Rope question for those who "know the knot"
I was doing some ground level training with an apprentice today. Secondary racks 5' high to work on using blocks, grips, crimp splices etc. At one point I was explaining how if you had a midspan break with more slack to pull out than your trouble blocks could take up, you could tie a bunch of half hitches on the conductor and secure it to the pole while you rigged up the blocks for another bite. So he tied a clove hitch instead of the half hitches. I'm not a whiz with ropes, but I know all the knots I was taught in my apprenticeship and I seem to remember my old instructor saying clove hitches were not that reliable and were only used for tying things down that were not critical. I use other knots for this too, but the half hitches I can tie with one hand and they work well for me. I never dropped a wire in the street yet.
Any thoughts on this? I don't really want to make an issue with the guy if he is comfortable with that knot and it holds. Some info on the net says the clove hitch is akin to the sheepshank and not compatible with todays synthetic ropes.