Tie a single Overhand Knot in a single rope, tighten it, and try to untie it. THAT'S difficult to untie.
Ha, let it be in 3/4" old nylon hawser that a trawler has lazily
leanedinto for, oh, the past week / month / year ! Best hope is some soaking
of oil (vegetable) to gain slipperiness and then some iterative
efforts to work the knot loose, using pliers to grip & bend ... .
There is so little material from which to gain any contribution
to loosening (at the focus of your effort) in the minimal knot!
OTOH, there was some resistance to full
collapse on its
tightening, the ends being pulled in opposition. Eh ... .
Smile and think of me when you realize that it's not difficult to untie.
We can smile thinking of some of your assertions for other reasons.
Having invented this knot in 1973-4, I was taken by this apparent
quality, but then only used it in make-rope-use play for the excuse
of tying knots, largely. Later, with e.g. 6mm climbing kernmantle
and a 2:1 or 5:1 pulley to put "real" force on the knot, I learned
otherwise. I well know how to untie knots. This one can jam.
So, to bring to light again a variation on SmitHunter's bend, I've just
"bumped" an old thread on interlocked-Overhand bends which shows
a few of them including the original and variation just discussed.
If the knot is left with large/loose collars, it might not jam, but then
it won't have the nice geometry of the snugger dressing either.
And then you also opined that Rosendahl's Zeppelin bend was prone
to untying: that's something I think isn't really true. It's looseness
might make it vulnerable to some snagging of its collars, and maybe
over some considerable time be more-loose than it was intended;
but in the context of having just been tied for a job, I see little risk
of any undesirable loosening. (My keys have some thin binding cord
tied for ages, admittedly aided in this by the *blossom* of loose end
that is snug at the knot, acting a little like stoppers.)
Think this, too: There are no memorable stories of the Bowline's having been responsible for breaking a rope in its long and safe application history. But, there they are, those who forever lament that the Bowline has a breaking strength of just 60%.
True, that. Some might count the presumed difference between some
cited strengths for the bowline vs. Fig.8 eyeknots as worth observing:
from D.Richards's data, it is over a half ton in half-inch low-elongation
nylon kernmantle, but 300# (about 10% of Bwl strength) in 10.5mm
dynamic rope, and less %-wise in nylon accessory kernmantle. YMMV.
What's the probability that some loading will fall into just this difference?
It is less often the case that a knot is [claimed to be] one thing or the other and more often the case that a knotter just doesn't know a knot well enough in order to manipulate it to a satisfying degree.
Sometimes; sometimes it's a case of different opinions arising justifiably
from different circumstances (different conditions & materials). Be assured
that Roo & I know well how to untie interlocked Overhands such as the
two cited by him. (#1425 is rather different in this untying regard.)
Look at the application history of the Reef Knot and--for the benefit of us all--never use it for anything but tying shoes, sweat pants, and perhaps the occasional Christmas bow.
Sure, Hunter's Bends may jam in labs, when tied using "thin stretchy cords" by those who might be intent on making them jam. But aside from that, Hunter's Bend has a satisfying application history.
Frankly, I'd like to know what it is you're referring to for knowledge
of this "application history" ? (I know that Ashley makes an assertion
re the SquaREef bend, but that's just that --his assertion-- , and I'm still
looking for the bodies. Beyond that, the knot remained as a
requiredbend in one maritime organization (on a test: rumor was that in practice
it was ignored). Ashley's comment has been parroted ad infinitum, which
given the popularity and even official recommendation of the knot begs
for evidence of his worry! Still, I'm happy to use other knots.
As for any such history for SmitHunter's bend ... ? Huh? I've never found
it "in the wild" -- have you?!
(Really surprising to me: I've never found
Ashley's Stopper (aka
Oysterman's
Stopper) in the wild, despite its being a quite simply tied knot with
good characteristics!? I'd have thought that that would catch on.)
--dl*
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