Hello Knicknack,
Your posts are becoming a little tedious to read - due to the large number of pulled quotes that you use.
I'm not sure what direction you see this discussion going?
You'll find that in the world of knotting, many concepts and descriptive terms are
not precisely defined - and there are definitely grey areas which are still very much evolving.
Tradition plays a large role - and knot book authors such as Ashley and CL Day have laid a solid foundations - which carry forward to our present time.
Xarax made significant progress and contributions to the state-of-the-art... from which I draw and base many of my thoughts.
...
From your original post:
But I came up with this on my own, so I don't know what its proper name is
This could be understood to be a claim of originality.
With regard to your presented hitch - it appears to be original, in the sense that it isn't immediately apparent in the existing published knot books.
However, only time will tell - someone may come forward and make a claim or point out its existence in some published work.
You'll need to be patient - as only in the fullness of time can we establish who first devised it.
...
With regard to the 4 categories of hitches that I indicated, there are always going to be boundary conditions.
Some hitches will have characteristics and applications that are hard to quantify.
Quantifying anything in the art of knots and knotting is
difficult at best.
The rolling hitch (#503) is a
type of 'slide and grip' hitch.
It is designed to be loaded longitudinally (or axially) in alignment with the host rope.
They grip when loaded, and tend to 'release' when unloaded (although this tendency to release varies significantly).
All slide and grip hitches are designed for axial/longitudinal loading with respect to the host.
A geometric characteristic of all slide and grip hitches is that the host penetrates through the core of the hitch - with all of the hitch being formed radially around its host.
There are other characteristic 'traits' - such as when the host is removed, the hitch loses structural integrity - usually triggering collapse (and often no remnant knot is left), and that all of the hitch is centered on, and formed around its host.
So for this reason, I view the #503 Rolling hitch as a
type of slide and grip hitch.
Slide and grip hitches are like automobiles in the sense that performance and handling varies significantly from type to type (some perform better than others).
In contrast, I don't view a 'Round turn and two half hitches' (#1720) as a
slide and grip hitch.
It is not designed to be loaded axially/longitudinally with respect to its host.
Also, a key
component is formed around its own SPart (ie the 2 'half hitches') - rather than around the host.
When the host is removed, a remnant
knot structure remains.
You may wish to devise your own nomenclature and descriptors for classifying knots/hitches... and you are perfectly entitled to do so.
I would invite you to devise your own theoretical work and share it in this forum (maybe under knotting concepts and explorations) - many would welcome such an effort
I would!
If you go to this link, you'll see some of the work I have done:
http://www.paci.com.au/knots.php (in particular, the
PACI protocols is an evolving encyclopedic document).
There are numerous pulled quotes in your narrative - and its hard to reply without getting into a quagmire of quotes that are quoted from other quotes.
I will pull this one out:
Nearly linear. There is some deformation when it is tight. But while the straight path may be a necessary condition for "slide-and-grip", I don't think it is a sufficient condition, as it appears there are other hitches which also have this characteristic.
As I pointed out, the definitions to quantify all types of hitches is evolving - it is not perfectly defined.
With regard to the geometric characteristic of all slide and grip hitches - that is; the host penetrates through the core of the hitch in a linear pathway... this is a true statement.
Obviously, when load is applied to the hitch, it will induce a kink in host.
One only has to examine a 'Prusik hitch' (#1763) - when load is applied, it induces a kink in the host. In other words, the host is no longer straight as an arrow when the hitch is loaded.
But that does not disturb the fundamental geometric construction of the hitch relative to its host. What you have described is the side-effect of load.
A Prusik hitch will eventually reach a
threshold jamming state given sufficient loading. I have loaded several different 'slide and grip' hitches to the point where
threshold jamming is triggered. Beyond that load threshold, I needed to use pliers to loosen and untie the hitch.
One can say that 'slide and grip' hitches have a nominal operational load range... and this varies significantly across the different types of hitches (some work better than others).
In your presented hitch, it appears to me to be designed for axial/longitudinal loading (rather than a perpendicular loading profile).
It can slide and grip its host - but only within a narrow load range.
It appears that after a certain load threshold is reached, your hitch is no longer easy to release and slide along its host (and that's fine - it has it limitations like any hitch).
The 'novel' design aspect of your hitch is the proxy 'toggle' mechanism - which is formed by the 'bight' component.
Its also its Achilles heel - in that
toggle mechanisms have a tendency to deform and jam under
heavy loading.
As for the terms 'friction hitch' and 'slide and grip hitch' - you will find that these terms are generally interchangeable.
In the general climbing and caving community, the term 'friction hitch' is interchangeable with 'slide and grip hitch'.
You are of course perfectly entitled to disagree.