Stringing Together our Rope Testing Grips, String Grips, and Wire Grips ASTMs

Stringing Together our Rope Testing Grips, String Grips, and Wire Grips ASTMs

I was looking at our "ASTM DIN, JIS, ISO, TAPPI and other Standards List" and simply noticed that our Ropes Grips, Strings Grips, and Wire grips are not exactly threaded together. We have categories in our ASTM library, sure, and most of either our rope or string articles—single-strand or otherwise—may fall under textiles, while wire will typically fall under metals (particularly carbon or alloy steel wire).

However, I personally know too well from experience that it can be difficult to find what you're looking for—even when you already know exactly what it is.

How exactly do you type things into Google sometimes? Tools, scientific words, fixtures… sometimes you’re looking for a fastener, you know what it is in your mind, you can picture it clearly—but you don’t know or remember exactly what it’s called. (It’s a fender washer.)

In material testing, this problem is amplified. A “rope” could be twisted fiber, braided synthetic yarn, aramid cordage, or stranded steel wire rope. A “string” might be a single textile filament, a multi-ply yarn, or a low-power knitted structure. And “wire” may refer to anything from a single drawn steel filament to a complex multi-strand rope with a defined lay length and construction.

So, I decided to put most of our Ropes, String, and Wire grips into one category—which will simply be this blog post.

Relevant ASTM Standards Covered by Rope Grip, String Grip, and Wire Testing Grips

Below is a consolidated list of ASTM standards that commonly rely on rope grips, bollard grips, capstan-style grips, wedge grips, or specialized cord and wire fixtures to apply tensile load without slippage, stress concentration, or premature failure at the grip interface.

• ASTM A1007 – Standard Specification for Carbon Steel Wire for Wire RopeCovers material requirements and mechanical properties for carbon steel wire intended for wire rope manufacturing, where downstream tensile testing of finished rope assemblies is often required.

• ASTM A1023 – Standard Specification for Stranded Carbon Steel Wire Ropes for General PurposesAddresses construction, strength grades, and performance requirements of stranded wire ropes that must later be verified through tensile testing of full rope or strand sections.

• ASTM A931 - Standard Test Method for Tension Testing of Wire Ropes and Strand A critical standard that defines tensile loading procedures for wire rope assemblies, emphasizing proper gripping methods to avoid localized crushing, slippage, or uneven load distribution across strands.

• ASTM D2256 - Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Yarns by the Single-Strand Method One of the most widely used textile tensile standards, requiring precise gripping of single yarns under controlled gauge lengths, often using capstan or pneumatic yarn grips to prevent fiber damage.

• ASTM D2594 – Standard Test Method for Stretch Properties of Knitted Fabrics Having Low PowerFocuses on elongation and recovery characteristics of knitted materials, where specimen handling and gripping must avoid altering loop structure or introducing pre-load artifacts.

• ASTM D3822 - Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Single Textile Fibers Addresses extremely low-force tensile testing of individual fibers, where specialized micro-grips or wrap-style fixtures are essential to ensure valid stress-strain data.

Why Grouping These Standards (and Grips) Matters

Organizing data can be a challenge—not so much in and of itself if it’s for yourself, but more so if it’s for other people after you’ve organized it. The real test of a system isn’t whether you can find something today—it’s whether someone else can find it six months from now.

I think the key question is this: Can someone else find the book you put back in the library after you’re done with it?

In the world of material testing, grips and fixtures are often reused across industries. The same capstan grip used for ASTM D2256 yarn testing may also be ideal for synthetic rope, cordage, or braided polymer lines. Likewise, wire rope grips designed for ASTM A931 may also be applied to specialty cables, mechanical strands, or non-standard assemblies with similar geometry and load requirements.

By grouping ropes, strings, and wire grips together—rather than forcing them into rigid material categories—we aim to make it easier for engineers, lab managers, and technicians to find the right gripping solution based on specimen behavior, not just material classification.

We’re Always Improving—With Your Input

If you have any suggestions on how we can further improve the organization of our grips, fixtures, tensile systems, compression setups, or testing machines, or frankly any of our material science accessories in our catalog, we are always open to hearing about them.

Feel free to contact us with any suggestions. Any way to help you find what you need for your material testing needs is why we are here. Or any way you can help us help you.

I think that would string together nicely.

Thank you once again for considering Universal Grip Co. for all of your materials testing needs.

— Chris, COO

Universal Grip Company