There are three versions of the the clinch knot that I know of, normal, improved, and the double clinch knot. I'm only going to cover the normal and improved versions in this post, I'll go over the double clinch knot in another post. If you don't already know how to tie these knots or you don't know what the difference between the two are, here is a quick lesson.
Start by bringing the line through the eye.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
I chose to start off using 6lb Stren Original line. There were four main tying techniques that I wanted to test, the normal clinch knot with and without saliva lubrication, and the improved clinch knot with and without saliva lubrication. I've always wondered if wetting your line while tying a knot improved the knots strength. The other factor that I wanted to test was how the number of complete 360 degree twists effected the strength of the knot. For each variation I tested, I broke the line three times to form an average breaking strength. Also note that for all knots I trimmed the excess line to 1 inch.
Here are the results for the normal and improved clinch knot without lubrication.
# of Twists | Normal | Improved |
4 | 3.35lbs | 3.48lbs |
6 | 4.75lbs | 5.17lbs |
8 | 5.94lbs | 5.67lbs |
10 | 7.00lbs | 6.69lbs |
The difference between the normal and improved knots was marginal. All knots in the 4-8 twist range failed due to the knot slipping. After ten twists both lines no longer failed at the knots, maxing the strength of the 6lb line at about 7lbs of breaking strength.
After these tests, I wondered what would happen If I tied a simple overhand knot on the tag end of the knot to prevent the knot from slipping with a lower amount of twists. With only 4 twists and the extra knot on the tag end, the results were immediately good at an average of 5.8lbs. After increasing the number of twists there was no real gain. This was caused by the fact that when the knot slipped and was stopped by the extra tag end knot, this created a weak spot in the line from the slip.
Here are the results for the normal and improved clinch knot with lubrication.
# of Twists | Normal | Improved |
4 | 3.73lbs | 6.04lbs |
6 | 6.21lbs | 7.0lbs |
8 | 6.56lbs |
The difference between the non lubricated knots was significant. The normal knot maxed out at only 8 twists this time while the improved knot maxed out at just 6 twists. It was then easy to make the conclusion that an improved clinch knot lubricated with saliva was the best choice with a general rule that more twists prevents the knot from slipping more often. Now my next question is, will these same conclusions be made with a heavier line? This is something I've also been working on and will post the results soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment