when dealing with people on safety issues. Anyone remember the raw kernmantle ropes they sold that you boiled your self?

[anmarcaver]

I found a piece of manilla rope that had been left in the project cave I work in. This area was damp and muddy. Originally much of the cave was rigged with Goldline (this is the project cave I was talking with you about a couple of years ago). Most likely it had been there since the 50s. It looked perfect but when I touched it it had essentially turned to jelly, it was a perfect cast of the rope but had no structural integrity left at all.

[FreeFlyerUk]

People didn't tend to take "whippers" on hemp ropes ( well not twice!!).

[ChrisMuncy]

OK Ryan I have one for you. Since you mentioned that the hemp rope might only be good enough to tie your horse up with, (see I was paying attention) how about getting some actual rope used for equines, such as a lead rope? I have had many of my horses break them when tied off when they get agitated so it might be interesting for funs sake to find out how tough they actually are. Thanks again.

[pinkerbot]

That first rope does not look like a hemp rope! It looks like sisal. (In fact, i am pretty sure it is)

[JustinMoreno]

Would love to see the strength difference between tying a knot and splicing and eye in the 3 strand!

[tobiasduffy]

Yay, I’m glad you finally got a chance to test it. I figured it would break pretty low.

[TN-gmdh]

I would greatly appriciate shibari rope tests. Especially the difference between twisted and braided jute vs hemp in different thicknesses

[Drugio]

it could be interesting to see how much hip belaying slips the rope and perhaps limits the peak force enough to not break it

[jimtitt]

Plenty of tests from the day available, a 12mm hemp rope would get 8.8kN, Manila (which isn't actually hemp) 7.8kN. That looked like a cheapo sisal rope.

[Hub-ou]

I do shibari suspension for 10 years. Some notes:

- single double line is not enough to hold person! Basic is 3 double lines, including supporting knots!

- jute under load is really sensitive how you tie it. It does not like small knots and tight bends. It has something to do with zero elasticity, inner strands in tight bend are under heavier load than outer strands.

-for friction under load, always tie over carabiner to get lower friction. Rope over rope friction will strip away strands, and cause wear much faster.

- do not put pressure on bight

- much better is to use flax or hemp rope for main suspension lines. Those are much stronger and way more wear resistant. Keep jute for body contact to get better grip with body.

If you want to follow this rabbit hole, I suggest Bruce Esinem's channel. He did a lot of load testing on shibari ropes.

[sebastianflynn]

If you wanted to make a biodegradable rap anchor your best option would be viscose or silk. Hemp ages rapidly over time, so if you consider the hemp rope from Amazon is probably already old and lower quality than the stuff from the early 20th century, the similar numbers make sense.

[megapandos]

It was interesting to check out the silk ropes. They were used in mountaineering in the early 20th century and even in parachute lines at the beginning of WW2.

[Senshikaji]

Time to get the Experimental Archaeologists involved. What does a traditionally made rope but made 'fresh' break at?

[danrum]

As a retired professional firefighter, when I started with my department in 1977, 3/4" manila hemp ropes, about 100 feet long, were kept on all our trucks for rescue or for lowering a firefighter in other situations. Thank God no one in my department died using these ropes. Of course, as the years progressed, so did the ropes, and the quality escalated greatly. Seeing this reminded me that "the good ol' days may not have been as good as some believed."

[aigid]

If you were to test shibari rope then you should consider a few points:
-Cheap rope sometimes has no core
-Ropes are often doubled up to reduce presasure on the skin
-There are different materials being used
While yes it would be funny if you just brake them like normal rope, it'd also be interessting to see them tested with intended use in mind.