How do you tell if a rope has been overloaded?

[Winchman]

I've always thought a rope was within the wll if the standard non-binding knots (bowline, anchor hitch, figure 8, etc.) could be undone by hand after being used. A rope with knots that had to be pried apart with tools, or one with fibers welded together in the knot would junk.

Am I being too conservative? Is there some better way to judge the condition of a rope that otherwise looks good?

 

[Reach]

You may be a bit conservative, as the knot itself has a large bearing on how tightly it can be loaded without locking up. It’s hard to give a definite answer to that question though.

 

[flushcut]

IMO if you are questioning it it is time to retire it.
The knot could have been tied loose and caused fusing when loaded. Cycles to failure, use abuse, dirt or grit, chemical exposure are all things to consider. Rope is a consumable in our industry.

 

[Seth McPherson]

IMO if you are questioning it it is time to retire it.
The knot could have been tied loose and caused fusing when loaded. Cycles to failure, use abuse, dirt or grit, chemical exposure are all things to consider. Rope is a consumable in our industry.

this is my approach. ropes generally get retired before their life is very close to the end which i’ll accept so that i never have to find the end of its life in a critical situation. my natural crotch rigging lines usually get downgraded throughout their life. for example, when it’s in new to fair condition i’ll use it over more expensive structures. as it ages, i’ll buy a new one and use the old one for rigging over less expensive things like gardens and using it as a tag line until i retire it. the cycle just continues

 

[moss]

Run the entire length of the rope through your bare hands, feel for inconsistencies, narrowing, stiffness etc. A rope can be examined by hand feel and visual inspection for cut strands etc. and determined good to go or not.

One thing to look for are areas of embedded pitch, they are not the death knell for a line, they don't feel or look right but can be resolved.
-AJ