Sewn vs spliced eyes

[treesmith]

I’ve always spliced my own prusik cords, using double Brummels. I see many offered with seen eyes. Those of you that use them, how do they compare to spliced? What’s the lifespan compared to spliced eyes?

 

[lumberjack]

I don't reckon it would change the life span appreciably, unless I'm missing something?

 

[treesmith]

I was contemplating the wear on the stitching itself.

 

[Burnham]

That's a good question. My thinking is that the hitch cordage itself would be the wear point just as it is with a spliced item. In other words, the cord would be done long before the stitching would have any wear to concern us. It also seems in the good number of years these stitched eyes have been in use, if that was a weak point, we'd have heard about it.

But in a specific application, perhaps rubbing against a piece of hardware in a friction hitch system, it could happen? I rather doubt it, as there is a lot of stitches in one of those eye closures, and a lot of them are pulled into the cordage deeply.

I look forward to reading other opinions. Mine is basically based on speculation.

 

[flushcut]

Run it like you stole it. Look at it this way: how old is your saddle and its stitching?

 

[SkwerI]

IMO the main positive of a stitched eye is the cheaper cost versus a spliced eye. The biggest negative is the bulk and it is not as smooth in the hand. So it will snag on stuff. That is pretty much the entire argument. Pick cheap or pick smooth.

 

[treesmith]

Run it like you stole it. Look at it this way: how old is your saddle and its stitching?

My Monkey Beaver 2.0 is almost two years old. I’ve worn out three Weaver saddles and the fourth was some worn when I swapped over to the Monkey Beaver. I usually get 4-5 years out of a saddle. I get around two years out of a prusik (Ice Tail) before I retire them. They’re still usable but showing enough wear I just prefer to switch to a new one. I was concerned with the wear against the minding pulley as Burnham mentioned.

 

[Burnham]

IMO the main positive of a stitched eye is the cheaper cost versus a spliced eye. The biggest negative is the bulk and it is not as smooth in the hand. So it will snag on stuff. That is pretty much the entire argument. Pick cheap or pick smooth.

There is one other salient point in the question of which to pick...that being with the stitched eye, just like a tied eye, the cordage is of uniform diameter and stiffness right up to the eye. With a splice, you have the bury length towards each eye where neither is the same as the host cordage.

That means it is difficult, even impossible to get the shortest legs on the hitch, as many of us prefer.

 

[Burnham]

My Monkey Beaver 2.0 is almost two years old. I’ve worn out three Weaver saddles and the fourth was some worn when I swapped over to the Monkey Beaver. I usually get 4-5 years out of a saddle. I get around two years out of a prusik (Ice Tail) before I retire them. They’re still usable but showing enough wear I just prefer to switch to a new one. I was concerned with the wear against the minding pulley as Burnham mentioned.

Well, it's not like you would be breaking the bank to give one a try and see if your concerns hold water.

For me, buying premade eye2eye hitch cords has never appealed because I prefer to be able to adjust ad infinitum to the best length for my use. I suppose if you are splicing your own, you can get pretty darn close.