The link will take you to the first of 6 pages discussion soft shackles. The first page shows how to use them. There is one on how to make them and one on some variations. Another page covers strength testing. Finally, there are two pages that go into detail on the diamond knot, which is the stopper knot for the soft shackle.
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A step by step tutorial with pictures and a calculator that allows you to make any size soft shackle out of lines from 7/64 to 5/16 and have them come out the size you want.
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A soft shackle that is a hybrid of two types provides the best of both worlds, imho. It is easy and fast to use, secure, and just as strong. In this article, I show you how to make them step by step including a calculator so that you can make one of any size with line from 7/64 to 5/16.
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Integrating a soft shackle on the line and using a modified butterfly knot you can attach the line to a block with no hard shackles and still be able to remove the block for service.
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A Double Ended Soft Shackle that is secured to eye spliced jib sheets and can be very quickly be attached to the clew of a jib. A stopper loop is permanently attached to the clew ring to serve as the receptor for the shackle eye.
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A variation on a soft shackle that forms in integral soft shackle on a main halyard.
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Soft Haylard or Line Shackle is fast, strong, and ideal for attaching any 12 strand line to something such as the head of a sail
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A couple of the standard soft shackle variations are shown. The best variation is not shown and it is my improved soft shackle shown in "A Better Soft Shackle" above. Be sure to check out that article.
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Step by step instructions with pictures showing how to tie a diamond knot.
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Part 1 of three articles on soft shackle testing. In this test I establish that soft shackles are stronger than the line they are made of. In Part 2 I show that they are not 25% stronger than the line they are made of and in Part 3 I show the results of testing done by Brion Toss at New England Ropes where we show they are in this same range, but we have actual numbers.
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This test compares the diamond knot part of the soft shackle with a line that is 25% stronger (equivalent). The diamond knot fails, which is the known failure mode of the soft shackle. Thus, a soft shackle is not as strong as the line it is made of times 1.28. In Part 3 of Soft Shackle testing, my improved shackles are tested and the results basically confirm my results from part 1 and Part 2. The conclusion is that a soft shackle is stronger than the line it is made of, but that is about all you can say. 2.8 times stronger like the guy selling them on eBay claims.
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In Part 3 of the series on Soft Shackle testing I talk about the samples I sent to Brion Toss for testing at New England Rope. We tested both the new improved "Better Soft Shackle" and the Double Soft Shackle. The conclusion is the same as my own testing. A soft shackle is stronger than the line it is made of and the double soft shackle is half that strong but can be made somewhat stronger by using the next size line up for the diamond stopper loop.
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Animation of a diamond knot being tied.
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There are many ways to attach a diamond stopper loop. Here are a few variations. |