How to tie a Lynch knot?
The hangman's knot or Lynch's noose is a derivative of the usual noose. The only exception is a higher number of turns. Due to this, a fracture of the vertebrae of the neck occurs, leading to the rapid death of the hanged person. Thanks to this quality of the hanged man's rope, strangulation was considered more humane.
| The running end of the rope is laid in a zigzag, you should get two loops. |
| The chassis turns 5-7 times from bottom to top (the number of turns must be odd). |
| The remainder of the running tip is wound through the top loop. The knot is tightened by tightening the main ends of the rope and the loop itself. |
History of the Gallows Knot
The ability to tie knots has been known to man since ancient times. The most ancient types of such human activity were discovered by Finnish archaeologists during excavations on the territory of their country.
The development of sailing shipbuilding gave a new impetus to knot knitting technologies. This was due to the need to have reliable, easy-to-use fastening equipment. Nodes appeared:
- Used to connect individual parts of the cable to each other
- Special Application
- To hold any objects at the end of a rope or fix them together. It is this group that includes gallows knots.
From the mid-seventeenth century, in Europe, a scaffold - a gallows made of rope - began to be used for executions.
This type of execution owes its appearance to the famous executioner Jack Ketch, who served the English crown. It was thanks to this man that the marine self-tightening knot got its name - Jack Ketch's hanging noose or scaffold knot.
The American Civil War gave rise to the so-called lynching. The slaves freed during this war took revenge on the former slave owners. For this, the guilty person who raised his hand against the “white” was doomed to a hasty execution by hanging. Such reprisals, occurring without trial or investigation, were later called lynchings.
The doomed were hanged using the already popular sea knot. Now it has received a name - the Lynch knot. The name is associated with the name of the American judge Charles Lynch, thanks to whom the practice of hanging was cultivated during the war of the states for their independence. However, there is another version. In this regard, the palm belongs to Captain William Lynch. This officer introduced a law that allowed extrajudicial corporal punishment (“Lynch Law”). As a result, the same knot was used when hanging.
A large share of executions occurred in the Southern states. After lynching was abolished, ropes with such knots were used as intimidation. By hanging such “decorations”, the Ku Klux Klan reminded the black population of America of itself. Displaying a noose in public means inciting racial hatred. Some American states provide punishment for such demonstrations in the form of substantial fines.
How to make a rope for a gallows. How to tie a gallows knot
Hanging is the squeezing of the neck by a noose, tightened by the weight of one’s entire body or part of it.The instrument of injury is most often a typical noose. A loop is a ring with one fixed end. Along with this, in practical work there are atypical loops, which are the forks of trees, the backs of chairs, etc., on which the neck is pressed by the weight of the entire lowered body or just the bowed head.
Based on the material, loops are divided into soft (towels, ties, scarves), hard flexible (semi-rigid belts, ropes, cords, cables), hard inflexible (rigid), atypical (forks of trees, edge of a board, forearm).
The loop consists of a knot, a ring, a running end and a root end. The root end is the end that is fixedly fixed to the object, not used when tying a knot, and is located opposite the running end. The running end is the loose free end, located in the hands, with which they begin to move when tying a knot and form a knot. A knot is a place where the ends of a loop are tied, or the running end is tied to a branch of the root end, or the root end is tied to some object. Half-knot - a single overlap of the running and root ends of the same rope, etc. or two ends of different ropes. A running branch departs from the node, turning into a root branch threaded into a movable or fixed node. Forming a ring, the root branch ends with a free end, attached to a firmly fixed object (Fig. 267).
Depending on the design of the knot, the loop can be movable (sliding or noose) and stationary.
Many types of loops and knots are typical for certain professions and specialties (marine, rigging, fishing, weaving, fire fighting, mountaineering, used by special services, etc.). Using loops and knots, forensic examination establishes the identity and professional skills of the person who tied them, to identify the corpse of an unknown person, and to solve a crime. Loops (diagram 29) and knots (diagram 30) encountered in practice are classified according to various criteria.
The design features of the knot already at the scene of the incident make it possible to put forward a version about the profession of the person who tied it, narrow the circle of suspects and reduce the time of their search.
The design of the loop affects the appearance and severity of certain signs. In practical work, hanging in sliding loops is most common.
A sliding loop is a loop whose knot allows the movement of the loop branch and a change in the diameter of the ring covering the neck. It is formed by threading the free end into a hole in a knot, buckle, or turn and fixing it motionless. Pressing the lower part of the loop causes its branches to move, change in diameter and tighten around the neck, accompanied by complete coverage of the neck. The knot of such a loop can be located on various surfaces of the neck. In this regard, a distinction is made between typical and atypical location of the node.
A typical location of the loop is when the front part of it presses on the neck above the thyroid cartilage, the side parts of the loop go around the angles of the lower jaw and mastoid processes, rising to the external occipital protuberance at an angle, forming a tightening knot. The atypical loop node is located on the front surface of the neck under the chin. N.S. Bokarius (1915) and V.V. Tomilin (1978) classifies as atypical the location of the node on the lateral surface of the neck, in the area of the ear, the angle of the lower jaw, the mastoid process, and N.V. Popov (1946) and A.A. Matyshev (1985) - its localization to the side (Fig. 268).
Loops can be closed or open (Fig. 269).
Closed loops contact all surfaces of the neck (Fig. 270). They can be closed sliding or closed fixed. A closed fixed loop is a loop whose knot does not allow a change in the diameter of the ring. In these loops, the ring is tied with a fixed knot at the running and root ends.
The sliding loop and the closed fixed loop are quickly tightened by the weight of the body and do not slide off, since the chin, the angles of the lower jaw, the mastoid processes, and the external occipital protuberance interfere with this.
An open loop is a loop that is not in contact with all adjacent surfaces of the neck. Open loops are typical and atypical. The first have all the components of the loop and are a ring with the ends tied in one place and strengthened by putting it on a fixing object. The head passes into the lower part of the ring. Lower part of the open loop presses the front surface of the neck (larynx and trachea), and the chin and corners of the lower jaw prevent the head and neck from slipping out of the loop. The knot of such a loop is usually attached to an object.
Atypical loops do not have the main design features (ring, knot, ends). Hanging is carried out by pressing the front, side or front and side surfaces of the neck to the crossbar, the edge of the board, the crossbar between the legs (leg) of a chair, in the fork of a tree. Open atypical fixed loops compress the neck from the front from the sides or from the front and sides, depending on the angle of branching of the branches of the tree.
The hinge material, method and location of attachment are extremely varied. They can be made of various materials and attached to any object that allows you to fix the free end of the loop. The density of the material and the design of the loop influence the relief of the furrow (Fig. 271), and its flexibility contributes to better coverage of the neck by the loop.
Where is the scaffold unit used?
Previously, the scaffold knot was used for gallows executions, but now in civilized countries they use it for a different purpose. As a rule, it is used for temporary hanging of objects, nets, bags filled with something. It is actively used in everyday life, agriculture and food production.
Although the node has a rather gloomy name, it is a “hard worker” and an excellent helper. Widely used for its intended purpose in maritime affairs. A cable with such a knot serves as a fastener for various floating objects when attaching the fastening to shore objects.
Found use among fishermen. Used when throwing cargo, tying gear, fishing line.
Since the running end of the rope cannot slip out of the loop (when weakened), it is considered a more reliable noose.
You can check out the 12 most useful sea knots here.
Areas of application
The Lynch knot is widely used in maritime affairs. They are used to temporarily attach a cable to objects floating in the water. Or they use it when throwing and attaching a cable to any object on the shore.
In addition, it can be used when fishing to connect fishing line and gear, and also as a throwing weight.
The Lynch knot is very reliable because the end of the cable cannot slip out of the loop if it becomes loose.
The name of this unit logically comes from the specifics of its application. The scaffold knot was specially invented and used on medieval gallows. This knot also has the well-known name “Lynch Knot.” This knot has been known to people since ancient times and can be seen quite often in historical films. But, despite the gloomy nature of this node, it can be widely used in other areas or for other purposes.
