Ashley's bend

Ashley's Bend

Names	Ashley's Bend, Ashley bend
Category	Bend
Origin	The Ashley Book of Knots
Related	Alpine butterfly bend, Hunter's bend, Zeppelin bend, Butterfly loop, Trident loop
Releasing	jamming possible
Typical use	temporary joining of similar-sized cords & ropes
ABoK	#1452

Ashley's bend is a knot used to securely join the ends of two ropes together. It is similar to several related bend knots which consist of two interlocking overhand knots, and in particular the alpine butterfly bend. These related bends differ by the way the two constituent overhand knots are interlocked.

History

The name "Ashley's bend" is now associated with the knot described in entry #1452 of The Ashley Book of Knots. Clifford Ashley developed this bend and believed it to be original, along with several similar ones. Rather than giving it a name he simply noted the date when he first tied it: "(2/3/34.)".^[1] Cyrus L. Day, a contemporary of Ashley's, called the knot by the name "Ashley's Bend" in his 1947 book The Art of Knotting & Splicing just a few years after the publication of Ashley's book.^[2]^[3] Later authors have continued to use this name.^[4]^[5]

Security

In the 1930s, Ashley performed security tests on a number of bends for the Collins and Aikman company.^[6] The manufacturer wanted a bend that would not slip when tied in mohair, a stiff slippery material. The jerk testing Ashley performed placed his bend, #1452, equal to the barrel knot in exhibiting no slippage at all. All other bends he tested slipped to some extent, and most failed completely in less than 100 loading cycles.^[7]

Jamming behavior

Most references fail to distinguish the distinct ways in which the two ends of the knot can be dressed. As the two working ends emerge from the knot, they make a sort of vortex that twists the tails in one direction; the tails can be oriented such that they are twisted ever tighter together, or put on the other side of each other in which case the setting of the knot can lead to a jamming state.

Notes and references

↑ Ashley, Clifford W. (1944). The Ashley Book of Knots. New York: Doubleday. p. 264. 1452. (2/3/34.) Another original bend that is as easily untied as #1451. It appears to be strong, secure and compact...
↑ Day, Cyrus Lawrence (1947), The Art of Knotting and Splicing (1st ed.), New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., pp. 64–65
↑ The name "Ashley's Bend" is only used in the index (p. 223) of the first edition (1947) of The Art of Knotting and Splicing, not the main discussion of the knot on page 64. By the second edition (1955) the name also appears in the main text.
↑ Pawson, Des (2002). Pocket Guide to Knots & Splices. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books. pp. 124–125.
↑ Perry, Gordon (2006). Knots. Vancouver, BC: Whitecap Books. p. 78.
↑ Ashley, pp. 16–17
↑ Ashley, p. 273

Bends	Adjustable bend Albright special Alpine butterfly bend Ashley's bend Basket weave knot Beer knot Blood knot Carrick bend Double fisherman's knot Fisherman's knot Flemish bend Grief knot Halyard bend Harness bend Heaving line bend Hunter's bend Nail knot One-sided overhand bend Racking bend Sheet bend Shoelace knot Shroud knot Simple Simon under Single carrick bend Surgeon's knot Surgeon's loop Triple fisherman's knot True lover's knot Water knot Zeppelin bend Zeppelin loop

Binding	Boa knot Bottle sling Constrictor knot Corned beef knot Granny knot Ground-line hitch Jamming knot Miller's knot Packer's knot Reef knot Strangle knot Thief knot Transom knot

Climbing	Alpine butterfly knot Autoblock Bachmann knot Beer knot Bowline on a bight Directional figure eight Double anchorman knot Double bowline Farmer's loop Figure-eight knot Figure-eight loop Figure-of-nine loop Friction hitch Klemheist knot Munter hitch Overhand loop Prusik Trident loop Yosemite bowline

Coils	Alpine coil Butterfly coil

Decorative	Carrick mat Chinese button knot Celtic button knot Diamond knot Fiador knot Friendship knot Matthew Walker knot Turk's head knot Wall and crown knot

Fishing (angling)	Angler's loop Arbor knot Bimini twist Blood knot Fisherman's knot Half blood knot Improved clinch knot Knotless knot Nail knot Palomar knot Snell knot Trilene knot Triple fisherman's knot Turle knot Uni knot

Hitches	Adjustable grip hitch Anchor bend Axle hitch Bachmann knot Bale sling hitch Barrel hitch Becket hitch Blackwall hitch Blake's hitch Boom hitch Buntline hitch Cat's paw Clove hitch Cow hitch Double overhand noose Falconer's knot Farrimond friction hitch Friction hitch Garda hitch Gripping Sailor's hitch Ground-line hitch Half hitch Halter hitch Highpoint hitch Highwayman's hitch Hitching tie Icicle hitch Improved clinch knot Killick hitch Knute hitch Lobster buoy hitch Marlinespike hitch Munter hitch Ossel hitch Pile hitch Snuggle hitch Timber hitch

Loop	Angler's loop Artillery loop Bale sling hitch Bowline Bumper knot Carrick bend loop Cowboy bowline Diamond knot Double bowline Dropper loop Eskimo bowline Fiador knot Fireman's chair knot Friendship knot loop Halter hitch Handcuff knot Honda knot Jury mast knot Overhand loop Portuguese bowline Rigid double splayed loop in the bight Slippery eight loop Span loop Spanish bowline Tom fool's knot Trident loop Triple bowline Triple crown knot Water bowline Yosemite bowline Zeppelin loop

Running (slip)	Hangman's knot Running bowline Running highwayman's hitch Slip knot Tarbuck knot

Shanks	Catshank Dogshank Sheepshank

Stopper	Ashley's stopper knot Button knot Double overhand knot Monkey's fist Stevedore knot

Whipping	Common whipping Overhand knot with draw-loop Portuguese whipping Sailmaker's whipping West Country whipping

Lists of knots
Related topics

Lists of knots	Bends Bindings Decorative knots Hitches (friction) Mathematical

Related topics	Chinese knotting International Guild of Knot Tyers Lashing Rope splicing Seizing

Category
WikiProject
Commons

Ashley's bend

History

Security

Jamming behavior

Notes and references

See also