I have been meaning to do a video on fixing rope problems and, more importantly, avoiding them in the first place. I’m pleased to say that I’ have finally crossed it off my To Do list.
Untangling rope
One thing handling a lot of rope, be it tying or preparing orders, has taught us is how to deal with tangles. Believe me, the tangles you get when tying are nothing compared to those we get with a few hundred metres of freshly dried rope when we are treating it. The thing to remember is that rope tangles rarely involve knots; they are usually the result of loops getting caught in each other. This is why the method of lightly tossing the rope about, whilst pulling the tangle apart, works. With the tangles you get when tying, it’s even easier as the method of flicking the rope usually does the trick. Try it, you might be surprised.
High-stranding
High-stranding is the term used to describe one of the 3 strands going out of balance. This is usually caused by catching a strand with your finger or on a carabiner, especially with loose laid ropes, e.g. my Osaka. This is one reason why beginners might find more tightly twisted (harder lay) ropes, e.g. my standard Tossa, might be more forgiving of their less than perfect handling. Another cause is pulling out a kink in the rope rather than respecting the twist when you straighten it out.
Catch any imbalance early or you could end up with rope fit for the bin like the example in the header image. Short of dismantling the rope into the three strands and re-making it, the example is irrecoverable. In the video, I describe how to carefully work the imbalance out to the end of the rope.
Rope lay
‘Lay’ is the technical word used to describe the twist of the rope. To be strictly correct, ‘lay’ is used as a unit of measure which relates to the distance over which a full twist spreads. A ‘hard lay’ is a tightly twisted rope, where the twist is closer to the vertical, i.e. the distance of a full twist is short. Conversely, a gentle or soft lay will be more horizontal. Indeed, long and short lay are probably more accurate terms.
In the video, I explain the pros and cons of various lays and single vs double yarn rope. If you are still confused by choosing rope, this article might help.