RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Damage Inflicted on Climbing Ropes by Handsaws
JF Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF)
FD International Society of Arboriculture
SP 305
OP 310
DO 10.48044/jauf.2009.046
VO 35
IS 6
A1 Kane, Brian
A1 Cloyes, Mac
A1 Freilicher, Mollie
A1 Dennis Ryan, H.
YR 2009
UL http://auf.isa-arbor.com/content/35/6/305.abstract
AB Arborists frequently use handsaws while climbing, and a recent accident highlighted the danger of cutting one’s rope with a handsaw. There do not appear to be any robust tests describing the ability of handsaws to cut ropes. The following study attached handsaw blades to a pendulum, which swung into a rope, bringing the blade and rope, which was under tension, into contact. The percent of the rope’s diameter cut by the blade was measured, as well as the percent loss in the rope’s strength after it was cut. Type of blade was a more important factor than type of rope with respect to the percent cut and percent strength loss, and there was a nearly one-to-one relationship between those response variables. The results of this study are discussed in the context of a climber’s safety.