“During the Vietnam war with U.S.A. I was in the Army combat engineers and we used the sheep shank knot to repel down a mountainside. We would cut the rope that was held in both ends by the half hitches. As we went down the mountain sides. We would keep tension on the rope so the sheep shank knot would not loosen. After reaching the bottom we would give the rope a flick, which would loosen the half hitches on the sheep shank and the main rope would come falling down to us, only the portion hooked to the anchor would remain up top. Do not try this unless you are very knowledgeable with each run of the rope of the sheep shank knot.”
I was wondering if this was done or still is done on a regular basis by armed forces?
I’ve heard of this method, and learned as more of a novelty. It was presented to me as an emergency survivalist technique, and is obviously pretty risky.
I do know that various branches of the military train some pretty old school rapelleing techniques, like decent on a carabiner wrap, and locking off by wrapping the leg:
Yes, it relates to this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61ZU2VmWRLQ&t=40s If you scroll down about halfway in the comments section, Mark Chamberlain is the initial commenter on this subject.
Maybe it would work --it’s a question of particular materials,
not images on a page.
But WHY do it ?! Rope isn’t an easy commodity, so cutting
it would demand a purpose for the cost. (One might also
find that shaking such a structure free was less than all so
sure? --haven’t tried it, but although I share Roo’s skepticism,
I’ve fiddled some supposed-to-come-free structures that used
a “turNip” and found that the coming-free didn’t so surely
occur --the darn nip nipped !
Farther below this cited Comment is one decrying the particular bowline version as “cowboy” and inferior --parrots are alive!
At the very least, the Kamikaze name seems appropriate. I don’t endorse using this knot for life safetly purposes, as there are certainly safer alternatives, but I do find it interesting.
Madness. If you notice the amount of paracord (from a parachute?) he had at his disposal, he probably could have used it to unshrink a running loop anchor on the main rope once he was done with his descent. He could have retrieved his rope without any risk.
Even if it didn’t work, who risks their life to get their rope back?
Showmanship/drama !!
I.p., notice how --at video around 01:55-- the anchor’d line
is showing doing all this vibration though the rappeller is on
a well-down-from-edge smoothly moving part. (Must’ve been
quite some wicked wind up top! ;D )
Also, I’ve looked at full-screen (resolution not matching, thoug)
image of point 2:06 which shows the SUPPOSED sheepshank
at imminent release, and I don’t SEE that knot there!?
–might be just the lack of resolution.
Note also, at time 1:52 --a view of the line below our hero–,
one sees an apparent offset water knot in the line :: something
unfriendly (a knot, i.e.) to normal abseiling.
Also, views of the cliff face make it look formidable,
but the tossing of the line(s) to free the knot look
rather near at hand --which we should remark will
make such freeing easier : a long run up to the anchor
would make shaking something free difficult.
((For an actual situation such at this, a way to use
full-length full-strength of a suite of paracords
would be perhaps to loose one long strand in making
the anchor attachment (if something handy to hitch
to isn’t around), and then rig it so that the loaded
rap line(s) pulls down onto some toggle that
is tied to a single long strand to be pulled when
down. Weighted, the toggle should be happily
resistant to being pulled out --piece of mind for
the abseiler, this–, but, unloaded, it should pull
out easily, freeing the eye-knot-in-end rap lines.
.:. NOTHING cut & lost, but for maybe whatever
might be needed to make the anchor.
))