Let's Hear It For 3 Strand!

[Tree09]

You can make a fid for 3 stand out of a chunk of half inch pipe, just cut the end at a 45 degree angle to make it easier to insert. Tape the ends really well or use constrictor knots, and when you do your tucks make sure to twist it to keep the tight lay. The problem with synthetic ropes is that the fibers don't have memory, so you have to work to keep the right twist tension a bit. If you are trying to learn how to splice it first, i strongly recommend going to a hardware store and getting 20 feet or so of Manila. The individual strands will have a memory to them and they keep their shape better, so it's easier to learn on.

I personally use a crown knot to start the splice when I'm doing a ring, so you will need to practice that as well, usually taught by doing a back splice. Believe it or not splicing 3 strand is still taught in our fitter apprenticeship, they view it as that necessary for tag line use and light rigging. We learn the clove hitch, bowline, pipe hitch, bucket hitch, to never use a square knot, eye splice, and back splice.

 

[Tree09]

3 is recommended for natural cordage, 5 is reccomended for synthetic.

 

[chris_girard]

Nice work!

 

[theTreeSpyder]

i liked 3strand for lanyard, FS, eye2eye choker etc.
i find it has different grip characteristics when used as a Blakes on braid, or as smaller braid cord gripping 3strand lanyard
>>And very long wearing, curious foot print against smooth braid of intermittent contact, perhaps even ventilation?
Prefer New England Safety Blue(core flagging) 3 strand, even w/orange tracer thru for HyVee(of still make..)
i prefer 5 tuck, slight 'butane backsplice' of the exiting strands for mushroom cap swell, as 'stopper knot' to be more physically impossible to pull back thru
>>then even as not to hot but formable allowing it to solder back to main and smooth down; w/o affecting, melting main.
Stitch thru can't hurt either, or even tight tape that leaves 'shrooms exposed as an inspection point.
3 strand is also more textured grab by hand like 12strand, mo'nubbier compared to 'smooth sock' of more truly rounder 16 & 24 strands.
.
Brion Toss i believe recommends double tuck first strand i believe(been awhile).
AND as TreeSmith says the unraveling, or as Brion Toss says 'ribboning' the strands to lay flat as weave back thru self
>>this gives less deformity of the mainline splicing back into for more strength
>>AND more frictional surface area for security.
Mr. Toss points this out as totally counter-intuitive, lil-known rule of how it should go!
Again and again, as always and all ways before Pure Inline, undeformed for strength, this lesson echoed again..
>>and this one of it's most memorable, benchmark moments to visualize and compare many things to
For if this amount of miss-alignmeant matters hear, it MUST matter in a lot of other things!

 

[Burnham]

Pretty work, Scott.

 

[Tommy_B]

I like splicing 3 stand. Taught myself how to do it after I learnt 16 stand and double braid. Just taper and tape the trails and you don't really need any major tools

 

[ruel]

Kind of a done up version of the 1/2 inch pipe fid Kyle mentioned. Angle grinder and sandpaper to shape. Copper is a bit soft for digging into double braid, but it works sweet on hollow braids and 3 strand.



Probably just best to buy a swedish fid, but I had the pipe and some splicing to do!

 

[flushcut]

If it works ain't nuttin wrong with it.

I need a new 1/2 3 strand. Mine got damaged mid line almost severed a whole strand pulling a dead elm with the stumper. (sharp corner)

 

[Tree09]

Now just sweat a tee and a couple small pups and you're set!!! Honestly i bet it works pretty good like that

 

[Marc-Antoine]

It depends of your usage, but you can always cut the rope completely and splice it together again. If the thickness and the suppleness is important, you have the low profile end to end splice. It gives only 4 strands at any place instead of 6 for the usual end to end splice.

 

[flushcut]

Yes it can be spliced but the line is old and owes me nothing. But the smell of new rope is so addicting!

 

[treesmith]

My first set of gear included a new saddle, new hooks, and three (used) 1/2" 3-strand ropes. I used the best of the three for a climb line (~110'-120'), and spliced the other two together for a lowering line to use until I made some coin to buy new lines. Wound up using it for quite a while, even after getting some new lines.

 

[T Collins]

Something that I spliced this morning

 

[flushcut]

Purdy!

 

[pantheraba]

Love it....good tool you made.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

My favorite kind of flip line. Prefer 5/8ths hard lay Tree Master. Eye on each end.

 

[treesmith]

Why an eye on each end, Stephen?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Reversable and the eye acts as a stop. 20 footer.

 

[treesmith]

Whew! Can’t imagine needing a 20’-er!

 

[CurSedVoyce]

When you need it, you just do.

 

[treesmith]

When I need something longer than my 12’-er, I just use a scrap of 1/2” Stable Braid and fab a temporary one.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

3 strand rolls better which you really appreciate on a conifer stem.. For reference, a 20 foot flip line would not really make it all the way around the red woods we climbed at the GTG.

 

[T Collins]

 

[ruel]

Pretty rope, is that one of the hemp mimic 3 strands?

 

[T Collins]

Nah it's just old nylon hard lay. 5/8 navy surplus. I had a spool of 1200' . Best all-round rope I use. Let me go find my take on a Beranek lanyard that I made after reading his book when I was 18. I know that I have too few tucks.