Trusting your splice

robinia

robinia

Participating member
Location
Ontario, Canada
A quote from a recent thread:
I am familiar with and trust splices in hollow braid rope like amsteel blue, ice tail and tenex tec but I seem to need a little reassurance about making this splice and hanging from it. o_O
Click to expand...

I'm wondering how many of us actually have our splices break tested?
And I am not asking the pro splicers who are selling their work, just those of us who splice for ourselves or friends.

I have to say I really relate to the quote above. In fact I regularly use my own splices for rigging but still sometimes hesitate when it's climbing tools. A lot of my splices have taken some major abuse in rigging scenarios so it would seem strange not to wholly trust them for life support, ie: much less load. .

I only keep splices that are by the book and come out exactly as they should - no bumps, no drastic diameter changes, etc. No splice has ever crept, slipped, or failed in anyway.

Maybe I'm just a bit of a worrier or maybe a random break test is simply a good idea for peace of mind.
It's not that I'm really too cheap to send it out but more that I've worked hard on a great splice and don't want to chuck it.

Thanks in advance for any ideas, thoughts, opinions, experiences.
 
Before my wife (me too, really) was comfortable with me climbing on anything I spliced, I sent one off to treestuff.
In the notes, they told me that I hadn't fully set the splices, which I took mean that could be a little more muscle in my final bury, but it still broke just under the MBS for the cordage, 8mm OP. the splice itself hadn't moved at all, it broke somewhere beyond the bury, so ultimately, it was reassuring, just the sheer numbers.
So now I muscle my final buries a bit more, and I watch the eyes a lot. But I feel pretty comfortable though.
 
Good thread. I've lowered many a spar piece off of my Tenex whoopie slings (for Porta Wrap and block) and used eye 2 eyes in rigging and climbing. Also lowered lots of heavy pieces off the double braid eyes I put in the end of my Stable Braid rigging line. Seeing the slings and ropes perform with heavy pieces has given me a lot of confidence. I think in many instances a subpar splice can be stronger than a knot but I am in no way suggesting using one. I definitely want to take one of each splice that I've learned to do properly and send it off to get tested. Problem is, they take so long and I'm so proud of them, when they're done, there's no freaking way :) I'm starting to save some sections of different ropes for this purpose though.
 
I trust my locking brumell and three strand splices. The only other thing other than rigging slings and ropes, like the lava I spliced, was not used at altitude. As a matter of fact I just cut that splice off. Oh it was good I sure just not, my life sure.

So, if you test a splice I guess that means it gets wasted. I want to try to splice another piece of lava for a 2-1 lanyard but if I have to get it tested which will result in wasting it, that sucks. I almost killed myself splicing that rope last time.

I want to climb on my own splices including double braids but at what cost?
 
I follow the manufacturers splicing instructions to the T and visually examine each finished splice for anything I feel would compromise the splice (bulges, twisting, pulled strands, etc.). If it passes I use it (rigging and climbing), if it doesn't I cut it off and start again. I've never had a splice creep, slip, or fail. I trust the manufacturers and I trust myself. I feel like break testing a splice is just a waste of a splice.
 
robinia said:
A quote from a recent thread:

gmcttr said:
...I am familiar with and trust splices in hollow braid rope like amsteel blue, ice tail and tenex tec but I seem to need a little reassurance about making this splice and hanging from it. o_O
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

I got a chance to climb on that NE Fly splice today. No problems. Of course, used in a DdRT system it only has to hold half my weight and maybe my full weight or a little more with dynamic loading. This shouldn't be a problem for a splice designed to break somewhere above 22kN.

My pre-splice concerns were because with the splice for Fly, it is more difficult for me to understand the holding mechanism of the bury, parallel strands laid against parallel strands vs. splices where the constriction of braided core buried in braided core is obvious....played with chinese finger traps as a kid.
 
I use a hydraulic power pack with a pressure gauge on the cylinder. Usually the knots break, or it just bogs the system down and doesn't break. I've tested about 8 splices, none of those failed at or near the splice.
 
Very cool vid tuttle. How far would a 200lb man have to fall to create that kind of force. A wicked amount to start with.

But as we know splices can come apart more from 'no use' than use.
 
Good thread. I've never sent any of my splice away to be tested but I'd be interested to do so. I'm not a comercial splicer, rather I do my own gear but I follow the instructions given and as above, they are either 100% right or chucked. There can't be any inbetween IMO
 
my splices are pulled by a 6:1 pulley rig, so its almost impossible from the them to come apart, I have tried on many occasions to pull the eye out using all kinds of tools, pliers and fids, and never succeeded. Just a token of thought on the way splices can be put together for your own safety.
 
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