# Tie Line - Belt, pocket, neck... How do you carry it?



## Breckt (Jan 30, 2014)

I was wondering how most of you carry around your tie line. 

I often have a bundle of it tied up with a lark's head and then attach that to either a belt loop or a loop on my tool belt. Others I know tie it up with a clove hitch (too tight for me) or drape it over their neck (too in the way and loose for me).

I'm asking because I believe there are more efficient and/or simpler way of carrying/accessing common tools we use in our workplaces, and want to see what the lot of you do.

Cheers


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## techieman33 (Jan 30, 2014)

Breckt said:


> I was wondering how most of you carry around your tie line.
> 
> I often have a bundle of it tied up with a lark's head and then attach that to either a belt loop or a loop on my tool belt. Others I know tie it up with a clove hitch (too tight for me) or drape it over their neck (too in the way and loose for me).
> 
> ...



I usually just put it around my neck if I'm doing a light hang. I don't get it until I'm ready to start tying stuff up though. We usually do it in steps so we only have tie line when we're using it. Then whatever is left goes back in the bucket until we need to tie a bunch of stuff up again. If it's a tour loading in I'll hang some around my neck and stuff a handful in a cargo pocket so I'm not running back and forth to the bucket to tie up one or two things here and there.


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## deadlygopher (Jan 30, 2014)

I usually put a bunch through my back belt loop.


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## MNicolai (Jan 30, 2014)

Depends on what I'm doing and how much moving around I have to do, but I'm a fan of throwing a loop of tieline around my neck and wearing the beltpack on it at my sternum, then looping the cable to the intercom system through a beltloop so it loops around to my back instead of wherever it pleases (helps keep me from tripping all over it).


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## rochem (Jan 31, 2014)

If I'm pulling freshly cut tie line that's all nicely arranged, I'll put it through a belt loop. If it's all a mess in a bucket and I don't have time to thread it through a belt loop, I'll just shove it in my pocket with half sticking out - not perfect, but it's quick and out of my way. I work with a lot of people who put it around their neck, but I just don't like it - too in the way, and I have to be aware of whenever I bend down or move my arms around a lot. It just tends to fall off for me, even when I'm using properly cut 2-cubit lengths.


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## JChenault (Jan 31, 2014)

I put in through a belt loop, and tie a loose overhand knot to keep it from falling out.


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## MarshallPope (Jan 31, 2014)

I almost always keep it pulled through my right side belt loop. That way, it is easy to just grab one piece with one hand without (normally) worrying about the remainder of it pulling out onto the floor.


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## echnaret (Feb 6, 2014)

When I'm grabbing it from a bucket, I usually just hang it between my pants and belt. When I'm striking an electric, it usually ends up around my neck, but inevitably falls off after a short time. Around the belt usually stays on, unless the tieline was cut to twice it's proper length (the above mentioned two cubits).


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## theatricalmatt (Feb 6, 2014)

I have a chalk bag on my work belt (left hip), which works well for carrying tie line, and the occasionally other small thing as well.


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## artable (Feb 22, 2015)

I have a carabiner with 2-4 long-ish strands cow hitched to it. The carabiner lives on one of my belt loops. Untying a cow hitch is super easy to do with one hand, but you do need two hands to put tie line back on the biner. Other than that, it's a most convenient setup.


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## Jay Ashworth (Feb 22, 2015)

My tie lines generally show up on a patch panel, and I patch them to the board.


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## Brandofhawk (Feb 22, 2015)

Generally, I keep it through a belt loop.

If I pick up tieline one at a time, I pass a loop of tie line through the belt loop and pull the other side though. When I need a piece, I can grab it by the loop and pull. 
If I pick up a whole bunch, I'll stick one side of it all through, and take the side on the inside side of my body and loop it around back to my pocket or wrap it around my leather man/flashlight on my hip. 
If I am moving really quickly I wont even bother attaching it to myself and put it on my neck or I'll throw a wad of it on the hang position next to me and move it as I go. 

When I store tieline, I try to keep it neat and orderly, take it from one side and tie a loose overhand knot out of all of it at once, usually chunks of anywhere between 15-30 pieces.


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## de27192 (Feb 26, 2015)

Breckt said:


> drape it over their neck



Personally, I won't - and won't let techs working for me - carry anything around my/their neck.

The amount of work at height we do in theatre makes it silly. Falling from height may kill you, it may paralyse you, it may result in serious injuries, it may not even do that. Fall from height with something around your neck... even the best case scenario is likely to be pretty severe... worst case scenario with a tough piece of line that's caught something pretty solid, will be decapitation.

For tying tools on, just use either a proper springy tool lanyard, or just bungee cord, leave it tied to your tool belt.

Putting anything around your neck is a mugs game. I don't even allow jewellery, even though that is far more likely to snap under load. It's not worth it.


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## rochem (Feb 26, 2015)

de27192 said:


> Personally, I won't - and won't let techs working for me - carry anything around my/their neck.
> 
> The amount of work at height we do in theatre makes it silly. Falling from height may kill you, it may paralyse you, it may result in serious injuries, it may not even do that. Fall from height with something around your neck... even the best case scenario is likely to be pretty severe... worst case scenario with a tough piece of line that's caught something pretty solid, will be decapitation.
> 
> ...



I think you may be misunderstanding what we're talking about here. At least in my experience, the tie line is simply draped across the back of the neck and hangs down in front of the shoulders, and is not tied in any way. I'm having an extremely hard time imagining how this could lead to strangulation, or indeed any injury of any kind - the only possibility being if someone fell from height and managed to catch both sides of the same piece of line under some sort of heavy weight while also somehow flipping the line from the back of their neck to the front. I do agree with you on principle (a lot of people wear a paint pen & sharpie on a tie-line lanyard around their neck, and I agree that this does present a potential safety issue - not to mention the ID badges we're frequently required to wear), but I'd argue that the chances of being strangled by a loose piece of tie line draped across your shoulders are virtually nonexistent.


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