Page 124 - Derek E. Avery - The new encyclopedia of knots

K

Karabiner see carabiner.

Kernmantel rope: specifically for climbers, it comprises a sheath and a

core. It is a specialised rope designed to absorb shock by means of its
elasticity.

Kevlar: a relatively expensive pale-gold coloured aromatic polyamide fibre
made by Du Pont. It is used mainly for halyards and spinnaker guys, and
has the highest strength to weight or diameter ratio of any fibre used in
ropes. This is mainly because of the use of carbon fibres in its manufacture.
Kevlar has virtually no stretch, and loses only five per cent of its strength
when spliced.

Killick hitch: an ideal hitch to use for towing, or lifting poles or any other
long objects, whether they are bulky or thin. It is composed of a timber

hitch (see page 173) with a half hitch (see page 91) added at a distance
from the original knot (figure 84).

Knot: strictly speaking, a knot is tied only in a single piece of rope; for
example when being tied as a stopper in the end of a rope, or when the
end of a line is passed through a bight in itself, or when the two ends of
the same piece of cord are used to tie a parcel. However, the term has

been extended generally to cover the joining together of two pieces of
very small lines, though these are more properly classified as bends. For an
explanation of the basic terms used to denote the various parts of a rope
in which a knot is being formed, see bight, working end, and standing
part.

figure 84