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Hitch — object-dependent

Icicle Hitch

Friction on hardware · Physical hitch theory

DiagramsHow to tie it

Does not pick a knot

This page does not pick a knot for you. DNA, molecules, quantum braids and vortices stay off Decide.

Icicle Hitch, finishedIcicle Hitch, finished

Finished structure

Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.

Failure modes

When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.

Grip-hitch family

Directional bite on a standing part — slide-test before you trust it.

  • !Turns on the wrong side of the load
  • !Failed slide-test, still used
  • !A clove where a rolling or icicle third turn was the job
Fails when
  • !The turns run toward the pull instead of away from it, so the hitch slides when loaded.
  • !The bight went over the rope parts but missed the end of the spar, so it pulls straight out when tightened.
  • !It was loaded along the spar before being pulled tight, or tied with too few turns, and it slides as the load comes on.
  • !The pull comes from the other direction along the spar, or the load comes off, and the hitch slides.
Geometry

  • Turns toward the pull

    Hitch will not grip and slides off

    Turns must work away from the direction of pull · step 01

  • Bight missed the spar end

    Unfinished icicle — dumps under along-spar load

    The bight must pass over both ends and over the spar end · step 03

  • Never set perpendicular, or too few turns

    Walks on the first along-spar load

    Set perpendicular, then load; add a turn if the slide-test fails · step 04

If you saw this

  • Hitch slides down the standing part

    Check

    • ?Turns away from the pull
    • ?Bight over both ends and the spar end

    Then

    • →Add a turn
    • →Reset perpendicular, then load

  • Turns toward the pull

    Check

    • ?Hitch will not grip and slides off
    • ?Inspect step 01

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.

  • Bight missed the spar end

    Check

    • ?Unfinished icicle — dumps under along-spar load
    • ?Inspect step 03

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.

  • Never set perpendicular, or too few turns

    Check

    • ?Walks on the first along-spar load
    • ?Inspect step 04

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Same family

Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.

This failed — start Diagnose

What holds it

  • ·A hitch is object-dependent. Remove the spar, cleat, ring or pile and the structure is usually the unknot.
  • ·Bayman / Maddocks–Keller describe a no-slip regime from wrap count and friction. The prediction is approximate, and only for hitches.

What topology does not predict

  • ·Closed-loop knot invariants (Jones, Alexander) do not say whether a clove hitch will walk on a smooth spar.
  • ·No manufacturer working load is implied by wrap count.
  • ·Wet, iced, or HMPE covers change friction — topology is silent.

Not for

  • ·Joining two free rope ends — that is a bend
  • ·A standing loop that must survive after the object is gone
  • ·A hitch you will adjust every minute (rolling hitch is faster)
  • ·A two-way hold

Same pattern, different job

No sourced twin among these knots. Related knots stay on the Library card.

Sources