What knot???

[treeman911]

What knot do you guys use to attach a rope from a tree to be fell, to a truck hitch or come-along. THEY ARE ALWAYS HARD TO UNTIE

 

[defensiblespace]

You can wrap a clove hitch around the ball hitch of a truck or on the hook of a come along and easily untie it.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Being lazy I sometimes use a mid rope bowline and use the "tail" loops over the towbar as well which spreads the load slightly but also stops it from tightening to much. Used it with 2.5 inch mooring line on excavator pins and they dont bind to bad.

 

[ozzy42]

Bowline on a bight.

Though I do a lazymans version of it.make the loop,pull a foot of rope thru the hole[doubled],then around the tree and back thru [again doubled].It looks kind of weird but, works just the same.

The only problem is by doing it this way you end up with 2 loops.If one is not familiar with a bowline and puts the wrong loop on the ball it will load the knot wrong and it will be a total cluster #### to untie.

 

[Bearcreek]

I use a bowline if it's in the end of the rope. If it's midline, I use a knot that I was shown by a guy I work with years ago. We've never been able to figure out what it's called or even if it has an official name. We call it a "Tom knot" after the guy who showed it to him. Here's a series of pics of it being tied. Maybe somebody will know what it's name is or if it has one. Like any knot you have to tie and load it right or it will jam up. In the pics the end that is going over the top of my hand, toward the camera is the load end. That's the part you want to put under the middle loop first. If you load the other end or put the non load loop under first it'll jam up. We'll loaded this knot to the max, pulling with a F450 4x4. It's never jammed or even hardened up and it's never slipped.

 

[Bearcreek]

Last two pics.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

I use a figure 8 on a bight. Its never been that tight I couldn't untie it. You can always stick a stick or carabiner in the knot part and it keeps it from getting to tight.

 

[Bearcreek]

I'm surprised you can use a figure 8. Seems like that's always hard to untie even after moderate loading. Do you use that when pulling with a truck?

 

[2treeornot2tree]

I don't like pulling with a truck. I use a comalong because I feel I have more control over the tree. I have used it with a truck before. I put a carabiner in the knot and it wasn't too bad to untie. If my memory serves me right, you lose alot of strentgh of the rope when you tie a bowline. I could be wrong though. I will try to find my lititure on it.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Best is a double bowline.
Jeff

 

[Kottonwood]

I tie a bowline with a bight....slightly different than a bowline on a bight. No matter how much force I put on it I can usually untie it with one hand as long as it's dressed properly.

I basically run the bight through the truck or winch cable then tie a bowline with it just as I would if I had the end of the rope, leave plenty of tail. I usually tie it around only one running end of the rope, not both. Though, it may be easier to untie if it is around both, just be careful of the two loops you create, you have to be tied into the right one.

It is hard to say exactly how much strength you lose from a knot because what type of rope you are using really matters. Generally a bowlline is considered to be a knot that retains a good amount of rope strength.... approx 60%. You lose much more rope strength out of a figure eight than a bowline.

I have tried using a butterfly knot because one of my former bosses swore by it....... that bastard locked up solid.... back to bowline on with a bight.

A come along is nice but, sometimes you need the speed of a truck to get the right pull. A good strong winch is the best way to pull a tree over in my eyes. If there is enough room I generally send my winch cable up to be directly connected, then you don't have any rope snapping to worry about.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

Sounds like your tieing a inline bowline on a bight. I have done a inline figure 8 before too. I think you are right about the strength. The fire service stop teaching the bowline for some reason or another. I dk if its because it can be tied easily wrong or maybe its political. Lol. What kind of winch do you use? A chain saw winch or one of those honda powered capstans?

 

[Kottonwood]

HAHA..... stop teaching the single most useful and versatile knot..... nice

I use a 15000 pound ramsey winch on my truck.... conveniently called the patriot 15000. It is not usable in every situation, but usually there is a way to redirect to the truck. It has very nice control, better than a come along. It even has a remote so you can operate the winch from fifty feet away (I think actually further).

I want to put a hydraulic winch on my chipper as well.... it's on my list

We pulled a small (30") backleaning elm over for a neighbor last night, I took a video. If I get around to it I will post it up.

 

[defensiblespace]

I use a bowline if it's in the end of the rope. If it's midline, I use a knot that I was shown by a guy I work with years ago. We've never been able to figure out what it's called or even if it has an official name. We call it a "Tom knot" after the guy who showed it to him. Here's a series of pics of it being tied. Maybe somebody will know what it's name is or if it has one. Like any knot you have to tie and load it right or it will jam up. In the pics the end that is going over the top of my hand, toward the camera is the load end. That's the part you want to put under the middle loop first. If you load the other end or put the non load loop under first it'll jam up. We'll loaded this knot to the max, pulling with a F450 4x4. It's never jammed or even hardened up and it's never slipped.

Your "tom knot" is a clove hitch in the first set of pics, then it looks obviously different in the last 2 pics. Looks like you are pulling a bight out of the knot to make some variation of a clove hitch. I use a clove hitch when I'm pulling with a truck or come along all the time. If tied and set correctly, it will not slip and never binds. Even though a bowline is a fairly easy knot to untie, it can still bind under extreme loads.

 

[oscar4883]

Bowline on a bight.

Though I do a lazymans version of it.make the loop,pull a foot of rope thru the hole[doubled],then around the tree and back thru [again doubled].It looks kind of weird but, works just the same.

The only problem is by doing it this way you end up with 2 loops.If one is not familiar with a bowline and puts the wrong loop on the ball it will load the knot wrong and it will be a total cluster #### to untie.

This sounds about like what I use. Can't ever recall having a very hard time getting it undone regardless of pulling with truck, winch, etc.

 

[Bearcreek]

Your "tom knot" is a clove hitch in the first set of pics, then it looks obviously different in the last 2 pics. Looks like you are pulling a bight out of the knot to make some variation of a clove hitch. I use a clove hitch when I'm pulling with a truck or come along all the time. If tied and set correctly, it will not slip and never binds. Even though a bowline is a fairly easy knot to untie, it can still bind under extreme loads.

I know it's kind of hard to tell how i'm tying it from the pics. I can assure you it's not a clove hitch though. I use that quite often but for entirely different purposes. I guess it does vaguely resemble a clove hitch in the first couple pics. I've searched and searched and have not been able to find a description of it or a name. As far as I have been able to determine it was, in fact, invented by Tom. If it was someone else claiming to use a knot that's "home invented" and unnamed i'd be quite skeptical myself so I understand if others are. I promise, it does work though. Every time.

 

[GNAR13]

I know it's kind of hard to tell how i'm tying it from the pics. I can assure you it's not a clove hitch though. I use that quite often but for entirely different purposes. I guess it does vaguely resemble a clove hitch in the first couple pics. I've searched and searched and have not been able to find a description of it or a name. As far as I have been able to determine it was, in fact, invented by Tom. If it was someone else claiming to use a knot that's "home invented" and unnamed i'd be quite skeptical myself so I understand if others are. I promise, it does work though. Every time.

Looks like an Alpine butterfly knot. Check out the pic and see if it matches your knot. View attachment 206590

 

[rymancm]

Bowline on a bight. Period.

 

[ozzy42]

Here is what I use .lazymans B.O.B. or what ever you want to call it .It works for me.Like I said the only time I've ever had a problem is when they use the wrong loop.

 

[lone wolf]

HAHA..... stop teaching the single most useful and versatile knot..... nice

I use a 15000 pound ramsey winch on my truck.... conveniently called the patriot 15000. It is not usable in every situation, but usually there is a way to redirect to the truck. It has very nice control, better than a come along. It even has a remote so you can operate the winch from fifty feet away (I think actually further).

I want to put a hydraulic winch on my chipper as well.... it's on my list

We pulled a small (30") backleaning elm over for a neighbor last night, I took a video. If I get around to it I will post it up.

The winch on a chipper is really nice and saves so much work.I used it in 3 feet of snow to get stuff to my chipper try dragging trees in 3 foot of snow.