| The double fisherman's bend used to be the preferred knot for joining two ropes to
abseil on. It is still popular, but has been somewhat superseded by the one-sided overhand bend due to the fact that it is more
prone to catching on sharp edges or in cracks on the pull-down, and is difficult to untie
after weighting. See the report
from David Drohan and the Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue
Association on preferred knots for canyoning for more information.
It is strong and so is still the knot of choice for rescue operations, and for joining
the two ends of a rope sling.
It can also be used to join the ends of tape together, like the tape
knot, but in tape it is almost impossible to untie after it has been weighted.
Some people tie a reef knot in the middle to make it easier to untie. However, this
makes the knot even bulkier and more prone to catching on edges. |
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| Tie a double overhand knot in the first
rope, around the second rope, as shown. |
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| Then tie another double overhand in the
second rope, around the first. |
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| Pull tight and set the knot |
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Tom Brennan : website@ozultimate.com
: updated 20040729 |