Need help with FSH: which 1 of 2 Ropes do I use? Will this knot do the job?

[RandomUser25]

Ropes :
Not sure about my choice of rope - I bought basically the only 2 ropes I could find in the building material store (that were somewhat adequate). These are the same kind of rope just 2 different sizes. I believe one is a 10mm and the other is 12mm.
My worry is that they are not very flexible and fairly stiff. So when I try to test and pull on them, while putting around my neck, they don't really tighten all the way. I guess partially it can be solved by lubing them up, but even the knots don't look that tight. Especially on the thicker one.
- Question number 1 is - will one of these ropes work?
Knots:
The same worry I have with the knots. On the images attached you can see what I believe are 2 versions of the slipknot (made by following 2 different tutorials). Any advice on which one or maybe what different knot should I be using are greatly appreciated. With these it feels like the knot goes to the side even if I position it behind my neck.
- Question number 2 - will one of the knots work?
- Question number 3 - what would you advise to use as a lubricant? Just to rub a dry brick of soap over it? Or should I lather the soap up? Maybe something else like machine oil?


*Here are the images of the 2 ropes/Knots. USB-A stick is to scale, not sure about the thickness of the ropes.

Thank you everyone in advance!

 

[JesiBel]

Ropes :
Not sure about my choice of rope - I bought basically the only 2 ropes I could find in the building material store (that were somewhat adequate). These are the same kind of rope just 2 different sizes. I believe one is a 10mm and the other is 12mm.
My worry is that they are not very flexible and fairly stiff. So when I try to test and pull on them, while putting around my neck, they don't really tighten all the way. I guess partially it can be solved by lubing them up, but even the knots don't look that tight. Especially on the thicker one.
- Question number 1 is - will one of these ropes work?
Knots:
The same worry I have with the knots. On the images attached you can see what I believe are 2 versions of the slipknot (made by following 2 different tutorials). Any advice on which one or maybe what different knot should I be using are greatly appreciated. With these it feels like the knot goes to the side even if I position it behind my neck.
- Question number 2 - will one of the knots work?
- Question number 3 - what would you advise to use as a lubricant? Just to rub a dry brick of soap over it? Or should I lather the soap up? Maybe something else like machine oil?
View attachment 198145View attachment 198146

*Here are the images of the 2 ropes/Knots. USB-A stick is to scale, not sure about the thickness of the ropes.

Thank you everyone in advance!

You can measure the thickness of the ropes by resting them on a ruler.
The rope with blue and yellow spots looks good; the other one seems a bit thicker.. maybe it's just the photo.

The knot for the ligature is the Arbor Knot (it is a self-tightening knot, when weight is applied it closes itself), the Slip Knot is a fixed knot and should not be used (its name comes from the fact that it is easy to untie).

/The first knot you made is self-tightening (the one with the rope with black spots)/

If the rope has an internal core, it will be less flexible than single braided ropes. That might be why you're having a little more trouble tying the knots.

You can lubricate the rope with hand cream, petroleum jelly, soap, dishwashing/laundry detergent, or some type of grease. You can test them and see which one works best for you.

 

[RandomUser25]

You can measure the thickness of the ropes by resting them on a ruler.
The rope with blue and yellow spots looks good; the other one seems a bit thicker.. maybe it's just the photo.

The knot for the ligature is the Arbor Knot (it is a self-tightening knot, when weight is applied it closes itself), the Slip Knot is a fixed knot and should not be used (its name comes from the fact that it is easy to untie).

/The first knot you made is self-tightening (the one with the rope with black spots)/

If the rope has an internal core, it will be less flexible than single braided ropes. That might be why you're having a little more trouble tying the knots.

You can lubricate the rope with hand cream, petroleum jelly, soap, dishwashing/laundry detergent, or some type of grease. You can test them and see which one works best for you.

Let me preface the reply with saying a huge thank you! It's surprisingly hard to CTB, contrary to what I thought. Or at least it's hard if you are trying to minimize pain and chance of failure. So such a detailed reply is a big help!

Appreciate the knot suggestion - works much better as I test it. The ropes, it seems I have 12 and 14 mm ones respectively, are indeed double braided. There seems to be a thin polyester cover on top which makes it so rigid, especially for a thicker one. I will probably try and find another store, maybe drive to the city center and see if I can find something softer/more flexible. As far as the lubricant, will give a shot to the hand cream, thank you for the suggestion. Also will probably just also buy the petroleum jelly, should be fairly cheap after all.

If you don't mind me asking a few more questions:
- Do you think it is a good idea to use some form of padding between the rope and the neck? Is potential comfort worth the risk of it messing with the knot and the latter not tightening up properly?
- Should I tighten the rope as much as I can before hand? Right above my Adam apple I believe. My worry here is that as I test it, the knot sort of stops a bit higher then the base of my skull, not really going down as much as I think it should. It might be just the case of me not pulling on it hard enough, obviously my weight would give much stronger pull, but maybe I should just already have it tightened as much as I can handle beforehand?

Also here is a photo of the arbor knot I tied on both ropes. The thicker one does fight back a lot. Don't think I'm using that one.

 

[JesiBel]

Let me preface the reply with saying a huge thank you! It's surprisingly hard to CTB, contrary to what I thought. Or at least it's hard if you are trying to minimize pain and chance of failure. So such a detailed reply is a big help!

Appreciate the knot suggestion - works much better as I test it. The ropes, it seems I have 12 and 14 mm ones respectively, are indeed double braided. There seems to be a thin polyester cover on top which makes it so rigid, especially for a thicker one. I will probably try and find another store, maybe drive to the city center and see if I can find something softer/more flexible. As far as the lubricant, will give a shot to the hand cream, thank you for the suggestion. Also will probably just also buy the petroleum jelly, should be fairly cheap after all.

If you don't mind me asking a few more questions:
- Do you think it is a good idea to use some form of padding between the rope and the neck? Is potential comfort worth the risk of it messing with the knot and the latter not tightening up properly?
- Should I tighten the rope as much as I can before hand? Right above my Adam apple I believe. My worry here is that as I test it, the knot sort of stops a bit higher then the base of my skull, not really going down as much as I think it should. It might be just the case of me not pulling on it hard enough, obviously my weight would give much stronger pull, but maybe I should just already have it tightened as much as I can handle beforehand?

Also here is a photo of the arbor knot I tied on both ropes. The thicker one does fight back a lot. Don't think I'm using that one. View attachment 198182

Remember that this forum is for informational purposes only; you should never feel pressured to make an attempt. It's best not to make hasty or impulsive decisions.

Yes, of those two, the 12mm rope seems better to me. For my build, I also find the 14mm one a bit thick. Mine is also 12mm.

Honestly, I don't plan on using any kind of padding around my neck. The rope needs to penetrate the neck to compress the carotid arteries; you'd just be adding an extra layer to the neck.
Perhaps if you want to use it, you can put a thin cloth like a pocket handkerchief (without folding it), so you don't feel the direct friction of the rope on your skin.
It is advisable not to overcomplicate the method.

You can pre-adjust the ligature around the neck. Don't overtighten the knot or it will jam.

Yes, the ligature position (rope) is under the jaw, more or less at the height of the Hyoid Bone, which is above of the Adam's apple (laryngeal prominence). The ligature knot should be behind the neck in the center.

In the section where the knot is located, the pressure of the rope will be less; that's normal. Also, during the attempt, the free end of the rope you're pulling from will be the one tied to the anchor point.

If your rope has an internal core, that's possible because it's more rigid. However, if the "empty space" between the ligature knot and the neck is minimal, there shouldn't be any problems. The pressure should be concentrated in front of and on both sides of the neck.

Be careful when testing. Never tie the rope to the anchor point if you are testing. Many accidental deaths happen that way.

(There is more information in all the hyperlinks. To prevent impulsive attempts, I cannot answer in depth in a single post.)

 

[RandomUser25]

Remember that this forum is for informational purposes only; you should never feel pressured to make an attempt. It's best not to make hasty or impulsive decisions.

Sure thing, thank you for being thorough. I'm making an informed decision here, just a few final steps, mostly related to my choice of CTB method.

Yes, of those two, the 12mm rope seems better to me. For my build, I also find the 14mm one a bit thick. Mine is also 12mm.

Honestly, I don't plan on using any kind of padding around my neck. The rope needs to penetrate the neck to compress the carotid arteries; you'd just be adding an extra layer to the neck.
Perhaps if you want to use it, you can put a thin cloth like a pocket handkerchief (without folding it), so you don't feel the direct friction of the rope on your skin.
It is advisable not to overcomplicate the method.

Got it, will probably stick to the 12 mm rope and will see if I can find a softer rope anywhere, still have a few days I gave myself. Will maybe use something thin, but I feel like at this point it's pretty irrelevant. Would probably make more sense to bother with it if I would do a partial suspension.

Yes, the ligature position (rope) is under the jaw, more or less at the height of the Hyoid Bone, which is above of the Adam's apple (laryngeal prominence). The ligature knot should be behind the neck in the center.

In the section where the knot is located, the pressure of the rope will be less; that's normal. Also, during the attempt, the free end of the rope you're pulling from will be the one tied to the anchor point.

If your rope has an internal core, that's possible because it's more rigid. However, if the "empty space" between the ligature knot and the neck is minimal, there shouldn't be any problems. The pressure should be concentrated in front of and on both sides of the neck.

I see, thank you for explaining, I had a bit of a worry there. Makes sense that the knot won't apply the same pressure and it's not like you can really squeeze the spine part of the neck anyway.

Be careful when testing. Never tie the rope to the anchor point if you are testing. Many accidental deaths happen that way.

Yeah, no worries, I was just pulling up with my hands and sort of dropping my knees to try and simulate adding pressure to the knot. The arbor one works much better, so I should be good.

Only slightly worried about the need to lower myself to tighten the rope. I don't have a good anchor and planning to do it in the forest outside of the city. So probably would need to hang of the branch and lower myself slowly. Appreciate that advice, hopefully would prevent the knot from displacing. My general idea was to just drop down from the branch/tree itself.

I think I'm more or less well equipped now, thank you a lot for help!