HOME   Blake's Hitch (Prohaska Hitch)
Even though mechanical rope ascenders are displacing ascender knots, this slide-and-grip hitch has some features that can be useful beyond its original intended use.  Like the Midshipman's Hitch or Tautline Hitch, the knot body can be slid by hand, and upon letting go will hold rope tension. Blake's Hitch, also known as the Prohaska Hitch, resists overtightening, requires only one end of rope, and has good stability over a relatively wide range of rope size combinations owing partly to the self-padding effect that increases the size of the initial coils. The number of coils shown is typical for its original rope ascending function, and can be modified as conditions and rope types dictate.  The stopper knot limits how far the rope end can recede under the influences of cyclical loading, but such loading or vibration may cause the hitch body to gradually surrender position.  The stopper may be omitted and the number of coils reduced for non-critical, utilitarian use. Clifford Ashley developed a reduced-coil version of this hitch in 1930 and later included it in the Ashley Book of Knots as #1470.  Heinz Prohaska showed the hitch in its present form in 1990 in Nylon Highway, volume #30.  The common name comes from Jason Blake who later helped popularize the hitch. Related pages:  Midshipman's Hitch or Tautline Hitch, Sailor's Hitch, HFP Slippery 8 Loop, Versatackle