Jake,

Come on Jake, read what is actually written !

I never said knots didn't weaken lines, just that with care they weaken lines alot less then what is made out in this thread. Additionally I said splices weaken lines as well, often less then knots but nevertheless ...

Please don't make any strawman arguments of my comments.

Either that or content that I have mastered the oriental art of hovering weightlessly on my knotted trap lines that obviously can't support my weight ! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Not to mention the telekinetic attraction I excerted on my quiver of stunt kites in a good blow fitted with 100-150 kg break strength lines, dragging my 100 kg frame and clothing through the sand and air, plowing the beach.

There are several tricks to compensate for knot weakening. After a while I was only breaking the lines on the unknotted parts and never at or even near the knots themselves. These are not high tech tricks by the way, most of them are pretty much common sense.

If you are interested the combo of a piece of line with a bloodknot and a fishermans hitch on the main line was the superior setup of all. It could be dissembled very easily even after being highly tensioned and broke a lot less then any loop, spliced or unspliced around any ring or shackle. In fact it was the bend around the ring/shackle that weakened the line the most and even significantly more then the knots ever did. Shock loadings tend to do different things to lines then high static loadings. Loops or peices of line that changed shape or angle under shock loadings often failed on my stunt kites; the "static" knots themselves didn't.

I have the very same experience with traplines where the 5 mm (2000 kg break) running trap line breaks alot more often around the little pully then the 3 mm knotted traplines themselves (I have never broken one in 7 years).

But as with all things I write, make the best of my (real life tested) comments or simply ignore them are irrelevant based on an appreciation of my persona. In teh end, I don't care either way.

Wouter