The Rope End Issue: How to Solve it
The rope end issue is, unfortunately, very common in this material. However, there is an equally common way to solve it.
We all know that people have used rope around the world for numerous applications. People have used rope for as long as history can remember. Since the beginning of times, humans had the need to bind things together. And it makes sense: rope is relatively simple to make and use. The problem with ropes, besides natural wear that comes with time, is the end of the rope (aka the terminals).
The Rope End Issue: What Is It?
The end of the rope, i. e. the cut place of the segment, tends to start to unbind itself. The reason is that, normally, it does not have anything there to hold the fibers together to prevent it from fraying. Once the rope fibers start to unwind, you have little or no time before the whole thing starts to unspin itself. At this point, you better do something about it.
Tying a Knot: a Temporal Solution
There is a simple method for solving the rope end issue, but it is temporal and, thus, ineffective. It is perhaps the simplest way ever: tie a knot. This method is easy, but it is not really functional. Giving your rope a knot ends up in those same knots untying themselves. Plus, they are bulky, which makes the rope uncomfortable to use. Regardless, people have developed special knot tying techniques. In them, they tie a small and aesthetic knot. Still, these knots get stuck. Moreover, and more importantly, in an emergency situation you do not want to be stuck—I assure you.
So what can you do, then?
The Rope Issue: How to Solve It
We sincerely recommend whipping your ropes. Whipping is a method sailors use. However, there is not necessarily a specific way of whipping a rope. There are several ways to do it but, basically, it is like sowing the end of your rope with a semi-thin thread and needle. A great thing about whipping is that it does not add bulkiness and can be a way to customize it with colored rope to help differentiate it from others.
