ROPE AND Rope is made of animal or vegetable fibres and of metallic wires. Fibre rope alone will be considered here. (See WIRE ROPE.) "Cordage" is a term ap plied generally to yarns, twines, ropes and cables but refers specifically to "rope" in the industry.
Fibre rope is cordage of "stranded" construction, i.e., fibres or hairs laid parallel and twisted together making a yarn; two or more of these yarns twisted together "forming" the strand and three or more of these strands twisted together "laying" the rope. Three or more ropes laid together make a "cable-laid" rope, sometimes referred to colloquially as "hawser-laid." The smallest fibre ropes made are approximately in. in circumference or in. in diameter so that any similar products of less than these dimensions are not rope in the usual acceptation of the term.
Two or more yarns twisted together, either plain twisted or laid, are twine regardless of the form of put-up; laid twine is sometimes referred to as "corded." Single yarns are known as yarns except binder twine, which is a single yarn product. This group of products is known as "ply and yarn goods" in the hard fibre cordage industry and as yarns, twines or cords in the soft fibre industry. Braided construction of yarns, such as sash cords, is sometimes referred to as "rope." Early History of Rope-Making.—The beginning of rope making is lost in antiquity. In his very earliest days man must have had something to serve as cords and twines: strips of hide or of bark, pliant reeds and rushes, withes of tough woods, fibrous roots, hairs of animals. As the need for stronger and longer lines developed it was met by twisting a number of these together and forming a rope or cord. There is no record of who first performed this operation.
Not only were ancient civilized nations accomplished rope makers, but savage tribes in all parts of the world made ropes and cords. The North American Indian, for instance, made cordage of such fibre plants as yucca and agave, the inner bark of trees, hair and skins. The native Peruvians were good rope makers, using a substance known as "totora." The Egyptians
made rope of hides, papyrus and palm fibre. Specimens of Egyptian ropes of papyrus have been taken from ancient tombs and some are estimated to be not less than 3,500 years old. It is known that rope was made in China at a very remote period.
There are numerous records of the use of rope among the Greeks and Romans. The triumphal arch at Orange (A.D. 41), illustrates a coil of rope, pulley and anchor in bas-relief. A painting on a drinking cup in the British Museum shows an Attic sailing ship, 6th century B.C., with ropes and sails. Historians also occasionally mention the use of rope in connection with some great undertaking. Herodotus tells us that Xerxes, during his invasion of Greece (48o B.c.), crossed his army over the Helles pont upon bridges of boats held together by enormous cables stretched from shore to shore.
Rope-making had been going on for centuries with little change up to the time of the introduction of machinery about the middle of the 1 gth century. In the early days all the yarn was spun by hand. The hemp was first hackled by combing it straight over a board studded with sharp steel teeth. A bunch or "head" of this hackled hemp was placed around the spinner's waist, who attached a few fibres to a hook on the spinning wheel and, as the hook was revolved by means of a large wheel turned by hand, walked backwards away from the wheel feeding the fibre from the supply around his waist, preserving the uniformity and proper size of the yarn. Several yarns were twisted together by use of a hand wheel and several hooks, forming the "strand" and three or more strands twisted together "laying" the rope. Horse-power was used in old times for forming and laying rope which. was too large to be made by hand. The term "rope-walk" came from the long low buildings used and the walking back and forth of the spinners and rope-makers. In the early days every com munity of any size had its rope-walk, there being 173 in the United States in the year 1810. These walks were often goo ft. or more in length. Many were in the open air.