Trouble dealing with “slippery” ropes when coming from a hemp/jute/high-tooth rope background?

As you learn to tie, you should hopefully be introduced to the difference between a structural decision, and an aesthetic one. Sometimes we have places within a tie that we have designed to slip or tighten because we want that area of the tie to shift before anything else. What I lay out below is not a rulebook that says you must do these things. These are simply adaptations kni tends to use very often.

Different materials behave differently. Some low-tooth ropes, like solid-braid nylon do not compact the way that a loose-lay spun rope would. This can be an issue because it can make the resulting tie very bulky. One of the major considerations I will point out is how some rope configurations are stretchier than others. You need to take this into account if you’re planning on tying something that relies on structure. If your TK depends on perfect tension in order to “work” for suspension, keep in mind that more dynamic materials like nylon can shift and stretch when loaded to make your TK lose all pretense of tension, which can potentially cause problems.

I have experimented with a number of TK’s in nylon, and would say that a good rule of thumb is to avoid loading them heavily. The only TK I suspend in nylon currently is a CTKv4 with the cinches -heavily- loading the chest, and they’ve had good/stable results with that configuration.

Rope Length

I generally add 2-4ft or 1m to the length of my slippery ropes when compared to my high-tooth kit. For example, my jute kit is about 7-8m (26ft), while my nylon kit is 9m (30ft) in length for my longer pieces. This is done for a few reasons, but I have found that for most ties (using the adaptations below), the low-tooth rope tends to end at around the same place that a high-tooth rope would.

Joining rope

Sheet bend vs. Square knot

Many people join ropes with a collapsed lark’s head (square knot), but an issue with slippery ropes especially is that this type of joining is is prone to slippery failure if the join is made without perfect tension between both running ends, and keeping that tension even. This is hard to do, so it is common for one of the two running ends to slip out of the join and cause the join to fail.

Instead of using the square knot, I use a sheet bend to join my ropes. The beauty of the sheet bend is that it draws it’s strength from a bowline structure, so it is strong, but also easy to untie even after being put under heavy load. In plain english, you can use a sheet bend to join two ropes of the same size, or a smaller bight to a larger rope’s running ends. Do not use it to join a bigger rope to a smaller rope’s running ends or the join will usually fail.

Last bend vs. Water knot.

Oftentimes I see a water knot recommended for joining two separate lines, and the water knot is fantastic for webbing or flatter materials. Slippery rope, tends to make it very difficult to untie, and it can still slip under dynamic loads. Many people “back up” the water knot with some overhand knots on the running ends. Unfortunately these overhand knots also tend to slip and compact. I find it incredibly obtuse to tie a water knot backed up with a double-fisherman, so instead I use a Last bend.

The benefits of the last bend; it has the joining ability of a triple-fisherman while being easy to untie, it is also an easy pattern to evolve from the double-coin knot, which is a common decorative knot we use in rope bondage.

Single-Column Adaptations

I find a yuki/square-knot/boola-boola will always fail regardless of how it is backed up, so for shibari aesthetics, I reach instead for a surgeons knot. Otherwise if I do not want that aesthetic, or if I want to have a single column with a quick-release, I use a somerville bowline. A Reverse-Tension Cuff/Cow-hitch cuff also works well, if you are not in a situation where you may need to untie the column – such as the beginning of a hip/chest harness where you do not want an exposed bight.

Double-Column Adaptations

My preferred method for creating double-columns is adding the cinch after having tied a stable single-column around the limbs I want to connect. Adding the cinch after this single-column is solid. Many of the double column variants that include the cinch as part of the tie, even the somerville double column, can often slip or fail under load in my experience.

Friction adaptations

These adaptations are not required, but for ties that rely on structure, or for loaded minimalist suspension, I find a bit of reinforcement very helpful in making low-tooth rope behave.

Modifying the X friction

The x-friction is used to lock wraps vertically on the stem, but with low-tooth rope, the top wrap is generally not locked and the friction can shift significantly along the stem. I modify the X-friction by adding a L-friction to the unlocked top wrap.

Modifying the Half-Moon friction

The half moon friction is used to lock wraps vertically and horizontally, but with low-tooth rope, a half-moon is usually not able to get enough surface area on the low-tooth rope to accomplish locking the vertical, causing it to creep up or down on the stem. My solution is to replace the half-moon with a full-moon friction.

Modifying the Half-hitch friction

Half-hitches tend to slip very easily if they do not have forward tension. If you want to add a lot more structure, adding an additional turn to the half-hitch helps to lock it in place.

Additionally for harnesses, a woven half hitch is also quite popular if there are multiple wraps that can be woven.

Things I love low-tooth rope for: