double braid milking.

Maui Palm & Tree Care

Maui Palm & Tree Care

Location
Pukalani, Hawaii
i just milked my 1/2 samson today. i tied one end to a post with a running bowline and tied a 4 wrap prussik cord to the rope and pulled it down the length. when i got to the end at least 10 inches of cover came off the core. at first i thought thats alot of cover to come off but then this rope has never been milked since i bought it. how many of you do this to new double braids? i guess the question is. to milk or not to milk
 
I just climb on it and cut the excess off at the end of the day. Or if it milks alot and I might be using the whole line, I'll spike the end of the line with a knot so I dont come off the end.
 
On a climbing line, one end gets spliced, the other just gets cover milked off the end as I climb on it. I don't cut the excess until someone makes me.

I don't milk my rigging lines for whatever reason.

love
nick
 
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...it doesn't affect the brk strength does it?

[/ QUOTE ]

It must. It may help or it may hurt, depending. The rope should have maximum strength when both core and cover fail at the same instant. If you had such a rope, then changing the relative lengths of the two (milking) will shift the failure points, making the rope weaker.

On the other hand, if your rope was such that the core failed first, then milking, which would shorten the cover, could bring core and cover more into balance, strengthening the rope.
 
Hi,
Was this Samson, from Samson Rope, or some other brand -- people sometimes refer to any double-braid as "Samson". The reason I ask is that, as noted above, conventional synthetic double-braids are meant to share half the load between core and cover, so good manufacturers do their best to balance them as they make them. If you get that kind of cover excess, it would seem that either the rope came out of the factory unbalanced, or someone messed with the rope since then. For instance, I've known splicers who will cheat extra slack into the cover, to make a splice easier to run home.
HM ropes, and others that are core-dependent, are generally not balanced so obsessively at the factory, because the cover is just there for chafe and UV. Still, too much slack in the cover can't be a good thing; aside from being weaker, an unbalanced rope is more likely to snag, chafe, and generally hang up.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you get that kind of cover excess, it would seem that either the rope came out of the factory unbalanced, or someone messed with the rope since then. ...
Brion Toss

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Brion- I, and everyone else on this message board, wish this were really true! This is a case where different worlds collide :)

The way we use our rope- with friction hitches that grab the rope, pinch down on it, then get pulled with weight on it while sliding, it has the effect of milking almost every line ever made (there are a few lucky exceptions).

Our double braid climbing lines (Blaze, Velocity, Poison Ivy, etc) ARE designed as described- but in use we have to milk the cover a few times (usually accomplished by climbing on the rope) before it will be "truly" balanced.

When you look at how rope is designed, this sounds like I'm making it up- but when you look at how us silly tree guys actually use the rope, it makes sense.

I haven't tested breaking strengths of milked vs. non milked ropes, but it would be my guess that the milked would be stronger. When you milk a rope, you are straightening out the fibers and straighter fibers, in general, yield a higher breaking strength.

It is all moot, in my opinion, however. What is important is that you milk the cover so that in use it is perfect. When it comes to climbing line, it is not ultimate breaking strength that you should be concerned about. You should be concerned about its day to day performance.

love
nick
 
Got it, it's just you silly tree climbers doing bizarre things with rope. As opposed to silly sailors, who do weird things with rope.
So, what is the advantage of using double braid for a climbing line, as opposed to 16-strand? Is it a quicker action? Better grip? Elasticity? Price? What?
Fair leads,
Brion
 
Brion, you forgot cool colors! I've tried bluemoon and I'm currently using Tachyon. I have traditionally use 16 strand. I like the 16 strand as one would a good pair of boots. I didn't like blue moon much, it seemed to lay square while under load, and was a little too soft for my taste. I do really like the tachyon. I love the stiffness, how light it is, and how well it my hitch self tends. I also wanted to start experimenting with srt vs Ddrt, the small diameter of the two double braids I listed accommodate mechanical aids better, but not a true 11mm line so they have a more traditional feel.

Size, availability, and feel are my biggest decision factors
 
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