Page 17 - Knots You Need to Know Easy-to-Follow Guide to the 30 Most Useful Knots

Waterproof rigger’s tape, wrapped tightly around a rope against the lay

(near right), keeps the strands from unraveling until a permanent
whipping can be bound on. When a new length of rope is cut from a coil,
apply tape on both sides of the point to be cut before the rope is severed.
Taping the slippery ends of synthetic rope makes fusing and whipping
easier. For fusing (far right), the best tool is an electrically heated knife
used by riggers; but the job can be done with a soldering iron or the
flame from a match. To make a solid, blunt end, apply heat around the

edges and work toward the center.

A common whipping permanently secures loose strands at the end of a
rope without the use of tools. With marline or whipping twine, make a
narrow loop about a half inch longer than the rope’s diameter (1) and lay
it lengthwise along the rope. Bind the twine tightly over the loop with turns
taken against the lay of the rope, working toward the end. When the

length of the whipping equals the diameter of the rope, slip the working