Page 163 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

A History of Life Support Knots 153
reference to this knot in this application in the climbing literature.
Readers of the Journal were informed that the Overhand Loop (Fig. 1)
is 'one of those [knots] which most weakens the rope' and it was mentioned
only 'in order that no-one may imitate it1. I do not know what evidence
convinced the members of the Special Committee that the Overhand Loop
was so weak, since they also say 'how great a loss of strength results from a
knot we cannot undertake to estimate'. This is the first of many complaints by
British climbers over the next hundred years or so that the Overhand Loop,
so favoured by Alpine guides, was unsatisfactory, because of either weakness
or a tendency to jam under load. Swiss guides in particular continue to use
the knot to this day: indeed, it is known as the 'nceud de guide'. They claim
that in actual practice the rope never seems to break at that point. Quite a
number of climbing manuals, though few from Britain, still recommend this
knot, both as end loop and as mid loop because of its simplicity and ease of
use.

Fig. 3. Fishermans Knot Fig. 4. Fishermans Loop Fig. 5. Overhand Noose
It is noteworthy that the illustrations of both the Fishermans Knot and
the Fishermans Loop have discordant Overhand Knots: i.e. they are of op-
posite handedness. A brief note in the following number of the Journal [8]
recommends the Fishermans Loop as a mid loop, and describes how to tie it
in the bight without using the ends and finish with the Overhands concor-
dant. All subsequent illustrations by British climbers of the Fishermans Knot
and Loop have concordant Overhands (as shown in my drawings, Figs 3,4),
though only a few comment on it. However, Wright and Magowan [34] showed
by tests that the concordant knots are stronger than the discordant, as is now
generally held by most knot tiers.
Mountaineers, especially in Britain, started to gain practice for alpine
expeditions by climbing local rock outcrops, without guides. This became the
start of rock climbing as a separate sport. Some people who had no intention,
or no opportunity, to visit the Alps took up rock climbing, and the sport
became more democratic in its membership, attracting many working-class
people. The use of a rope on British rock was regarded initially as almost
unsporting and did not become common until the 1890s. Even then, the rope
was not tied on to anchorages, just held in the hands of the person supposedly
safeguarding the climber, though it was sometimes passed round a rock knob.
Once into the twentieth century, however, the use of a rope became universal