How does Rope work?

plus the story of undisputed hegemony and sneaky coups

Aug 10, 2025

Explained Simply

A rope is a collection of many small fibers.

On it’s own, a single fiber can carry some weight.

But when they’re packed together, they press and rub against each other, and this friction helps them from sliding apart, so the force gets shared across many fibers.

Having more friction helps the fibers work together, but if the force is too much, then the rope snaps!

This is why we twist rope.

Twisting locks fibers together more and increases the friction between them, making the whole bundle stronger.

Then just as we twist individual fibers together, we can twist those strands again into larger and larger strands to make thicker rope.

The Saga of Rope

The true story of the rise and fall of the most popular types of rope material.

The Rise of a King (Hemp)

Hemp grew up in a small town in the river valleys of ancient China.

No one liked him, cause his sister Mary Jane kept getting all the attention.
One day, when he got kicked out a birthday party for being 4ft, he wandered into the woods and bumped into a mysterious tree.

“Water me,” it said “and I’ll make you a king”

“But how? I’m just a boy”

“I’ll teach you how to make a rope. A rope that will rule the world” it whispered.

“What?” Hemp gasped.

“Yes. Your kingdom will stretch to every shore, binding the world in your grasp.

From the sails that bore the Son of Man across the sea, to the wings that bore Mankind across the skies.
From screaming arrows across the battlefield, to silent threads binding the books that spark a revolution.

You will help kings raise the wonders of this world, yet see your strength topple the kingdoms that built them.

Men will reach out to you in desperation, as you bring them back from the outer darkness and into safety.
And they will reach out again in desperation, as you grip their throats while they writhe to take their last breath.

No king,
No prisoner,
No builder, will escape your touch.”

“Oh wow! So…will people finally like me more than my sister?”

“No”

“Oh…”

“Water me”

“Ok”

Thus began the thousand year reign of Hemp. In shipping lanes and siege engines. From construction to tethering livestock.

The Coup (Nylon)

By the time the whole world was at war (the first time), Hemp was in a little predicament.

You see. Hemp had no heirs.

No one to succeed his throne except his sister’s ugly children (who were just chilling in San Francisco), and he wasn’t going to have that.

But it just so happened that the sorcerers of DuPont Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware began working on an evil project to create the perfect heir.

And by the time 1935 rolled around, they had perfected him:

Nylon 6-6

He was better and stronger in every way:

Rate My Rope:       Hemp |  Nylon
-------------------------------
Strength:             6  |  9
Stretch:              2  |  9
Grip:                10  |  6
Rot resistance:       2  | 10
UV resistance:        8  |  6
Water resistance:     1  |  7
Abrasion resistance:  6  |  8
-------------------------------
Score:               38  | 55

Coolness Multiplier:  0  |  4
-------------------------------
Final Score:          0  | 220

Hemp didn’t see it coming. While he was focused on shipping lanes and transportation, Nylon was out there, winning the heart of the military through parachute cords and mooring lines.

By the time Hemp noticed…it was too late.

Here is the photo of the real murder scene during the military coup:

Nylon standing over the dead king (original)

Within a few short years, not only did Nylon dominate Hemp’s existing kingdom, but he pioneered and led exploration of new lands:

Climbing harnesses and shock absorbing lines
Synthetic webbing like seat belts and cargo straps
Clothing and textiles

And although few strongholds remain, such as traditional net making or the ropes at your CrossFit gym, the Hemp hegemony was no longer.

A Rising Contender (Dyneema)

But the story isn’t over.

Is there a new contender on the way? Will Dyneema, with her superior strength-to-weight ratio, and excellent abrasion resistance, steal the hearts of the people?

Only time will tell.

Mildly Useful Facts

Tensile strength:   
Hemp: ~6,000 lb 
Nylon: ~9,000 lb
Dyneema: ~15,000 lb 

Strength-to-weight:
Hemp: ~0.6 (baseline)
Nylon: ~1.0 
Dyneema: ~1.6

Elongation @ break: 
Hemp: 2–3%
Nylon: 20–30% 
Dyneema: 3–4%

Water absorption:    
Hemp: ~100% (−25% str.)
Nylon: 3–7% (−10–15% str.)
Dyneema: 0% (no loss)

Density (floats?):
Hemp: 1.48 g/cm³ (sinks)
Nylon: 1.14 g/cm³ (sinks)
Dyneema: 0.97 g/cm³ (floats)