what am i doin wrong here!!?

why is my blakes hitch slipping on me ,right now im back to using ol true-blue for life line ,but anyway i have tried with all kinds of rope

4/2-slip

5/2-3 slip

6/2-4 this isnt to bad but a bit much

so i tried what i call a (over under blakes)

same 4 wrap up ,then just 1 under then up through the original 2

this worked really well, great grab, no slippage ,added MP, i get to top and go to lean back for a rest and i slide about a foot,this is what happens with the others ,cept not so much with the 6/3-4

i dont rope climb ,butt the DISTEL looks nice

ive tried making the hith tight,loose just want to find a hitch i can set and not have to keep tending

i was given a light green rope with some blue in it ,it was 120' but sombody cut it right in friggin half ,now i dont know what this rope is called but it was awesome at first it held the 4/2 blake PERFECT,even a 3/1 blakes.....this is giving me a head ache

what other hitches are there that dont need biners,bee-lines ,just climbing line and either split tail or end of rope for hitch,already know bout the taut line,its ok i started on it ,I DO NOT WANT A BUNCH O CRAP hanging from my saddle

Make sure that you cross over the bridge and then go under the rope before you do the tuck. Going over the rope will result in the suislide, which it sounds like you may have.

Have any photo's of the slippery hitches? You mentioned the Distel, which is what I've settled on after trying many of them. But since you don't want an E2E then the Distel is out.

I'm confused... A Blake's Hitch typically doesn't come in over-under varieties like the E2E hitches. Anything coils you are adding under the bridge prevent the tail from properly tightening the top coils. The only adjustment a Blake's should need is in the number of coils (based on rope construction, weight, and wetness of the ropes). The tucked tail is your "brake tension" control. It is what causes the top coils to tighten up on the rope. When you add coils below the bridge, those coils absorb the loading and don't transfer it to the top. I am 260+# (depending on season) and when I use a Blake's, its always 4 coils on top - cross bridge - under rope - tuck under 2. I've never had it slip... over tighten maybe... but never slip.

like i said the hitch is tied RIGHT ,4 up then down over and under bridge up through bottom two,ah well ill just keep using a 6/3

who knows maybe ill try the distel

Ahh, so many options these days...

I'm starting to think it might have been easier to learn this treeclimbing thing back when I started.. there was really only the taughtline. And once you figured that out (ten seconds), it was time to get to the actual treeworkie!

tree MDS said:

Ahh, so many options these days...

I'm starting to think it might have been easier to learn this treeclimbing thing back when I started.. there was really only the taughtline. And once you figured that out (ten seconds), it was time to get to the actual treeworkie!

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LOL...I hear ya. I started in 1988 and it was taughtline. Period . And here is a 120 ft of white safety blue . an old four point hand saw with a huge scabbard and a home made safety lanyard (with a taughtline on it)....HHHMMM.....makes me appreciate my stuff i have now.

freeweight said:

like i said the hitch is tied RIGHT ,4 up then down over and under bridge up through bottom two,ah well ill just keep using a 6/3

who knows maybe ill try the distel

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I used the Blake for a while and the only problem that I had was that it held too tightly. That's why I asked for a photo maybe there's something wrong with your hitch.

If I tie a blake's on a 12 strand line it will slip after about a week's wear on the tail of the rope... I just over tighten it, and if it slips, bump up and it will grab. Much prefer an e2e after using them now.

TrillPhil said:

If I tie a blake's on a 12 strand line it will slip after about a week's wear on the tail of the rope... I just over tighten it, and if it slips, bump up and it will grab. Much prefer an e2e after using them now.

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You ever use a french prusik TrillPhil ? I was thinkn about tryn it out . As far a Blakes hitch goes...I love it. I am pretty fat for a climber at 250 but have few problems with overtightening . I thought distel n swabish got to tight for me. And taughtline wasnt to bad excpet when hanging in mid air then it would tightn big time . The best difference between blake n taughtline is that the blake advances so sweetly. I have been useing blue moon rope with a blakes no split tail , just regular and I love it.

freeweight said:

like i said the hitch is tied RIGHT ,4 up then down over and under bridge up through bottom two,ah well ill just keep using a 6/3

who knows maybe ill try the distel

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Show us pictures. I've taught knots for years and never heard of a Blakes being modified as "a 6/3". I want to see what you are tying and thinking is a Blakes.

TreeAce said:

LOL...I hear ya. I started in 1988 and it was taughtline. Period . And here is a 120 ft of white safety blue . an old four point hand saw with a huge scabbard and a home made safety lanyard (with a taughtline on it)....HHHMMM.....makes me appreciate my stuff i have now.

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I started the climbing aspect of treework in back in 92 I think it was, so you got me by a few years there. But yeah, same thing with the taughtline lanyards. lol. We actually the ARS straight blade handsaws with razor teeth and wooden handle by then. Fossil..

I've always like the softness (better grip), weight (for re-routing the rope), and how true blue stands out in a tree (doesn't blend with tree, chainsaw, or any other color I'm working with) , but your not alone, since I've run into the same problem from time to time and therefore have to tend to the hitch often to keep it tight. Seems like hitches need more tending to with true blue then other ropes. Nothing makes you pucker like leaning back on your rope only to keep sliding.

tree MDS said:

I started the climbing aspect of treework in back in 92 I think it was, so you got me by a few years there. But yeah, same thing with the taughtline lanyards. lol. We actually the ARS straight blade handsaws with razor teeth and wooden handle by then. Fossil..

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The handsaws (razor teeth) may well have been around n I didnt know it . I lived such a simple sheltered life . Alot has changed...pretty much all for the better.

I started climbing in 1977 and climbed on a bowline on a bight until I could buy a saddle. Then I got a Karl Kuemmerling saddle. Never felt the need or urge to leave the taut-line hitch.
Jeff

jefflovstrom said:

I started climbing in 1977 and climbed on a bowline on a bight until I could buy a saddle. Then I got a Karl Kuemmerling saddle. Never felt the need or urge to leave the taut-line hitch.
Jeff

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Now...Jeff...tell me the truth. Did wes n cody teach u the bowline on a bight?? You could be my next hero .

TreeAce said:

Now...Jeff...tell me the truth. Did wes n cody teach u the bowline on a bight?? You could be my next hero .

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I wish, nah, my Dad;s freind was in the tree biz and back then, Dad's subbed out their kids. I got $50 for 2 days of climbing. I honestly climbed on a bight for 3 months. Hurt like heck. My first tree was a palm. I was hooked and tho my Dad took most of my money, I kept climbing. I finally got my cert. treeworker in '92 and a divorce and hit the road. Now I got a family. So it goes.
Jeff
BTW, Wes and Cody did not do tree work, they sold boots!
Jeff

Thats pretty cool . I climbed once on a bowline on a bight..long enough to win a bet...and that was enough . I thought maybe wes n cody did some side jobs .

TreeAce said:

Thats pretty cool . I climbed once on a bowline on a bight..long enough to win a bet...and that was enough . I thought maybe wes n cody did some side jobs .

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Wes and Cody only care about themselves!
Jeff

just beer money. long enough to get the boot / tassel thing off the ground.