# Triple Fishermans Loop



## ClimbinArbor (Jun 5, 2009)

Dont have a pic. was playing with my knot practice rope the other night and added an extra wrap to the bottum of a double fiermans loop, before tucking it through. never seen any literature on it. looks just like a DFL with an extra wrap. I havent tested it yet but will soon. anyone ever made one or use it for anything??


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## ddhlakebound (Jun 5, 2009)

I use a triple fishermans to attach my rope snap to my climbing line. The only way that thing is ever coming undone is with a knife.


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## tree md (Jun 5, 2009)

I mostly use DFL but have begun to use 3 loops in my prussic cord. Mostly to take up a little slack and shorten it up to make it more the length I need for my VT.


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## chewbacca (Jun 6, 2009)

I use an extra wrap on my fisherman's knot. I use this for tying my climb line to the carabiner I clip to my saddle d rings. Can't really untie it. Have to slide it around to the carabiner's open gate to get it off. Works great. Next best thing to a spliced eye I figure.


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## mrowens33 (Jun 6, 2009)

*Love this knot*



ddhlakebound said:


> I use a triple fishermans to attach my rope snap to my climbing line. The only way that thing is ever coming undone is with a knife.



I use the Triple fishermans knot for the same purpose. I love how secure it feels. It might not be the smallest knot but it is easy to tie and does not slip.


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## 046 (Jun 6, 2009)

triple fisherman is perhaps the most secure bend known.... and the only lifeline termination knot I'll use without a backup knot.


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## tree md (Jun 6, 2009)

046 said:


> triple fisherman is perhaps the most secure bend known.... and the only lifeline termination knot I'll use without a backup knot.



I like how you've got your tail lashed to the cord. What kind of cordage are you using?


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## LTREES (Jun 6, 2009)

046 said:


> triple fisherman is perhaps the most secure bend known.... and the only lifeline termination knot I'll use without a backup knot.



That knot does look pretty sweet!! I have been using a dfk on a krab to the rope bridge. I like the fact that it slides off the krab and come apart nice. I like untying some times to avoid getting stuck in a crotch. I've been using the limb savers alot more now a days.

LT...


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## John Paul Sanborn (Jun 6, 2009)

There have been a number of discussions here on this knot. I'm in the camp where it is a double fisherman's only when there are two of them joining two ropes, or forming a loop.

A fisherman's knot is just a two turn overhand, some call the three turn overhand a "scaffold" hitch; which I have adopted. Two turns is a fishermans, three tuns is a scaffold. 

They both fall into the snare noose category. Any more than three turns makes them look like a noose, so I prefer not to have anyone tie such things on my jobsites. One can run afoul of ethnic offenses that are completely justified.


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## SINGLE-JACK (Jun 6, 2009)

*Great OLD knot*



ClimbinArbor said:


> Dont have a pic. was playing with my knot practice rope the other night and added an extra wrap to the bottum of a double fiermans loop, before tucking it through. never seen any literature on it. looks just like a DFL with an extra wrap. I havent tested it yet but will soon. anyone ever made one or use it for anything??



The "triple" fishermen's loop has been called the "Scaffold Knot" in _*The Ashley Book of Knots* - Clifford W. Ashley, 1944_ (knot #1120, pg 204). He references _*Diderot's Encyclopedia - 1762*_. 

It is also referenced (though not shown) in _*The Tree Climber's Companion* - Jeff Jepson, 2000_ (pg 74, 1st paragraph, last sentence).


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## canopyboy (Jun 6, 2009)

SINGLE-JACK said:


> It is also referenced (though not shown) in _*The Tree Climber's Companion* - Jeff Jepson, 2000_ (pg 74, 1st paragraph, last sentence).



You beat me to it. I actually saw this last night and was logging in to post it.


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## 046 (Jun 6, 2009)

Triple Fisherman shown above is tied with Safety Blue and lashed with 1.8mm nylon cord purchased at local Army Surplus store. lashing does add a bit of strength, but it's only meant to keep things tidy. 

if one reads back a few AS posts about all the different types of termination knots used. (there's folks that still use a bowline for a termination knot) then compare notes to the accidents posted about termination knots failing. 

conclusion: had the person used a backup knot on termination line. failure would not had happened. 

new safety standards states termination knot has to trap carabiner. Triple Fisherman meets that requirement and is the only knot I'll trust without a backup. 

arrrkkk... the name game always comes up.... triple fisherman is by default the most common name for this knot.... so that's what I use. 

main drawback is difficulty to untie... triple fisherman is best suited for knots that will not need to be untied. picture above is a split tail used with DRT, so termination knot can be left in place.


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## tree md (Jun 6, 2009)

Wow, my eyes really play tricks on me on this computer. The safety Blue looked like small diameter cord to me in the pic. I guess I have also been mistakenly calling the triple fishermans knot the DFL. My knots on my tied eyes are exactly what you have pictured 046. It was how I was taught to tie a termination knot back when we used snaps on a closed traditional system.


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## 046 (Jun 6, 2009)

to clarify ... here's the triple fisherman used as a termination knot, shown from both sides.

making your knot look "pretty" serves more than cosmetics. it's also an easy way to recognize if your knot has been tied properly. 

you are getting ready to trust your life that that knot. you'd better be dead certain it's correct. 

forming your knot without kinks and twists takes a bit more time. but it insures a uniform knot that is easy to recognize. especially when working tired.


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## Metals406 (Jun 6, 2009)

046 said:


> to clarify ... here's the triple fisherman used as a termination knot, shown from both sides.
> 
> making your knot look "pretty" serves more than cosmetics. it's also an easy way to recognize if your knot has been tied properly.
> 
> ...



Please excuse my newbness... But isn't what you have pictured a 'scaffold knot', and not a Fisherman's?

I thought a Fisherman's terminated differently?


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## tree md (Jun 6, 2009)

I've heard the names used interchangeably with the knots though JPS mentioned that when a fishermans knot is tied with three coils it's called a scaffold. I have also heard that when tied as a termination it is called a scaffold knot whereas when it is tied to join a loop it is called double or triple fisherman.


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## Metals406 (Jun 6, 2009)

tree md said:


> I've heard the names used interchangeably with the knots though JPS mentioned that when a fishermans knot is tied with three coils it's called a scaffold. I have also heard that when tied as a termination it is called a scaffold knot whereas when it is tied to join a loop it is called double or triple fisherman.



Okay, I just looked it up again... The 'scaffold' I'm seeing is two full wraps, with the working end passed through the wraps.

The 'fisherman's knot' I'm thinking of is three turns (or more) and technically an 'Improved Clinch knot'.


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## tree md (Jun 6, 2009)

Metals406 said:


> Okay, I just looked it up again... The 'scaffold' I'm seeing is two full wraps, with the working end passed through the wraps.
> 
> The 'fisherman's knot' I'm thinking of is three turns (or more) and technically an 'Improved Clinch knot'.



What source are you looking at?


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## 046 (Jun 6, 2009)

yada... yada... yada..

the debate on what to call it can go on for pages. to me it's exactly like how our dictionary is formed. 

By Usage!

triple fisherman is the most commonly used name for this knot. so that's what I use.


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## tree md (Jun 6, 2009)

046 said:


> yada... yada... yada..
> 
> the debate on what to call it can go on for pages. to me it's exactly like how our dictionary is formed.
> 
> ...



To tell the truth, I never knew what it was called until I recognized it in a book and saw what it was called. I never heard it called by name, I just knew it as how you attach a snap to a rope...


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## Metals406 (Jun 6, 2009)

tree md said:


> What source are you looking at?



Take everything I'm posting as a grain of salt, as I said, I have newb-itis in this area.

This is one of the sources I found... The guy could be on crack for all I know?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZTgvXZwQwU

The San Diego Jam Knot with three wraps seems like a good termination knot as well? I just tied it a couple times on some paracord I have here.


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## demographic (Jun 6, 2009)

Dunno bout anyone else but I quite like THIS animated knot site.

Fairly informative.


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## Metals406 (Jun 6, 2009)

demographic said:


> Dunno bout anyone else but I quite like THIS animated knot site.
> 
> Fairly informative.



That site's pretty cool... That "Hasty Webbing Harness" is a good one to learn and store away for emergency situations!


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## TreeClimber57 (Jun 7, 2009)

046 said:


> yada... yada... yada..
> 
> the debate on what to call it can go on for pages. to me it's exactly like how our dictionary is formed.
> 
> ...



I knew as Triple Fisherman as well. Reminds me of time my son came home, who is firefighter.. and challenged me to see who could tie the highest number of different knots. Had to pick my brain a bit and go back a few years.. some could not remember the name of them.. but in the end I won


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## ClimbinArbor (Jun 10, 2009)

SINGLE-JACK said:


> It is also referenced (though not shown) in _*The Tree Climber's Companion* - Jeff Jepson, 2000_ (pg 74, 1st paragraph, last sentence).





canopyboy said:


> You beat me to it. I actually saw this last night and was logging in to post it.



ill be danged. i musta read that book 3 times and perused it 5 lol.

well after testing and input my little discovery is now my DdRT termination knot. my schwabisch is grizzly spliced, but i may try a TFL sometime soon.

thx for the feedback guys


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