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Dad Field Manual · Field card 93 · Classic Field Skills

Whip a rope end and tie a timber hitch

Thirty minutes, a rope, some string and a fallen branch. Finish a rope end so it stops unraveling, then tie the hitch woodsmen used to haul logs and drag a branch to the brush pile.

Time
30 min
Cost
$0
Ages
7 and up
Where
Table, then yard

Since 1911: The 1911 book used hemp rope. Most rope now is nylon or polyester: a few wraps of tape stop fraying too, or an adult can melt the end outdoors (it's hot enough to burn). And knots here are for chores and play, never to hold a person.

What you need

  • A soft rope about 4 feet long, with a cut or fraying end
  • About 2 feet of thin string, kitchen twine or waxed thread
  • Scissors (Dad cuts for younger kids)
  • A fallen branch the kid can drag one-handed, or a laundry basket

Rope safety: read this first

  • Nothing around necks, ever, not even as a joke. Rope stays on branches, baskets and broomsticks.
  • Practice knots only. Nothing in this plan holds a person, climbs, lifts or tows anyone, including a kid on a sled or wagon.
  • Flame is Dad's job. If you melt a synthetic end, do it outside, away from kids, and store the lighter out of reach. Cool any burn under cool water, not ice.
  • Drag, don't lift. Keep the branch on the ground, wear gloves, and check no one is behind it.

Steps

  1. See why ends need whipping. Look at a frayed end and untwist it a little to see why it needs whipping.
  2. Lay the string and wrap over it. Lay the string along the rope, hold it with your thumb, and wrap tightly over it toward the end.
  3. Lay a loop and finish. Lay a loop back along the rope, wrap over it, pull the end tight and trim.
  4. Start the timber hitch. Pass the end around the branch, then around the rope's long part.
  5. Twist it on itself and pull. Twist the end around itself three times and pull the long part tight.
  6. Haul it to the pile. Drag the branch to the brush pile, then slack the rope and slip it off.

If it stalls

  • If the whipping slides off, the wraps are too loose. Start again and pull each turn snug.
  • If the loop end won't pull through, there are too many turns over it. Unwind two and try again.
Ends whipped · branches hauled
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date