Rope and Cordage Glossary

At Cancord, we strive to keep our customers informed thereby enabling them to make the best decisions possible regarding their rope and cordage needs. Below is a list of commonly used industry terms we have compiled to facilitate this. If the information you are looking for is not listed below, please phone us a 1-800-879-0079 or email us at info@cancord.com.

Abaca

A natural rope fiber produced from the trunk of the tropical plant Musa testilis (abaca tree), which is a member of the banana plant family. Abaca is the strongest of all the natural rope fibers. Also known as Manila.

Abrasion

The damage that occurs when a rope is rubbed against a rough surface or edge.

Abrasion Resistance

The degree to which a fiber, or rope is able to withstand surface wear and rubbing.

Aramid Fiber

A man made high modulus fiber of polyphenyleneterepthalamide (PPTA).

Average Breaking Strength

The mean of destructive break test data.

Bail-Out Rope

A 7.5-9.5mm rope designed for emergency escape from a threatening situation. Also referred to as personal escape ropes or escape lines.

Bend

A knot that connects the ends of 2 ropes.

Bight

A U shaped bend formed when the rope is doubled back, but does not cross.

Block Creel

A rope construction method where the rope is fabricated without splicing or knotting of any of its components.

Braider Splice

The continuation of a single interrupted strand with another identical strand which is braided from the same carrier. The previous and replacement strands may be knotted together or the ends may be left separate and tucked into the braid so as to secure them within the braid.

Braid-On-Braid

A rope constructed from an inner hollow single braided rope (core) which has another hollow single braided rope constructed around its exterior (skin). Both the core and skin share the load on the rope but not necessarily in equal amounts. Also referred to as Double Braid, Marine Braid, and Yacht Braid.

Breaking Load

The maximum force which the rope is able to support prior to rupture in a tensile test.

Breaking Strength

The maximum force which the rope is able to support prior to rupture in a tensile test.

Carabiner

An oval, pear or D-shaped piece of aluminum, steel or titanium stock that has a spring loaded gate which allows rapid attachment to the rope or other gear. Also referred to as Karabiner.

Carrier

The part of a rope braider that holds a package of yarn and carries the yarn around the machine while in operation.

Composite rope

A rope manufactured from 2 or more types of fiber.

Cordage

A collective term for rope, cord and twine manufactured from textile fibers.

Creep

Deformation (most often in the form of gradual elongation) which is exhibited by cordage that has been subject to a load over a continuous length of time. The rope may or may not return to its original state after the removal of the load. Delayed deformation may be recoverable or non-recoverable following removal of the applied load. Also referred to delayed deformation.

CSA

Canadian Standards Association.

Dacron

A trade name for polyester.

Delayed Deformation

Deformation (often in the form of gradual elongation) which is exhibited by cordage that has been subject to a load over a continuous length of time. The rope may or may not return to its original state after the removal of the load. Delayed deformation may be recoverable or non-recoverable following removal of the applied load. Also referred to as creep.

Design Factor

Defined by the Cordage Institute as a factor that is used to calculate the recommended working load by dividing the minimum breaking strength of the rope by the design factor. The design factor should be selected only after a professional assessment of risk.

Diamond Braid

A cylindrical braid which is formed by rotating half the yarn strands in one direction on the braider, while the other half rotate in the opposite direction. These cords may be hollow, or they may have a center core of parallel fibers. Also referred to as Plain Braid.

Double Braid

Dynamic Rope

High stretch ropes most often used by climbers, which are designed to elongate and therefore absorb the energy during a fall.

Dyneema®

One of the trade names for UHMWPE fiber.

Edge Protector

A device used to protect a rope against abrasion and cutting where the rope is in contact with edges or rough surfaces. Cancord sells Edge Protectors under part #14-024-10.

Elongation

The amount of deformation or stretch that a rope exhibits under a specific load. Elongation is specified as a percentage of the rope’s original length.

Elongation At Break

The total elongation at the breaking load of the rope.

Energy To Break

The total energy required to break a rope.

Escape Line

A 7.5-9.5mm rope which has been designed for emergency escape from a threatening situation. These ropes have a minimum breaking strength of 13.5kN (3034lbf), and therefore safety margins are greatly reduced and the utmost care must be taken when using these ropes. They are also referred to as bail-out-ropes or personal escape ropes.

Eye Splice

A fixed loop formed into the end of a length of rope by splicing the end back into itself. The splice may or may not be formed around a plastic or metal thimble.

Fall Arrest System

A safety system designed to stop an individual’s fall.

Fall Factor

The severity of the fall expressed as a ratio, and calculated by dividing the total fall distance by the length of rope used to arrest the fall.

Fid

A long, often tapered tube used to splice double braid ropes.

Figure 8

A device shaped like the number 8 which is used for descending on a rope using friction.

Flat Braid

A braided cord construction which is flat and has no core or hollow center.

Free Fall Distance

The vertical distance from the point where a fall starts to the point where the fall arrest system begins to decelerate the fall.

Halter Rope

A soft rope that is used for tying horses and cattle and making halters.

Hawser

A rope with a diameter of 40mm or more generally used for the mooring of ships.

Hawser-laid Rope

Rope composed of three strands of yarn twisted to the right.

Heaving Rope

A length of rope, often weighted at one end, which is thrown to a wharf in order to assist in getting the mooring line to the wharf.

Hemp

A natural rope fiber that is produced from the cannabis sativa plant.

Henequen

A natural rope fiber also referred to as Mexican or Cuban sisal.

Hollow Braid

A cylindrical braid constructed in either a diamond braid or twill braid pattern with a hollow center.

Horizontal Lifeline System

A rope installed horizontally between two or more anchors, which a worker attaches a personal fall protection system to.

Jute

A natural rope fiber derived from the corchorous capsularia and C. olitorius plants.

Karabiner

An oval, pear or D-shaped piece of aluminum, steel or titanium stock that has a spring loaded gate which allows rapid attachment to the rope or other gear. Also referred to as Carabiner.

Kern

The core of a rope.

Kernmantle

A rope manufactured by braiding a cover (mantle) over a core (kern). The core may consist of either individual yarn strands that lay parallel to each other, or it may be made up of twisted or braided strands of fiber laying parallel to each other.

Kevlar®

An aramid fiber developed by DuPont that is characterized by high strength and excellent heat resistance.

Kilonewton (kN)

224.8 pounds of force.

Lanyard

A safety line, typically 4-6 feet in length with snap hooks at each end.

Laid Rope

A rope manufactured by twisting 3 or more strands together using a twist direction that is opposite to that of the strands.

Lifeline

A rope which has been manufactured to support and protect a human life. These ropes must meet an industry or government standard for minimum performance.

Life Safety Rope

A rope which has been manufactured to support and protect a human life. These ropes must meet an industry or government standard for minimum performance.

Linear Density

Mass per unit of length.

Locking Carabiner

A carabiner with a locking device which prevents the gate from opening accidentally.

Manila

A vegetable fiber produced from the trunk of the tropical plant Musa testilis (abaca tree), which is a member of the banana plant family. Manila is the strongest of all the natural rope fibers. Also known as Abaca.

Mantle

The sheath, skin, or protective cover of a rope.

Marine Braid

Medium Laid

The standard lay or twist in rope making, neither soft nor hard.

Milking

The slippage of the core and sheath of a rope in opposite directions.

Minimum Breaking Strength

MBS – Generally reported as 3 standard deviations below the mean of the maximum force or breaking load applied to 5 or more specimens.

Mooring Line

A rope used for mooring or docking vessels.

Multifilament

A yarn consisting of many fine continuous filaments or strands.

Newton (N)

0.225 pounds of force.

NFPA

National Fire Protection Agency.

Nylon

A high tenacity synthetic fiber used in the production of rope and cordage. Also referred to as polyamide.

Para-Aramid Fibers

Synthetic rope fibers produced under the trade names Kevlar, Twaraon and Technora. These are high-modulus fibers which are known for their strength and heat resistance.

Pear Carabiner

A teardrop shaped carabiner.

Perlon

A trade name for nylon 6.

Personal Escape Ropes

Plain Braid

A cylindrical braid which is formed by rotating half the yarn strands in one direction on the braider, while the other half rotate in the opposite direction. These cords may hollow, or they may have a center core of parallel fibers. Also referred to as Diamond Braid.

Poly

An industry abbreviation for polypropylene.

Polyamide

A high tenacity synthetic fiber used in the production of rope and cordage. Generally referred to as nylon.

Polyester

A high tenacity synthetic fiber used in the production of rope and cordage.

Polypropylene

A synthetic fiber used in the production of rope and cordage.

Polysteel®

An extruded copolymer fiber that yields a high strength, light weight rope with good resistance to acids and alkalis.

Put Up

The manner in which the cordage product is packaged (e.g. hank, reel, coil).

Rappell

To descend a rope in a safe and controlled manner.

Rope Bag

A durable fabric bag that is used to store and transport rope. Cancord sells a wide selection of rope bags. Please refer to our online catalog for additional information.

Retrieval Line

A rope attached to a worker or rescuer which can be used to drag the person out of the environment if they become injured or incapacitated.

Safety Factor

The factor by which the breaking load of the rope must be divided in order to determine it’s safe working load.

Safe Working Load

The maximum load to which a rope may be subjected.

Sash Braid

A cylindrical braid in which each strand alternately passes under and over one or more of the other strands of the rope while all strands are rotating around the axis with the same direction of rotation. Also referred to as Solid Braid.

Self-locking Carabiner

A carabiner with a locking device which is spring loaded and prevents the gate from opening accidentally.

Sheath

The protective braid around the core of a rope. Also referred to as the skin.

Single Braid

A cylindrical braid which is formed by rotating half the yarn strands in one direction on the braider, while the other half rotate in the opposite direction. These cords do not have yarn in the core, and may also be referred to as hollow braid.

Sisal

A natural rope fiber produced from leaves of the agave plan which is found in Central America, West Indies and Africa.

Solid Braid

Spectra®

One of the trade names for UHMWPE fiber.

Spun Fiber

A yarn which consists of both regular and irregular staple lengths that have been joined together by twist. These fibers braid into ropes with good handling characteristics.

Static Rope

A rope which has a maximum elongation of 6% at 10% of its minimum breaking strength.

Technora®

A para-aramid fiber developed by Teijin, that is characterized by high tensile strength, and excellent resistance to heat and chemicals.

Thimble

A teardrop or circular shaped piece of hardware around which a rope can be spliced or swaged to allow for a durable eye in the end of a rope.

Throw Bag

A lightweight fabric bag generally containing between 50-75 feet of rope that can be deployed to a person in trouble. Please refer to our online catalog for additional information regarding our throw bags.

UHMWPE

Ultra High Molecular Weigh Polyethylene. This is a polyolefin fiber that is both high strength and light weight. It is sold under the trade names Spectra and Dyneema. It is also referred to as extended-chain PE or HMPE.