Post by fishing_in_israel on Aug 13, 2010 23:49:41 GMT -4
I've been doing some experimenting with knots, knot strength and line strength this last week and have discovered some interesting things; some of which were posted on the Braid Knots Thread.
I have also discovered that manufacturer's stated breaking strains on the line spools/packaging are mostly wrong and sometimes only actually 50% of what they claim.
Here is an interesting website with Line Testing results.
I was testing some of the lines that I have and was using the Doubled Five Turn Uniknot:
as it has more than 100% knot strength than the actual line.
I tied this knot to two small carabinas with about 20cm of line between them. I then attached one to a electronic scale (much like a fish scale) and pulled steadily on the other with my finger hooked in it.
All the lines I tested broke in the middle with no signs of stress on either of the knots.
Some lines were a real disappointment and I made a mental note never to use them again. Others like Sufix Elite were pretty good but still didn't get to the actual stated breaking strain.
With all of this testing of lines it quickly became apparent that using a knot with more than 100% of the line strength is not a good idea at all. This is because, and as I was using my finger hooked around the second carabina, therefore having a lot of sensitivity to what was happening to the line as it was being stretched, the line as it reached it's breaking point would start to break down. When the line eventually broke the remnants were all crinkled and looking a sorry sight.
So if you use a knot stronger than your line and you get snagged, then you are going to have to break it off. What will happen is that the line will not break at the [extra strong] knot but somewhere along the length of the line and in the process will destroy who knows how many meters of line.
So the conclusion is to always have a week connection to your terminal tackle somewhere. It could be the knot that you use or it could be a snap connector rated at slightly less than your mainline. Whatever you decide it is better to loose some terminal tackle or a lure than ruin several meters of line - especially if it's [expensive] braid.
Of course your line/knot might be stronger than your lure's hooks allowing them to straighten out enough to free itself from the snag but this is not a certainty as the lure might have got wedged between a rock crevice or similar.
Sorry for such a long post but I figured it might be helpful
I have also discovered that manufacturer's stated breaking strains on the line spools/packaging are mostly wrong and sometimes only actually 50% of what they claim.
Here is an interesting website with Line Testing results.
I was testing some of the lines that I have and was using the Doubled Five Turn Uniknot:
as it has more than 100% knot strength than the actual line.
I tied this knot to two small carabinas with about 20cm of line between them. I then attached one to a electronic scale (much like a fish scale) and pulled steadily on the other with my finger hooked in it.
All the lines I tested broke in the middle with no signs of stress on either of the knots.
Some lines were a real disappointment and I made a mental note never to use them again. Others like Sufix Elite were pretty good but still didn't get to the actual stated breaking strain.
With all of this testing of lines it quickly became apparent that using a knot with more than 100% of the line strength is not a good idea at all. This is because, and as I was using my finger hooked around the second carabina, therefore having a lot of sensitivity to what was happening to the line as it was being stretched, the line as it reached it's breaking point would start to break down. When the line eventually broke the remnants were all crinkled and looking a sorry sight.
So if you use a knot stronger than your line and you get snagged, then you are going to have to break it off. What will happen is that the line will not break at the [extra strong] knot but somewhere along the length of the line and in the process will destroy who knows how many meters of line.
So the conclusion is to always have a week connection to your terminal tackle somewhere. It could be the knot that you use or it could be a snap connector rated at slightly less than your mainline. Whatever you decide it is better to loose some terminal tackle or a lure than ruin several meters of line - especially if it's [expensive] braid.
Of course your line/knot might be stronger than your lure's hooks allowing them to straighten out enough to free itself from the snag but this is not a certainty as the lure might have got wedged between a rock crevice or similar.
Sorry for such a long post but I figured it might be helpful
