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| Cow hitch | |
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| Names | Cow hitch, Lark's head, Lark's foot, Girth hitch, Ring hitch, Lanyard hitch, Baggage Tag Loop |
| Category | Hitch |
| Origin | Unknown |
| Related | Clove hitch, Cat's paw, Bale sling hitch, Prusik, Klemheist, Icicle hitch |
| Releasing | Non-jamming |
| Typical use | Tying a rope to a ring or pole |
| Caveat | Can fail unless equal tension is applied to both of the standing parts of the rope. |
| ABoK | #244 |
The cow hitch is a knot (specifically, a hitch). The cow hitch comprises a pair of half-hitches tied in opposing directions, as compared to the clove hitch, where the half-hitches are tied in the same direction. This hitch has poor security unless both ends of the rope are loaded.[citation needed]
Contents |
Tying
Using access to both ends of the rope
When both the standing parts of the rope are available, the cow hitch can be tied in the following manner:
- Form a bight and pass it through the ring from the underneath.
- Pull the head of the bight downwards, and reach through it, grabbing both standing parts of the rope.
- Pull both standing parts of the rope through the bight.
Applications
The cow hitch is often used to connect loop-ended lanyards to handheld electronic equipment, since it can be tied without access to the ends of the fastening loop.
Another application for the cow hitch is in the handling of large electric power cable in surface mines. Known colloquially as a Cableman's hitch, it is also used to attach loops of cable to the back of a pick-up truck during a shovel move. As the cable can weigh upwards of 22 pounds per foot and 3-4 loops of cable can be attached to one length of rope, a clove hitch's shearing force would damage the cable jacket. The Cableman's hitch puts the strain onto the hitch crossing over the two running ends of the rope.
Sources
- Clifford W. Ashley, The Ashley Book of Knots (New York: Doubleday, 1944)
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