Clips and hooks

[tkv]

Today I had some fun breaking things. Specifically, different kinds of clips and hooks mainly used in lead ropes and other animal stuff. I set up a pulley system, tested it by snapping an 8mm polypropylene rope rated at 1000kg (just barely managed this), then proceeded to wreak havoc among my bondage stuff. I had no way of measuring the required forces, so there's not much to be learned from this, but at least I had fun.

See the picture named clips.jpg. Starting from the left, there's a panic snap that's still attached to the lead rope. The rope broke at the knot, just as they usually do. Quite a bit of effort was required, but the snap still seems fine.

Next is a panic snap with swivel. The swivel is some kind of cast metal alloy, and is the usual failure point in these. However it was a lot stronger than in the usual, cheap snaps found in almost 90% of lead ropes. I'm also surprised how strong the panic snap itself is.

The large, brass-coloured snap hook also took some effort to break. The hook was bent quite a lot before it broke.

The snap on the right is from a cross strap used to tie cows to their stalls. It feels very solid, the swivel is made out of steel rod and welded, and the whole hook is hot zinc plated. I didn't expect it to break, but it did anyway, however quite a lot of force was required.

Below them is a BGB snap. It also has the swivel made out of steel rod, and the hook itself seems to be made of 5mm thick steel plate. The swivel used to be wider to accommodate a strap, but got bent out of shape. I was actually surprised that the hook broke first, and it wasn't as hard to do as with the other clips, but of course it's a small clip.

The other picture, clips2.jpg, shows a couple of the cheap snap hooks mentioned earlier. These are very common in horse lead ropes. They are not very strong, I didn't try these today but recall being able to break them by just clipping them to a ring in the wall and pulling hard, without any pulleys or other help. Note that the brass-coloured snap in the first picture is much larger and heavier than these.

The only type of clip I'd lay my own weight on is the panic snap without a swivel. The others are good for walking your puppy or pony, just don't try to suspend them with these. And the ones in the other picture are good for hanging your keys.

[Kronopticon]

nice to know exactly what you've been using to break most of these. but nice to know that generally, suspension is still a bad idea for SB

[bound_jenny]

What can be learned from this is obvious by looking at the locations of the breaks. All occur in the weakest part of the assembly, usually where the metal is the thinnest, or in a curved part.

So if anyone thinks that solo suspension with cheap hardware-store gear is safe, there's the proof it isn't.

@tkv: with your excellent talent for breaking things, you should apply for a job at Mythbusters...

Jenny.

[tkv]

I just wish I had the measuring gear the Mythbusters have, I'd have nice graphs and slow-motion videos of each clip being destroyed.

It would be interesting to test a pair of handcuffs, but I only have two pairs and don't feel like ruining them. Need to keep a look out for a cheap pair.

Also, what I should've done with these clips is attach them all together one after another and then start pulling. I'd know exactly which was weakest and which the strongest. Maybe next time.

As for suspension safety, suspension is the extreme and you don't have to go that far. I use these clips all the time. I mostly do non-strict SB, and I might have my hands tied in front and use a clip to secure them overhead, or maybe to a tethering ring in the wall. It's nice to know that if I struggle a bit, I won't end up on my butt on the floor because the stupid clip broke.

[bobbi]

i have managed to break pretty much anything i ever bought except standard police issue handcuffs. everything else like nice leather cuffs and such i have managed to break the metal rings or locking buckle lock ring or whatever. and not by fighting massive force on it just in "every day" use not even trying.

oh my leather posture collar, not broke that one yet either i guess still has the bucket lock hoop on it.

[tkv]

I found a couple of new snaps at the hardware store, and immediately set out to destroy them...

The first picture shows the clips, ready to be tested. On the left is a large brass snap, then the panic snap I tested earlier (without the rope this time), a bull snap with a stronger swivel and a hook taken from an old lead rope. They're attached to a length of 6mm polypropylene rope rated at 550kg, which I thought would act as a 'fuse' this time. The other end had a similar splice attached to the pulley. That grey rope is for catching the recoil, as I don't want another hole in the opposite wall.

On the first pull, the first clip to break was (to my surprise) the panic snap that had held so well earlier. The rather small ring it's attached to must have acted as a kind of lever, pulling the hook outwards. Also, the brass snap had bent out of shape, though not actually broken yet. The rightmost hook was also slightly bent, but I bent it back and decided not to bother it anymore.

For the second pull, I only had the large bull snap in there. After a while of creaking and crackling, the rope broke with a loud bang. It's nice that at least one of these clips can take some abuse.

A spliced rope should be good for about 90-95% of its rated strength, but I'm not sure about this one. The rope seems to have broken at the lark's head and just slided through the splice. Maybe the splices should have been longer? But in any case, even that thin rope is really very strong.

I think I'm done breaking clips for a while. It's getting expensive. However, I still have plenty of that cheap polypropylene rope left, so maybe I'll test some knots and splices in the future.

(edited a typo)

[bound_jenny]

Keep it up, tkv. I like this kind if data.

It's going to make a nice referral thread for anyone who is overenthusiastically contemplating solo suspension.

Jenny.