What are gripping knots? How to knit a grasping knot: Scheme

Gripping knots have a relatively wide range of applications: mountaineering (both tourist and industrial), and rock climbing, speleology, and rescue. In a word, wherever it is necessary to provide reliable insurance in case of a sudden breakdown, a junction is required.

Grasping knots come in several forms, each of them requires a separate study and careful testing of knitting skills, so that in the event of an extreme situation, everything must be done correctly. After all, the safety nets are very important to knit as accurately as possible: from this, without exaggeration, human life will depend.

Fundamental rules

Grasping knots have a number of distinctive features, which must be taken into account and remembered:

• They are not recommended on ropes, ropes without braids, as well as on the ribs and ribbons made of Kevlar, spectra and dainima. Failure to comply with this rule can be life threatening!
• It is not possible to impose any additional nodes on the loop of the gripping knot.
• It is recommended to use ropes with a tensile force of 9.8 kN for a diameter of 7 mm and 7 kN for a diameter of 6 mm.
• There is an opinion that it is possible to knit a gripping knot in any place from the trigger device. However, seasoned climbers strongly recommend to equip it below.
• Gripping knots, tightened under load, can be used not only during lifting, but also at the moment of descent from height.
• The gripping knot works best if you use ropes that differ in diameter by a factor of two.
• It is highly discouraged to use any kind of gripping knot with icing of ropes, since even in case of firm grasping the loop will slip along the support.
• The most important property of any gripping knot is its ability to instantly drag out in the event of a load failure, be it a person or a load.

Node Prusika

Everyone who is interested in how to make a grasping knot is recommended to learn this particular type first. Prusik bears the name of its creator - Karl Prusik, who invented it in 1931. The knot is tied with an auxiliary cord with a diameter of 6 to 7 mm around the main rope or rope with a diameter of 9 to 14 mm. Prusik moves itself as you move down or up a person, and in case of a breakdown instantly tightens, thus providing a reliable insurance.

For a while it was prusik that reigned supreme among the climbers, but over time, there were numerous variants of both himself and the grasping knots in general. However, until now it is he who is considered to be "basic" and compulsory to study.

The sequence of mating prusik is as follows:

• Take the cord, previously tied with a loop;
• The cord is wrapped three times around the main rope so that it is inside the loop;
• Making sure that all the perfect turns of the loop do not overlap with each other and lie flat, you need to tighten the knot.

French prusik

He's Marshall's knot. It is recommended to use, if it is known in advance that the load will be carried out only in one specific direction. The knot is knitted as follows:

• First, take the cord, which is organized loop.
• Then it wraps around the main rope.
• The winding of the cord is made three times around the main rope. It must be strictly monitored that each subsequent turnover lies side by side and exactly in relation to the previous turnover.
• That part of the cord that remains free, passes through the loop and is tightened in the direction where the restrained load should be placed.

This node refers to the so-called creeping, and therefore take on it strictly is not recommended. You can change the number of turns around the main rope as necessary. As in the case of the traditional gripping knot, the main rope must necessarily have a diameter exceeding the thickness of the ribbon. The rule is this: the closer the ropes are to each other in diameter, the efficiency and, consequently, the safety of the French prusik is lower.

Bachmann's site

Many beginner climbers are interested in a gripping knot. How to knit it, not many know. Usually it is recommended to master the so-called Bahman node. It has its name due to the inventor - Franz Bachmann. As a self-insurance, this site is rarely used.

To tie it, you need to do the following:

• Attach the longest part of the carbine to the main rope;
• Stretch the cord through the rifle, fold it down twice, make a few turns (usually two or three), tugging the carbine and rope to each other;
• Bakhman's node reacts as soon as the load is removed from it, but it does not tighten instantaneously, and therefore the load can slip a little.

There are also options for this insurance. For example, Bachmann's incomplete knot. With its strapping, the loop first covers the main rope two or three times, and only then (also on 2-3 turns) a rope with the carabiner fixed on it.

The pseudo-swallow is a grasping knot, the scheme of which is as follows: the cord first covers only the main rope, then the loop is guided through the carbine, as in the case of the classic knot of Bachmann. Such a node can be organized "on the fly" without detaching the cargo itself. Important! The pseudohohmam exerts its restraining properties solely on a tightly stretched rope or rope. If they sag - such a knot will break.

Finally, students of the Ural Polytechnic suggested a variant of pseudo-panaman, in which the knot tying begins in the same way as in the case of an ordinary pseudobahman, and then the loop conductor is fastened to the carbine. Node and called - UPI (by the name of the institution), although its author is known - the tourist A. Yu. Yagovkin.

Double kneading knot

As with all other types of insurance, before you knit a double gripping knot, you need to make sure that the main and auxiliary ropes differ in diameter. That is, the cord should be thinner than the rope rope - optimally one and a half times.

There are two options that you can tie a double gripping knot. The first assumes that on the perimeter main rope two gripping knots are organized at a certain distance from each other. Thus, the climber can be sure that if for some reason the one gripping knot refuses - the second one will work.

According to another variant, two loops around the base of the rope are tied. Thus, it is possible to organize both a double and a triple symmetrical gripping knot.

Gripping knot with one end

A knot grasping at one end is tied according to the same scheme as the classical one, but in this case the loop, formed as a result of the addition of the cord, is halved, but only one end thereof.

Half-gripping unit

Such a knot represents as it were half of the grasping. First, the auxiliary cord is wrapped around the main rope in one turn, then another one is placed side by side (care must be taken so that there are no overlaps), and the free end is threaded into the loop of the cord. This node should never be used in mountaineering, tourism, etc. It is used exclusively in everyday life.

Straight Austrian clutching knot

For the organization of a straight grasping Austrian knot, it is recommended to use a basic round rope with a diameter of 9 to 15 mm and an auxiliary cord with a diameter of 6 to 7 mm. The larger the difference in diameters, the stronger will be the grasp of the knot.

The double cord is tied 4-6 times around the rope, then its free end is threaded into the loop in the direction from the bottom up. Such a node is usually used for various kinds of ferries.

The reverse Austrian grasping knot

When tying the knot, 2-3 turns of the double cord are made around the vertical rope in the direction from top to bottom. The reverse Austrian knot finds its application usually during vertical movement, including as a self-insure.

Autoblock

A distinctive feature of autoblock is that the two ends of the cord do not pass through the loop, but are closed with a carbine. It is only necessary to unfasten them, and the node instantly unleashes under the action of the elastic force of the cord.

Autoblock is preferable to use for insurance during the descent or ascent. In some cases it is much safer and safer than the same prusik. However, an important point is that the reliability of the autoblock strongly depends on the material from which both the ribbon and the main rope are made. Soft materials are preferred.

Most Common Errors

Beginners, who have just learned to knit grasping knots, often admit the following typical mistakes:

• During the use of the grasping node, the novice can intercept the node with the palm. This will inevitably lead to the fact that in the event of a critical situation the hand is reflexively compressed, as a result of which the node does not work, and the further load is shifted directly to the hand. Of course, it's impossible to prevent a fall due to the palm's only effort, and therefore this mistake is fraught with tragedy. To avoid it, you should not move the knot yourself, but pull the auxiliary rope.
• Despite the fact that information about the gripping knot is easily accessible, and in mountaineering schools it is generally given a lot of time, beginners nevertheless over and over again make the following main mistake: tying up insufficient speed around the main rope or, on the contrary, an excessive number. In the first case, the probability is high that one revolution will simply not be able to withhold the broken cargo. Simple etching can lead to an uncontrolled fall. In the second, the knot stops when moving, until it is completely blocked.
• Use the same cord for a long time. Even the strongest repshnur with time will be rubbed, especially in conditions of intensive exploitation. Very carefully inspect the cord for damage before each use.
• Often in the quality of insurance is a gripping knot. How to knit it so that it can serve reliably? It should be noted that the length of the released free end of the ribbon should not exceed the length of its own hand. Otherwise, at a critical moment, you just can not reach the main rope.
• During movement, the knot should be pushed by hand, and not moved by the palm (see point one), or pulled by the loose ends of the cord. Failure to comply with the second moment can lead to the formation of overlaps, which greatly weaken the grasp of the knot.
• Finally, we should follow the rule already mentioned above: the thickness of the main rope should be about one and a half times the thickness of the cord. Invalid inverse ratio, and even the ropes of the same diameter will not contribute to the strength of the knot.