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VII Arcano

Rope work, explained and compared

Bends

A bend joins two separate ropes together, end to end. The main variable to watch is the diameter and stiffness of the two ropes: a bend that holds fine on two matched cotton lines can slip apart on a thick rope joined to a thin one, or on slick synthetic cord, which is why the entries below note what kind of pairing each bend is meant for.

The 1 entry in this category

  1. BN-02

    Sheet Bend

    Joins two ropes of different thickness by tucking the thinner one through a bight in the thicker one. Built on the same shape as the bowline.

    Difficulty
    Blue
    Best for
    Joining unequal ropes
Two ropes of different thickness joined together end to end
A bend is judged on how it behaves when the two ropes it joins are not the same diameter.

What belongs in this category

An entry is filed under Bends when both ends it involves belong to two separate lengths of rope. A knot with only one rope, even if it doubles part of the rope on itself, belongs under Loops or Hitches instead. The Bends section is the shortest in this directory for now: it will grow as more entries are reviewed.