A rope may be supplied in two different forms:

1. Hanked: The hanked rope is ready to use, and is the most practical because there is little that needs to be done before its first use. To unwrap the hank, the securing bands should be removed by hand, not by knife or scissors. One person threads both arms through the hank, the other pulls it off and lays it loosely.

2. Rope on a reel: Ropes are often delivered in long lengths on reels, and it may be necessary to cut off one or several lengths of rope. Before this is done, it is necessary to unreel the rope. For this operation it is preferable to have two people: One threads a rod through the middle of the reel and holds it up by both ends while the other pulls the rope off the rotating reel, laying it loose.

NB: Before first use of a semi-static rope, it is necessary to pre-shrink it to reduce it to its true working length. For this, it is preferable to soak and then dry the rope still on the reel, as this stiffens it less.

To measure for cutting or checking the length Measuring a rope without a rope measurer is a tricky operation, because the result is never very precise.
However it is advised to double the rope and then double again, so that only 1/4 of the length then has to be actually measured with your tape. Then multiply by 4 to obtain a reasonably accurate length for the rope.

Example: You wish to check that your rope is actually 60m. Double it, then double one of the halves again and measure it. It represents around 1/4 of the rope. If your rope is 60m the part measured will be 15m long. If you wish to obtain two ropes of the same length: In this case there is no need to use a tape. Just double the rope and cut it.

Example: You have a 100m rope and you want 2 x 50m. Hold the two ends and pull the rope through to find the mid-point. Now cut. If you want differing lengths (say 60 & 40m), measure 10m, duplicate 6 times and mark at 60m. Check that 40m remains and cut the rope at the mark.

Vidéo : Measuring and cutting a rope