Many of us admire the courage of those who try the cut sheepshank. Admire but not emulate. It might be safe with natural fibre ropes, which are not generally used in steeplejacking, mountaineering, arborculture, or any of the other dangling occupations, and it's a bit slippery to trust under load. And it may come out hard. I experimented with shaking one out that I'd draped over rock as one might a natural belay, and while I couldn't shake it out as I wanted, I also just did not feel up to trusting it. But it's a fun thought.
One can also use it as the loops for a sort of doubled up trucker's hitch.
G'luck
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