I just got a length of Goldstreak line (I think it's the same as Bluestreak, just yellow).

When I used it today, the Blake's hitch tended to slip a lot. 'took me several retyings on each pitch. It would finally hold, but not until after a lot of worrying the knot.

Does a new line need some kind of a break-in that I don't know about? I heard something about "milking" a line, but have no idea what that means.

Some help from some experienced folks please!

I've heard the term "milking" to mean something just a bit different from what Dan says. I guess his de_script_ion is what happens when you don't want it to happen, and mine is when you do it intentionally.

The sheath of some ropes can stretch more than can the core (this can depend on the particular type of rope as well as on different production runs of the same type). So, for example, when you rappel, the sheath can stretch to be longer than the core.

I had this happen to my Safety Blue line. Because I had whipped the ends (of course), the sheath had "bunched up" in a few places, effectively causing "lumps" in the rope.

What I did was remove the whipping from the end nearer the lumps, tie the other end of the rope to a tree, wrap a selvagee (any of you old salts know that knot?) around the rope, and then pull the selvagee (you could use any friction knot) to the unwhipped end. I repeated this a few more times until the sheath didn't stretch any more. This stretched the sheath to be the same length as the core. I then cut off the extra sheath and re-whipped the rope.

I was told that the process of stretching the sheath was called "milking." This agrees with what Dan said.

BTW, I milked off 14 inches of sheath from my 120 foot Safety Blue. I talked with Jay (at Blue Ridge Arborist Supply) about this, and he found an advisory that said that a particular run of Safety Blue had such a problem because of some humidity differences (I think it was) in the manufacturing process. This apparently was unusual for Safety Blue, but I have been told that some ropes are well known for such a situation.

Finally, I once milked a rope with a klemheist and found that it caused a spiral in the sheath (the klemheist twists in one direction). The selvagee "twists in both directions" and prevents the spiral twisting of the rope. I doubt that the (mildly) twisted sheath is any problem whatsoever.

I just assume when I get a new rope that the end will need some milking. Some ropes I've used have had as much as 7 feet off a 120' hank. I had 2 hanks of Yale XTC that milked little to none.

Some people seem to see this milking as a negative trait of a climbing line. Some have gone so far as to not buy a certain line because of the milking. The rope needs to be broken in anyways.

Maybe it's because I'm from WI, but I'm not bothered by milking!

love
nick

Docteric, I am not familiar with that make of rope. Who makes it? Does it have a solid core. Some ropes do not have a solid core.

Some rope runs milk while some rope runs do not. I had some problems with a few Yale XTP ropes, and none with the same rope from different sections of a 600 ft. spool.

Most ropes have a waxed surface when new which can alter performance. Some folks wash their new rope. Other folks climb like demons to wear it off. I know of one guy that took his rope out on a Sunday afternoon, tied it to the back of his car, and dragged it around a vacant parking lot to take out the sheen.

Another climber I know took a rough grade of sand paper and applied elbow grease to his rope. I never did get a report back from this guy’s technique. He might have reached his breaking point.

Originally posted by docteric
... the Blake's hitch tended to slip a lot.
docteric,
New rope usually runs fast and worst of all it is typically quite “jumpy” when descending on a friction hitch. I have found it helpful to use a bridge which I am already familiar with when trying out a new climbing line. In other words, use the “split-tail” system with a bridge that you are already comfortable with.

As far as stuff to use for a bridge…
Samson Blue Streak is my favorite. You might also want to try a piece of Yale 7/16” Sportline. The smaller line has a tendency to create a bridge that bites more and slides less. Experiment!

By the way…
I have had the opportunity to spend an afternoon on Arbormaster R/W/B. I think Goldstreak is the exact same construction. Big, beefy, super strong, and real light too.

That Goldstreak you have there is some mighty nice stuff.

Regards,
Electrojake

Also, when climbing on new lines, having a strong repertoire of friction hitches will be to your advantage. It seems with the VT and all the variations of it (and other similar knots) you can make any line a "good" climbing line. You can always find something that works.

love
nick