Page 27 - Randy Penn Everything Knots Book

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THE EVER YTHING KNOTS BOOK

common way of making rope. Without machinery, it is the most
straightforward way to gather fibers and combine them into rope.
A common type of twisted rope is a three-strand rope (FIGURE
2-1), which combines three strands that may, in turn, have been
twisted from three yarns, each made up of multiple fibers. Other
twisted ropes are made of four or more strands, with a small
hollow space at the core.

FIGURE 2-1: Structure of a three-strand rope

To make a three-strand rope, fibers are twisted in a right-
handed fashion to make up yarns, which are combined and twisted
together in left-handed fashion to make up strands. Then, the
strands are twisted together to the right to make three-strand rope.
Rope made by switching the twisting direction with each level is
known as “hawser-laid” rope. If hawser-laid rope is made up of
three three-stranded ropes that are twisted left-handed, the result is
called “cable-laid” rope.
Why twist each succeeding component of the rope in the opposite
direction? There’s a good explanation: It is constructed in such a way
for stability, because the tendency of the rope to untwist will be can-
celed out if each level of the rope is twisted in the opposite direction.

Direction of the Slant
When the final strands are twisted right-handed, the result is
called “Z-laid” rope. This is the same orientation that the threads

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