In rope assemblies, a well-made splice retains up to what percentage of the rope's strength?

• A. 90 percent
• B. 75 percent
• C. 60 percent
• D. 50 percent

Answer: (A)

A well-made splice can retain up to about 90 percent of the rope’s tensile strength. The reason is that a splice keeps the rope fibers loaded in a continuous path rather than cutting them off at a end like a knot would. By interweaving the strands and burying the cut ends back into the rope, the load is carried along the splice with minimal interruptions, so the rope maintains most of its strength. This avoids the sharp stress concentrations and weakening that knots introduce, making splices the preferred method for joining or finishing rope in critical uses.