Page 103 - Jane Renolds - Knots Your Complete Step by Step Guide to Knot, Knot Uses, and Knot Tying

Chapter 10 Rope Care Tips

Finally, here are easy tips you could keep in mind to make sure your rope—
and knots—will always be secure:

Never burn the ends of ropes that are made from Kevlar or other Aramid

fibers because they’d only be charred, and therefore, not protected. The
sheath may also melt so what you can do is just make a sailmaker’s
whipping near the end.

Meanwhile, for ropes that are made out of polypropylene, nylon, polyester,
or polyethylene, know that you can use heat on the ends. Use electrically
heated items, flame, or even soldering irons so the ends would be wound

tight. It’s still best to go for flame, though, as electricity provides extremely
poor protection and also prolongs the problem—which evidently will
destroy the quality of your knot. Add a whipping and burn the ends for
proper safety.

Take note that modern ropes are definitely more resilient to damage than
older types. However, you have to make sure that you won’t let the rope
unravel. Keep it when not in use, and have it properly coiled so that you’d
have twist and kink-free ropes when you need them!

When ropes are kept properly and kept safe from UV Damage, they could
stay in great condition for quite a long time. When exposed to so many
chemicals and used extensively—raveling and unraveling—they might

waiver a bit, but when used properly, you can expect that your ropes would
have a good, long life!

Never trail the rope underwater when it’s not properly knotted, and make

sure that you don’t ignore runs at the end. Don’t wash every single time
you’ve used it as this decreases the quality.

Coil the rope at least 8 times to keep it properly safe, and fold it in half, if

you can. Do not do more or less or your rope will be dirty.