NATURAL FIBRE ROPE

• made from natural materials
• will biodegrade over time
• popular natural ropes include sisal and manila (shown in image)
• you can look at ropelocker’s full range here.

SYNTHETIC ROPE

• plastic-based rope
• most of our ropes are synthetic
• some are polypropylene, such as hardy hemp (shown in image)
• others are polyester, such as 3 strand polyester or shockcord, which has a polyester cover
• some are nylon, like multiplait
• and many more!
• synthetic ropes are generally stronger and longer lasting than natural products

BRAIDED ROPE

• made from many strands tightly intertwined to make a tubular structure
• examples include braid on braid (BOB), dyneema cruise, or silverline (shown in image)

3 STRAND ROPE

• made from 3 separate strands which are twisted around each other to create a length of rope
• examples include hardy hemp, manila, and 3 strand polyester (shown in image)

DOUBLE BRAID

• Some ropes are hollow inside and others are double braided
• double braid essentially means a rope with 2 layers – a cover and an inner core
• also known as braid on braid
• examples include braid on braid (BOB) and Marlow doublebraid (shown in image)

DYNAMIC ROPE

• Rope with elasticity
• will stretch when pulled or loaded (some more than others)
• used for things like climbing, as dynamic ropes will stretch to absorb the shock of a falling climber
• browse our dynamic ropes and look at their descriptions to find details such as their elongation, impact force etc.
• but if you’re stuck, just contact us!

STATIC ROPE

• opposite to a dynamic rope
• won’t stretch
• example would be LSK rope (shown in image) or one of our pre-stretched ropes, such as pre-stretched polyester

SEALED ENDS

• synthetic ropes are cut with a hot knife at ropelocker to seal the ends
• unable to do with natural fibre rope – will burn!
• creates neat end with no fraying
• cannot be done to heat resistant ropes e.g. Marlow Excel R8

HEATSHRINK

• Added to rope to protect ends
• creates a grippy handle – good for things like gym ropes
• can add heatshrink to your order by customising it before adding to your basket
• can also buy heatshrink seperately

WHIPPING

• Helps to hold the rope together – especially on natural rope which can’t be sealed with a hot knife
• makes rope ends look more neat
• add whipping to your order by customising it before adding to your basket
• we also stock minispools of whipping twine and balls of marline (which has been used to whip ends in image)

SPLICING

• splicing is when a permanent loop (known as an eye) is created in the end of your rope
• good for attaching things e.g you might splice an eye into your decking rope so it can be fixed to some fencing

SOFT EYE

• soft eyes can be spliced into a range of ropes (dyneema cruise rope shown in image)
• soft eyes involve the rope being fed back into itself to create a loop
• many uses e.g handles on dog leads, boat rope etc.
• if you’d like to add a soft eye to your rope customise your order before adding it to your basket

HARD EYE

• involves splicing the rope and holding the eye in place with a thimble
• hard eyes are more rigid than soft eyes
• thimble can help protect the eye from chaffing
• we have different thimbles available at ropelocker – stainless steel, galvanised or nylon (stainless steel shown in image).
• customise your order and add a hard eye to your rope if you’d like us to splice one on for you, or you can buy the thimbles separately

BACKSPLICE

• Involves weaving the end of the rope back on itself
• stops ends fraying
• can only be done in 3 strand rope e.g. manila or hardy hemp (shown in image)

TAPERING

• Tapering is a method of reducing the thickness of a rope
• can be done by trimming the rope’s core or removing the rope’s cover
• creates a thinner, lighter product with less friction
• popular for things like sailing – tapering at the clew, for example, will allow the spinnaker to fly higher

REEL

• long lengths of rope are often wound onto a reel
• reduces tangling
• easier to transport
• also known as a spool
• we sell rope by the metre at ropelocker, but it’s also possible to buy our products in bulk – take a look at our reel deals for discounted prices!

FID

• Tool used for splicing ropes
• we stock a range of fid types in a variety of sizes
• generally swedish fids (shown in image) are used on 3 strand ropes and selma fids are used on doublebraid ropes
• If you’re working with dyneema, marlowbraid, and other 3 strand core ropes you’ll probably need a splicing needle
• Feel free to contact us for any further advice and splicing guidance

DIAMETER

• Thickness of the rope (its width)
• we measure diameter at ropelocker in millimetres
• some of our customers get a little confused between inches and millimetres – 1 inch is the same as about 25mm.

HANK

• how we store shorter lengths of rope
• keeps them tangle free
• if you’re looking for range of short lengths of rope at a decent price, you might be interested in one of our hank boxes

BREAK LOAD

• how much stress the rope can handle under tension before it breaks
• you can check a product’s break load in its description on our website
• or contact us if you’re unsure!

ABRASION RESISTANCE

• this refers to how well a rope handles friction, chafing and contact with other objects
• a rope with good abrasion resistance can put up with a lot of friction without becoming damaged
• things can be added to rope to improve its abrasion resistance e.g. chafe guards (see in image)