Page 80 - Bob Holtzman "The Field Guide to Knots How to Identify.."

Wrap tape around the rope and cut right through it to secure both new ends against fraying

Melting is an option only for synthetic rope. If the rope is not melt-cut with a
heated blade, as described above, the fibers of a cut rope may be melted with a
cigarette lighter or other flame (see above). Some synthetic ropes will burn and
melt, while others just melt. If the rope catches fire, blow it out before applying
the flame again. Beware of dripping the molten plastic onto your skin or

clothing.

A melted end will never unravel (although the heat of melting makes the fibers
on cheap polypropylene rope so brittle that the end may break off after short

usage). On the downside, a melted end is ugly, and it often has sharp points that
inconveniently catch on the rope’s fibers when tying knots or coiling. Those
points can also occasionally cause skin cuts.

Plastic electrical tape is not as permanent an end-sealer as a whipping, but it
works pretty well and is easily replaced. Wrap it two or three times around the
rope and cut directly through it, so that both ends are secured in a single
operation (see above). For large-diameter rope, cover a longer surface of the
rope and make additional wraps.

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