always use shackles to join lines, chokers, tongs...do NOT hook back over the cable!
Agreed! I loop the amsteel through a clevis like this
only because it's going around the tree and it's most likely 20'-50' in the air. The screw end of the clevis goes through the thimble, the rope and anti-chafe sleeve rides inside the clevis. The other thing that I really like about it is that it's non-stretch, unlike a nylon rope. So far, the sleeve has taken all the abuse. Once the tree is on the ground, it's coiled back up in the bucket.