I (Think/Hope) I Developed A New Hitch Design
- Thread starter Knotorious
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Burnham
Woods walker
You guys have it bad 
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Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #79
Hey! That's a really handsome looking hitch! Your drawings never cease to amaze me. Maybe I'm just weird. I hardly ever see any points along the borders of your drawings which suggest you lifted the pencil up to restart the line. Skillz, sir.
Thanks for confirming that my hitch is potentially novel! Now I have to name it and make a YouTube video for it so that I can claim it publicly on the world's largest multimedia forum. Sometimes I feel like naming is more difficult than developing new hitches. It almost makes me feel like an artist, liberally and creatively encapsulating the "essence" and "ambiance" of the hitch into one memorable word. Ha! Yeah, Burnham is right, I definitely think I have a problem! I might need to detox myself before the withdrawal gets any worse! I think I'm becoming physically dependent to aramid fibers.
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Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #80
Brocky, have you come up with a name for your latest hitch?
Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #81
Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #82
And the new but currently unnamed hitch...
Shows front and back! Haven't made a video for this one yet!
Update: I decided to call it the GLACIAL hitch. The name has nothing to do with the hitch itself. I was more or less inspired by a video of a massive glacial field that I recently watched.
YouTube How-To:
Shows front and back! Haven't made a video for this one yet!
Update: I decided to call it the GLACIAL hitch. The name has nothing to do with the hitch itself. I was more or less inspired by a video of a massive glacial field that I recently watched.
YouTube How-To:
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No name, there are too many.
Both of your new hitches aren’t in my collection, I have one that is very similar, found two of the same hitch when checking.
I have completed the “finished” drawings and have divided them up to be able to compare easier. I’m finding that using what the top wrap does, or where it initially goes, makes it easy to differentiate.
Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #84
Brocky, someone commented on one of my videos and asked if I knew about you and your "Sticht" hitch. I shared this thread with him and explained, yes, I know of you. He then explained it to me and how it works. I noticed you posted one picture of the Sticht early in this thread. Can you share a few pictures of this hitch so that I can learn to tie it and try it out? Looking at that one picture, it was difficult for me to determine how to tie it correctly. I noticed you have some without the pipe piece on another forum. I'm very interested in that. It just uses a ring, I believe. Anyways, I'd appreciate it.
Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #85
Allow me to introduce the CALLIGRAPHY hitch! I hope this hasn't already been made. The blue hitch on pink rope is the original version which begins with four wraps. I show front and back. An additional half twist can be placed to use up slack (yellow hitch on orange rope) if one desires only three wraps.
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Above is the basic way to tie it, releases easily, maybe too easy for some, if so add another wrap, or keep the ring and twist as close to the wraps as possible. There is a sweet spot, but there is a range, not an on or off functioning.
The ring, or something like it, is needed to put a slight bend in the rope. If the ring is too small, the twist won’t touch the rope and causes more unneeded friction from the v shape of the sections of cord that enter and exit the twist. If the ring is too large the twist can spread out too much and start to bind up.The tube tender isn’t needed, but makes tending much easier.
The Sticht evolved out the Oval VT, another srt hitch that uses an overhand knot instead of the twist, it is harder to tie with spliced or sewn eyes, and harder to adjust.
Burnham
Woods walker
The Calligraphy works very nice, doesn’t seem to want to bind up, and can easily self tend without the use of a pulley or tender. The McDonald was the closest I have to it. I try to draw the hitches with the wraps going around the rope the same way to try to avoid mirrored ones, the direction of rotation is called chirality.
There seems to be two types of self tending hitches. Some work good at first, but start to get harder to move with use. The other type, like this one, doesn’t bind up and continues to tend with little effort.
There seems to be two types of self tending hitches. Some work good at first, but start to get harder to move with use. The other type, like this one, doesn’t bind up and continues to tend with little effort.
Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #89
Thanks so much for the instructions for the Sticht hitch! I wanted to make sure I tied it correctly! It's a very clever hitch! Not too complex and the addition of a ring is wonderful at many levels, if not only because it looks cool as sh!t lol I played around with it today and it was a little tight at first until I changed the ring size, which greatly improved its performance. A 34mm ring worked nicely.
I'm glad you liked Calligraphy! I noticed that too! I tends easily even after being loaded. I'd imagine that it would tend like butter with a pulley! I never would have guessed that after posting initially about the Trinity hitch that I'd be neck deep in new hitch designs a few months later! I don't even care that most people don't care about what I'm doing! It's their loss!
Yes, I know about chirality, but not from the arborist realm. "Chiral" literally means 'handed.' Referring to how our hands are chiral. In chemistry, a molecule or ion is called chiral if it can't be superposed onto its mirror image by any combination of rotations, translations, or in some instances, conformational changes. Substances that can rotate plane-polarized light are said to be optically active. Those which rotate the plane clockwise (to the right) are said to be dextrorotatory (from the Latin dexter, "right"). Those that rotate the plane counterclockwise (to the left) are called levorotatory (from the Latin laevus, "left"). Each of these enantiomers can often behave very differently pharmacologically and therefore they are often isolated from the racemic (containing both dextro and levorotary) compound to better provide therapeutic benefits. Pretty nifty, right?
EDIT: I resolved the issue of a stray "s" at the end of the word "cool."
I'm glad you liked Calligraphy! I noticed that too! I tends easily even after being loaded. I'd imagine that it would tend like butter with a pulley! I never would have guessed that after posting initially about the Trinity hitch that I'd be neck deep in new hitch designs a few months later! I don't even care that most people don't care about what I'm doing! It's their loss!
Yes, I know about chirality, but not from the arborist realm. "Chiral" literally means 'handed.' Referring to how our hands are chiral. In chemistry, a molecule or ion is called chiral if it can't be superposed onto its mirror image by any combination of rotations, translations, or in some instances, conformational changes. Substances that can rotate plane-polarized light are said to be optically active. Those which rotate the plane clockwise (to the right) are said to be dextrorotatory (from the Latin dexter, "right"). Those that rotate the plane counterclockwise (to the left) are called levorotatory (from the Latin laevus, "left"). Each of these enantiomers can often behave very differently pharmacologically and therefore they are often isolated from the racemic (containing both dextro and levorotary) compound to better provide therapeutic benefits. Pretty nifty, right?
EDIT: I resolved the issue of a stray "s" at the end of the word "cool."
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Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #90
Your hitch is on YouTube now, courtesy of yours truly! I noticed two other videos, not sure if they're instructionals or experientials. The description for my video has a quote from you from your forum post! Very apt, sir!
I hope I didn't mess up the pronunciation for your hitch! The etymology looks Germanic, but what do I know?
See attached unrelated image!
I hope I didn't mess up the pronunciation for your hitch! The etymology looks Germanic, but what do I know?
See attached unrelated image!
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I think it is pronounced like stitched, but with a long e sound, and more of a t sound instead of the d at the end. I had been using the Oval VT for a few years and happen to have a spliced hitch cord too long for most hitches and too short for the Oval. There was a Sticht Plate on my desk and came up with a “what if“ thought to combine them and it worked. The twist pressing against the plate makes it harder to release the hitch than a ring, but still fairly easy. Below is the first combination I used.
Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #93
Thanks, lxskllr!
Aww snap, Brocky, I butchered the pronunciation! Alas! Oh well, the most important message - that of your hitch design - has been accurately disseminated to the digital water cooler of ideas and concepts! Huzzah!
For the Oval VT, is that a solid piece of ovular steel or is that a steel oval carabiner you're using? Does that come untied easily after a day of use with all of those overhand knots?
Thanks for sharing the creating story for the Sticht hitch! That plate looks interesting and well suited for the job!
You have some of the coolest eye to eyes! I really should teach myself how to splice. I could save a ton of money! How talented are you at splicing? Could you splice a 32-strand rope? I'd reckon a lot of people can't, but then again, I'm not particularly educated on the matter. Can people actually splice 48-strand ropes? Certainly it's possible if someone were so inclined. With the movement towards creating ropes with better hand and increasingly perfect roundness to function in devices, I foresee ropes with higher strand counts becoming more popular, which will inevitably drive the need for more talented splicers. But as it stands today, I was only able to get a sewn eye on my Drenaline, and I looked high and low for someone who would do a regular splice.
Aww snap, Brocky, I butchered the pronunciation! Alas! Oh well, the most important message - that of your hitch design - has been accurately disseminated to the digital water cooler of ideas and concepts! Huzzah!
For the Oval VT, is that a solid piece of ovular steel or is that a steel oval carabiner you're using? Does that come untied easily after a day of use with all of those overhand knots?
Thanks for sharing the creating story for the Sticht hitch! That plate looks interesting and well suited for the job!
You have some of the coolest eye to eyes! I really should teach myself how to splice. I could save a ton of money! How talented are you at splicing? Could you splice a 32-strand rope? I'd reckon a lot of people can't, but then again, I'm not particularly educated on the matter. Can people actually splice 48-strand ropes? Certainly it's possible if someone were so inclined. With the movement towards creating ropes with better hand and increasingly perfect roundness to function in devices, I foresee ropes with higher strand counts becoming more popular, which will inevitably drive the need for more talented splicers. But as it stands today, I was only able to get a sewn eye on my Drenaline, and I looked high and low for someone who would do a regular splice.
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Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #94
Check this out! The ENDURANCE hitch! Two sets of pictures. One set with it tied loosely and another with it extended under load. The way it is tied keeps the tension on the legs and the coil somewhat separated. Must be dressed well or it won't grab immediately.
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That’s a steel non locking oval carabiner, the knots generally aren’t hard to untie, stiffer cords don’t seem to bind up as much.
The Sticht Plate is an early belay/descender device that can be used under a hitch for long or fast descents. The tubular ones with the v groove can be also used providing easier use.
The blue and white cord in the last picture was my first attempt at splicing using the cover only to try to make a more flexible hitch cord to easier tie the Oval VT, and get shorter legs.
The more strands the harder it is to extract the core. Hitch cords with high cover strand counts are easily done by taking the core out and then reinserting it.
The Sticht Plate is an early belay/descender device that can be used under a hitch for long or fast descents. The tubular ones with the v groove can be also used providing easier use.
The blue and white cord in the last picture was my first attempt at splicing using the cover only to try to make a more flexible hitch cord to easier tie the Oval VT, and get shorter legs.
The more strands the harder it is to extract the core. Hitch cords with high cover strand counts are easily done by taking the core out and then reinserting it.
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Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #96
That's all very interesting. You certainly are making use of every piece of hardware at your disposal, software like hand spliced hitch cords and a variety of ropes as well. Those "early belay/descender devices" are actually pretty awesome. Such a tiny but useful piece of hardware.
I've been spending a portion of my free time trying out new hitches and experimenting with different configurations. Not all the time, though. My inspiration comes to me in periodic, large bursts which last about a day or two. It's a great deal of fun when that happens. Have you been able to check my ENDURANCE hitch against your database to see if it is a new hitch? Check out this second hitch called ENDURANCE 2, which has the legs on the same side!
I've been spending a portion of my free time trying out new hitches and experimenting with different configurations. Not all the time, though. My inspiration comes to me in periodic, large bursts which last about a day or two. It's a great deal of fun when that happens. Have you been able to check my ENDURANCE hitch against your database to see if it is a new hitch? Check out this second hitch called ENDURANCE 2, which has the legs on the same side!
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Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #97
Hey guys and gals! I've come up with a new hitch which is a VT variant which starts with a quadruple wrap Clove hitch and finishes with braids. I uninspiringly have deemed it the CLOVE VT! It can be tied two very similar ways. For the images below, I show all four sides of one version and then the top of the second version since that's the only angle where you can spot the difference. Also attached is the how-to video I posted to YouTube showing step by step how to tie both versions of my new hitch!
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Jed
TreeHouser
May I politely ask why anyone still fusses with friction hitches? Kevin has set us all straight with the Runner. If I have to go up a tree (and I really hope I don't--micro-managing issues-- ) I would only ever tie a taught line (cause you can tie it one handed) unless I had a brand new rope, in which case I would tie a Blake, cause (on a new rope) it works ever so much better. All other hitches (with whatever diameter cordage) is a lost cause, in my almost or quite worthless opinion
Knotorious
That Guy With The Face
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #100
Hey @Jed! For me, personally, at the risk of sounding a bit strange, I find hitch cords to be aesthetically pleasing, tactile friendly, and visually satisfying as everything is nice and round. I also like how each hitch is unique, like a snowflake, no one is alike and the sheer volume of possible orientations with which they can be tied is delightfully and overwhelmingly staggering. I also do believe that each hitch has a profile for how it responds to certain manipulations by its operator which is relatively predictable, which is why we use various different hitches for various different applications. Hitches will probably never go out of style due to their cost effectiveness and because - look at ropes and knots as a whole - ropes and knotting have been around for anywhere from 15,000-17,000 years. So they certainly aren't going to stop seeing use in my lifetime or yours, or both of ours combined. Hitches are important to society and they are important in arboriculture and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon.
Having said that, I am the proud owner of the Rope Runner and, overall, I prefer climbing with it over using a hitch cord. However, this isn't always the case and I believe the mechanical and old school hitch combination that exists within a rope wrench setup is pretty spectacular also. So, maybe people are starting to climb with hitches less. But what about rigging? Imagine doing rigging without any hitches. How weird would that be? And keep in mind that there exists an entire world of rock climbers, rescuers and alpinists who use everything from an Autoblock, to a Klemheist, to the prusik on a Purcell loop. They are less likely to prefer heavy mechanicals over a soft, light length of Nylon and Technora.
I dunno. That's just my take on it. I'm kind of obsessed with hitch making, so I'm most definitely biased.
Having said that, I am the proud owner of the Rope Runner and, overall, I prefer climbing with it over using a hitch cord. However, this isn't always the case and I believe the mechanical and old school hitch combination that exists within a rope wrench setup is pretty spectacular also. So, maybe people are starting to climb with hitches less. But what about rigging? Imagine doing rigging without any hitches. How weird would that be? And keep in mind that there exists an entire world of rock climbers, rescuers and alpinists who use everything from an Autoblock, to a Klemheist, to the prusik on a Purcell loop. They are less likely to prefer heavy mechanicals over a soft, light length of Nylon and Technora.
I dunno. That's just my take on it. I'm kind of obsessed with hitch making, so I'm most definitely biased.
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