Break test on a climbing line that has been “spiked”

Gorman

Gorman

Branched out member
Location
Rhode Island
Has any testing been done on climbing lines that have been inadvertently spiked? I was thinking about this after I spiked my brand new kalimba. The wind blew it into my spar while I was trying to avoid the damn thing.
 
I have cut mine when I did that, but I caught it while descending, and just like you the wind push it into the path of my spur. I pulled a strand way out, So I had to cut out about 4' to not have a weird tail on either remaining section
 
Whenever this happens to me I just stop what I'm doing, grab the line about a foot on either side of where it got spiked, and give it a few good "pops". This almost always fixes any strands that got yanked. I generally don't worry about damage/cutting of internal strands. The sides of my gaffs are fairly blunt, it's only the tip that is sharp. If I replaced or cut my line every time it got accidentally spiked, I would be going through far too much rope over the years. That being said it does depend on rope construction. I don't worry about cut internal strands for 16-strands and double braids, but I would be less keen on it for kernmantles.

I think break testing lines that have been spiked would yield wildly inconsistent results because each and every incident is different and the damage is always unique.
 
@Muggs makes a strong point, your tip is all that should be "sharp". If they're sharpened incorrectly I've seen where the edges are like razors. Super dangerous because you're cutting fibers. If the tip is all that's sharp it's less likely to cut and just pushes them apart, like a fid. Easier to milk them back into place.

I don't have any standards in front of me, isn't it like 3 picks in a yard of rope or some shite (getting out of my expertise). My climb line got spiked super early on, this fall is upgrade time.

It feels like spiking a brand new rope is easier than spiking an old one. Never fails.
 
I have been suuuuuper cautious and have managed not to spike a rope in a few years, but I don't get to climb as much as I would like, so the odds are greatly reduced. I don't keep my gaffs sharp either, so I appreciate the info here. I won't stress abput it so much if it happens.
 
Muggs said:
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I think break testing lines that have been spiked would yield wildly inconsistent results because each and every incident is different and the damage is always unique.
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It probably would be inconsistent...but maybe not? And there probably would be some relative consistency within degrees of observable damage.

A picture tutorial could be good. "If your rope looks like one of these it likely has xy% of its strength". Maybe 4 different categories or so depending on where the tend to group as tested.
 
ATH said:
It probably would be inconsistent...but maybe not? And there probably would be some relative consistency within degrees of observable damage.

A picture tutorial could be good. "If your rope looks like one of these it likely has xy% of its strength". Maybe 4 different categories or so depending on where the tend to group as tested.
Click to expand...
oh yea, it would be totally inconsistent. But it would offer a glimpse of the effects of spiking a line.
 
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