Thursday, May 28, 2015

Better Kevlar / Shock Cord Knot?

Quest kit instructions show a very simple overhand knot to join the Kevlar and Elastic ends of the shock cord.

It works fine but I never cared for this knot. I always look for something cleaner.
I knew there was a better way to join the two lines.


Here's how I was joining together the lines.
It works, I've never had a break or separation.

Yes, I know the Kevlar should not go over the tube edge. This is just for the picture.




This might be my new knot choice.
It's called an Albright Knot.
This picture and instructions are at the Animated Knots website: CLICK HERE

I like this knot because it is smaller and cleaner.
Like the Duncan Loop Knot (used to tie the shock cord to the nose cone screw eye or lug) the ends are parallel to the line going into the knot.
Very secure, both cords aren't going anywhere!
I only used four wraps of the elastic, not ten like shown above.

All knots take practice. You probably won't get it right the first time. Everybody uses different knots to tie the recovery system together.
This is what works for me right now. Find what works best for you.

EDIT: In the comments below, Eerofluge made the following suggestion:
"The Albright Knot is often used to join thicker leader material to fishing line, which is a good application for joining a thick shock cord to thinner Kevlar cord. However, usually the thicker line forms the single loop (gold cord in example picture) and the wraps are made by the thinner cord (blue cord in the picture)."

Thanks Eero, I'll have to try it both ways and see how the knot lies.

3 comments:

  1. The Albright Knot is often used to join thicker leader material to fishing line, which is a good application for joining a thick shock cord to thinner Kevlar cord. However, usually the thicker line forms the single loop (gold cord in example picture) and the wraps are made by the thinner cord (blue cord in the picture). Did you try this configuration with any success? I will have to do my own experiments to see what makes a cleaner knot.

    I have had success using a simple fisherman's knot to join shock cord to Kevlar. http://tinyurl.com/ppjwy4k

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Eero,
      I will try it in the reverse! I appreciate the tip, not really knowing a lot about knots.
      Even in the reversed way I tied it, it's a very strong knot.

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  2. A Figure-8 knot is preferable to a Duncan knot to tie the kevlar to the screw eye. Figure-8's are what rock climbers use to tie their harnesses into the rope. They are a knot known to withstand several G's of force being suddenly and instantaneously applied. They also don't slip in any fashion, they form a stable loop, so they won't cause the kevlar shock to saw itself.

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