What is wrong with the anchorhitch?

What is wrong with the anchorhitch?

it is wel known, but I see it rarely used

a clear animation of an application :
http://www.iland.net/%7Ejbritton/anchorhitch.htm

it seems that writers do not consider this hitch a reliable one,
because an extra half hitch is added in many publications
in my experience, the half hitch is the only thing that works loose

my question in other words:
who has experienced a failing anchorhitch (loosening, breaking, jamming)?
what are proper ways to improve this hitch (in what cases is that necesary)?
are there much better alternatives for an anchorhitch?
am I missing something crucial?

strange experience for me: I have missed this group/ you for a while !

thanks for knotting,

ben

(ben) wrote in message news:

What is wrong with the anchorhitch?

It's called the "anchor bend"--a terrible wrong.

a clear animation of an application :
http://www.iland.net/%7Ejbritton/anchorhitch.htm

NB: This knot is tied the WRONG way on the 'biner, putting the SPart's
load away from the main axis--that first turn should be AT the main axis.

it seems that writers do not consider this hitch a reliable one,
because an extra half hitch is added in many publications
in my experience, the half hitch is the only thing that works loose

Or the end is seized. Yes, the extra HH seems to be dubious.

my question in other words:
who has experienced a failing anchorhitch (loosening, breaking, jamming)?

I've had one jam in 6mm nylon climbing kernmantle, heavily loaded (the sheet
bend & 2HH can get pretty tight, too). A sailor from Down Under (NZ I think)
complained that there seemed to be more chafing with this knot than with
something he thought up as an alternative. Some test data shows 2HH (or
RT&2HH to be stronger qua ring hitch), and that's an easier knot to tie.

what are proper ways to improve this hitch (in what cases is that necesary)?

Nevermind "proper"--whatever that might imply--, yes, there are ways to make
this hitch more secure-when-slack: make a roundturn around the SPart with
the end before tucking it (it seems best to do this the harder way: turn
the end towards the tuck (which means going under itself). This RT will
provide some friction grip to hold the SPart's tension on the RT of the
end & object, which in turn nips the end which holds its RT. One might
need to set this by some iterations of tensioning the end & then the SPart
and manually pushing the end's RT back towards the object (it will grip
and thus be drawn out a bit by the SPart's tensioning).

am I missing something crucial?
strange experience for me: I have missed this group/ you for a while !

Are we crucial? (-;

thanks for knotting,

Well, thanks for dropping us a line,

--dl*
====

(ben) wrote in message . com...
What is wrong with the anchorhitch?

it is wel known, but I see it rarely used

a clear animation of an application :
http://www.iland.net/%7Ejbritton/anchorhitch.htm

it seems that writers do not consider this hitch a reliable one,
because an extra half hitch is added in many publications
in my experience, the half hitch is the only thing that works loose

my question in other words:
who has experienced a failing anchorhitch (loosening, breaking, jamming)?
what are proper ways to improve this hitch (in what cases is that necesary)?
are there much better alternatives for an anchorhitch?
am I missing something crucial?


Ben asked: "What is wrong with the anchorhitch?"
Dan replied: "It's called the "anchor bend"--a terrible wrong."

I agree that "Anchor Bend" is now the accepted name. However, if you
are looking in "The Ashley Book of Knots" for the various applications
and forms of this knot, Ashley calls it the "Fisherman's Bend". Ashley
does say the knot is also called the "Anchor Bend". An "Anchor Bend"
in Ashley's Book of Knots (ABOK #1841) is the form with two HH (half
hitches) and a seizing.

In this posting, I would like to call the "Anchor Bend" (AB) the form
of the knot with one HH through the round turn (as show in the link
given by Ben).

Ben, I think your question about the reliablity of the "Anchor Bend"
is really answered by three another questions. What is the knot's
application? How secure do you want it to be? Do you care if it jams?

For example, the AB with two HHs and a seizing (ABOK #1841)was used to
attach a large manila (hemp) rope to an large anchor for a sailing
ship. It's security was high priority! As Dan pointed out, the "Anchor
Bend" can jam under high loads. Sailors didn't like knots jamming and
with fiber rope that was likely, especially, when wet. I would first
suggest that the second HH was not, in this case, snugged up tightly
to the "Anchor Bend". I would then suggest that the seizing was for
security and the HH relieved the load on the seizing (see the
discussion on the Reeving-Line Bend, ABOK #1459). In addition, I would
suggest the HH lessened the tendency of the knot to jam (see the
discussion on the bowline ABOK #1012). The form of the knot, then,
depends very much on application.

On the other hand, if the load is constant, which it isn't in the
above, I have seen the AB with a HH that is snugged up, called secure.

The AB is used as the basis for many knots that you may find
interesting. Its name changes with the application and how the end is
handled. The "Gaff Topsail Halyard Bend" (ABOK #1677) is the AB. The
"Studding-Sail Bend" (ABOK #1678) is the AB with the end tucked.

In Graumont and Wenstrom, "Fisherman's Knots and Nets", a slipped AB
is called a "Buoy Hitch" for a "safe, temporary tie".

There are many more knots based on the AB than those sited above.

I found it fun to think of the AB as a "Half Hitch" (ABOK #1662) with
an extra turn. Then, I found it fun and interesting to compare the
knots formed by the "tucks and turns" that are applied to the working
end of the HH with the knots formed by the "tucks and turns" that are
applied to the working end of the AB.

Let me apologize to the readers of this post who do not have access to
"The Ashley Book of Knots". I think all who have ABOK will say it is
simple wonderful.

Ben asked: " are there much better alternatives for an anchorhitch?"
To tie a line to a carabiner, I would have thought, perhaps wrongly,
that a "Buntline Hitch" was more secure. Or, a round turn finished
with a "Buntline Hitch" was more secure.

All the best - Brian.