A simpler TackleClamp hitch.

[X1]

  Trying to simplify the TackleClamp hitch (1), I have arrived at the hitch shown at the attached pictures. It is a very effective gripping hitch, which uses the same tail-through-two-opposed-Us "lock" mechanism. ( See (2),(3) and (4), for other applications of the same idea). The standing ends/tails can be pulled against the pole very hard, a lot of tension can be accumulated within the 4 riding turns, yet, - despite, or because, of this ? ? -, it will remain tightly attached on the pole, and firmly "locked" - so there is no need for any additional ending ( half-hitches, or whatever). (I do not know if this hitch is already published somewhere.)

1.http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=3813.0
2.http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=1870.msg17364#msg17364
3.http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=1870.msg17414#msg17414
4.http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=3104.msg18513#msg18513

[SS369]

Very interesting and I like that it has gotten simpler.

Your findings show that it releases easily?
Would you favor a one side loading (SP or WE) or is this better if both lines are loaded?
Any ideas as to how this can be employed?

SS

[X1]

  I believe that it releases more easily than it should...  . Those hitches, that, if pulled hard, are capable of accumulating strong tensile forces ( i.e., be pre-tensioned / pre-stressed ), are not supposed to be released easily - they are not meant to serve as quick to tie and untie hitching solutions, but rather as more permanent attachments around/on slippery poles. 
  Due to its symmetry, I believe that it is better if both its lines are loaded - at least initially, until the knot settles to a tight, compact form, and "locks" there. After this phase, I guess one can load it from the one end only, without any consequences.
  I think that all those pre-tensioned / pre-stressed hitches may be useful as means one can attach ropes on tubes, when he anticipates a lengthwise pull, and he prefers the hitch to remain tied on the same spot - and not to slip alongside the axis of the tube.   
   This hitch might be simpler, but it can not reach the power of the TackleClamp hitch - because there the two bights are independed, they can move towards each other, and, doing so, they load the riding turns they drag along. Here the two bights are inteconnected by the common opposing third one, so the loading of the riding turns can be achieved only through the pull of the ends.

[X1]

   Just one step further, we arrive at the even simpler 3-wraps hitch, shown at the attached pictures. It is still a very secure and tight hitch, able to withstand a lengthwise pull, that might be considered as a variation of the family of hitches shown at (1).

1. http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=3104.msg18513#msg18513

P.S. 2012-11-08
I have included a new picture of this hitch, so the reader can compare it easily with the second and the fourth pictures at (2).

2. http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=3104.msg18514#msg18514

[X1]

   When I say " simpler", I mean "simpler to tie", not "simpler in form". If we compare the 3-wraps TackleClamp hitch to the hitches shown in this thread, he will see that their form simplicity is at the same lever. However, in the TackleClamp hitch one needs to anticipate the room he will lhave to leave between the two bights, at the start of the pre-tensioning procedure, and this might not happen to be achieved right from the first attempt - as the amount of slippage of the bights on the intermediate riding turn(s) depends upon the friction characteristics of the surfaces of the rope and of the pole, as well as upon the direction of the pull of the two ends. So it may happen that the first-time tyer would leave less than the required room, and the bights will approach and will " kiss" each other before he would be able to tighten the hitch to the maximum degree.
   However, the mechanical advantage that is offered by the TackleClamp hitch mechanism, and/or the fact that the ends pull the bights, and the bights, by their turn, pull the riding turns that grip the pole, can not be reproduced by the " simpler" hitches presented in this thread. They are "simpler" to tie and untie, secure and tight, but less powerful than the TackleClamp hitch.

[X1]

     It is amusing that tenths of thousands of people ( 78.000 ! ! ) were eager to learn how NASA ties Curiosity s shoelaces ( which, incidentally, is exactly the way my son was tying the shoelaces of his sneakers, when he was a little kid - before he has leant the less ingenious common knot used by the layman... ), while, at the same time, almost nobody speared a click on this thread s pictures...  .
   So, I suppose that almost nobody has noticed that the "simpler TackleClamp hitch" presented here can be tied in the bight, because it is topologically equivalent to the unknot - while the TackleClamp hitch cannot, because it is topologically equivalent to the overhand knot. We can also form it as a free quadruple loop/noose, and then pass it over an accessible end of the pole - in place of a pile hitch, for example.
   At the time I had taken the first pictures, presented at the first post, I used to pass the working ends underneath riding turns, in an effort to secure them further. Since then I have seen that this may be not as necessary as I thought. It seems that the opposing bights ( two U s) locking mechanism is sufficient to secure the tails, because each of them has made a round turn around the pole already ( so the load they bear when they finally pass in between those two opposing bights ( two U s ) is greatly reduced ).
   At the attached pictures, the interested reader can see that this hitch is essentially a double Cow hitch, and it can be tied in the bight as easily as the single Cow hitch. However, it can be pre-tightened a lot, much more than the Bull hitch, for example. Pulling the one end after the other, I have been able to tighten the paracord seen at the pictures to an unbelievable degree - but I guess that one needs a quite smooth pole to achieve similar results.

[Sweeney]

So far I have only tried this with a piece of 2mm polyester around a pencil while I was reading the above post but it does seem to have potential both as a clamping mechanism and possibly to suspend or carry something long, horizontally, by starting with a sling and making two double cow hitches spaced apart - there was quite good grip around a shiny hexagonal pencil. I will be interested to see how useful it turns out in the real world.

Barry

[X1]

   It might be easier to remember how tie it, if we tie it as a Cow hitch on/after a Cow hitch, indeed - that is, tie a "first" Cow hitch, then tie a "second" one, adjacent to the "first", so that the continuation of the tail of the "first" passes underneath its standing end, makes a U-turn and becomes the tail of the mirror-symmetrical "second" Cow hitch ( the terms "first" and "second" denote the temporal, not the spatial order ). In other words : Each individual Cow hitch has two free ends ( four ends in total ). The Double Cow hitch described here should be tied so that the two "side" free ends are connected in a U shape, while the two "middle" free ends pass "over" this U shape and become the free ends of the new hitch. ( Just an exercise on " knottoloquence"... )

[X1]

   I do not know if this really simple 2-wraps hitch belongs to this series, or if it is already known or not. The " lock" remains the same, the efficient squeeze of the tail in between two opposing U s - but now the one U is a part of an overhand knot tied along the tail segment. Numerous similar solutions are possible - I show here only the one that seemed simpler to me. The interested reader will discover many others, equally secure with this one.
   I have seen that this hitch is also able to be pre-stressed, and to accumulate the tensile forces that would be stored in its turns during a pre-tightening phase - in this sense it is similar to the previously posted, more complex hitches of this thread. I suppose that here is the end of the line of the " simplification" process of the original TackleClamp hitch. However, I have to say that not a single hitch of all the hitches I have tied and tried, and the few I had posted in this thread, reached the gripping power that the TackleClamp hitch can deliver - because it is the only gripping hitch that utilizes the mechanical advantage of two opposing - but not interlocked - bights, participating in a rope-made block and tackle mechanism.

[X1]

   Another variation of the same, 2-wraps hitch, presented in the previous post. The same old story : a standing end emerging out of a "lock" made of two opposing bights - where in place of the second bight we use a segment of an overhand knot. I believe I have tied all the possible entanglements of this overhand knot with the other parts of the " lock", and I think that the two solutions presented in this thread are the most simple, secure and easy to remember - but the interested reader should better try his own hand on this.

[X1]

   How to tie the Double Cow hitch in two stages.

   Tie a first Cow hitch around a pole.
   With the left side free end, tie a second Cow hitch, on the right side of the first one , at two stages :
   Stage 1 :
   The left side free end has to pass under the right side free end.
   Stage 2 :
   The second Cow hitch should be mirror-symmetric to the first Cow hitch.

   ( Alternatively, if you wish to use the right side free end of the first Cow hitch, then you should tie the second Cow hitch at the left side of the first one.)
   The interested reader is kindly requested to compose a better, brief and precise set of verbal instructions.
 

[X1]

   In the following series of pictures I will show how we can tie a variation of the symmetric 3-wraps hitch presented in this thread ( Reply#3, (1)), so it can also be tied in the bight.
   The reason I tie it this way is double fold.
   First, I want to tie it as a more complex Cow hitch : I call it " One-and-a-half Cow hitch" . I start from a simple common Cow hitch, and add another round turn.
   Second, as the simple Cow hitch, it can be tied in the bight - although I do not show how in the present post.
   I try this variation because I want to compare it with the beautiful Andalusian hitch presented recently, and another TIB hitch that can also be tightened by pulling the standing end and/or the tail against the pole, the Tom Foul s hitch (2).
The moment the reader will understands how the standing end and the tail are themselves " locked" , going through / passing in between the interlocked opposing bights, he will never forget how to tie this hitch.
We can tighten it by pulling the free ends against the pole, the one after the other. This way we can store a great sum of tensile forces into the riding turns - we can pre-stress /pre-tighten the hitch, so it can later be able to withstand a strong lengthwise pull, for example.

1.   Start by tying a simple common Cow hitch. We have the Standing end and the Working end encircled by the first bight of the hitch. We will form a second bight, interlocked and opposed to this first one, so that, at the end both ends will be encircled by both bights - and they  would be " locked" there, when those bights would be under tension.
2.   Pass the working end UNDER the Standing end. Why under ? Because in this way the second bight that would be formed at the next step would encircle the Standing end. So the Standing end would be locked in between the first and the second bight. We will later pass the working end through the same opening those two opposing bights form, so it will be locked as well.
3.   Pass the Working end over the poll and ...
4.   ...around it, to form the additional round turn this hitch has, in relation to the simple Cow hitch. So we have completed the three round turns, another reason I call this hitch as " One-and-half Cow hitch" .

[X1]

5.   Let us mow see the pole and the almost finished hitch from another angle. We see the Standing end - that is already encircled by the two interlocked opposing bights -, and the Working end - that has just gone around the pole and has formed the additional third round turn. Now, the only thing we have yet to do, is to pass the Working end from the same opening the Standing end passes, so it, too, will be locked there by the two interlocked opposing bights, just like the Standing end.
6.   So, which path does the Working end have to follow, to go through both the first and the second bights, and be locked there - just as the Standing end has already done ? The red line shows this path. In a sense, that is the only "difficult?" thing one has to do to tie this hitch - but it becomes really easy, and self-evident, the moment one realizes that the Standing end as well as the Working end have to penetrate the opening in between the two interlocked opposing bights, in exactly the same way ? because that will be the means  they themselves would be " locked"  there. When the two bights will be tensioned, they will encircle / embrace /nip the two ends from both sides, just like a single nipping loop -  and much harder than a nipping  loop ! The nipping action this opposing bights mechanism provides is much more efficient than the one provided by nipping loop - in the improved Cow hitch called Bull hitch, for example.
7.   The hitch where the Working end has followed the path of the red line, and has penetrated the same opening in between the two opposing bights the Standing end does - and towards the same direction, perpendicularly and away from the pole. The fact that he two ends follow this direction means that they can be pulled against the pole, so they can be pulled harder. The harder the two free ends are pulled, the harder the nipping action of the two opposing bights would be, so the two ends would be locked in a most secure way. To pull the ends with greater force, I often pull the one end after the other with both hands, stepping on the pole with my foot. At the end of this procedure, I have a rock-solid hitch, capable to withstand a great deal of lengthwise loading.
8.   The tightened " One-and-a-half Cow hitch" .

( I apologize for this lengthy and sometimes repetitive description. I exercise a form of knottoloquence that I hope has not degraded into a knottorrhoea ! )

1.   http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=4035.msg24106#msg24106
2.   http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=3197.msg19074#msg19074

[X1]

  In a beauty contest, either you do not participate at all, or you do as the Romans do - but you do not present a frog, and hope that somebody out there will kiss it, and transform it into a prince/ess...
  So. I am obliged to compare the Double Cow hitch presented in this thread, to the second Cinderella of DL ( the first is the TIB 2+1 overhand knots loop, that is "conceptually" a "Zeppelin loop" (2) - both contenders are either barefoot, or share the same lent sandal, I am afraid...), also a 4 wraps hitch.
  Enjoy ! 

1. http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=4090.msg24521#msg24521
2. http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=4084.msg24517#msg24517

[X1]

   Playing with the TackleClamp hitches and their lighter, simpler variations presented in this thread, I came upon the variation of the Double Cow hitch shown in the attached pictures. It is not as secure a knot as the original Double Cow hitch, but it has a great advantage : It can be released instantly, without any manipulation of its two ends. Moreover, to release it, we have only to use three fingers of one hand, and a minimum of force. The tied and pre-tensioned hitch can can be released very quickly and easily, indeed, even if/while its round turns are tensioned to a high degree. This is due to the fact that, as both ends pass through the same opposed bights, the final, outer bight can be pushed out of its grip around the two ends, and release the whole knot at a glance. ( I am afraid I can not explain it in a more precise way - one has to tie the knot, tighten it as hard as he can by pulling both ends against the pole, and then release it by pushing this last/outer bight, to see what I mean.)
   Of course, like the single and double Cow hitches, this hitch can be tied in the bight, and used in place of the Pile hitch, for example. It can be described as an elongated Cow hitch, where the the bight that connects the two ends in the common Cow hitch makes two more turns around the pole - so the ends pass through three bights, the last one ( the " trigger" of the release mechanism...) being opposed to the other two. I call it quick/easy release (QER) Double Cow (hitch), but I can change this label if it reminds anything else...
   When I first tied this hitch, I dismissed it, because I thought that the "trigger", the last/outer bight, could easily slip over the two ends. Yes, it can, but not by itself ! It needs a light, intended, directional push- so this seemingly weak point is a hidden advantage : this hitch can serve in applications where we need a tight grip, able to withstand lengthwise pull, but we also need a hitch that can be released quickly and easily.