Disclaimer: I am not a mechanical engineer and the statements made represent my opinions and are based on my observations and deduction. I don’t claim that this is safe for any particular purpose.
This entry is pretty long, so I am breaking it into multiple posts for the individual sections.
Issue: Stakes are used to anchor an item (tarp, canopy, etc.) to the ground. When the stake is driven into the ground and the cord is attached at the head, it generates an unbalanced force on the stake. This produces a pivoting action on the stake when the cord is tensioned. The effect is that a compressive force is applied to the ground in front of the stake above the pivot point and to the ground behind the stake below the pivot point.
The result is that the holding power of the stake is reduced from its full length to the equivalent holding power of two much shorter stakes which are applying their pressure to a smaller areas.
T he more the stake is pulled toward vertical, the more the hole it was driven into is expanded providing less constriction on the stake and the easier it is to pull out of the ground. In addition, as the stake is pulled toward vertical, it is subjected to a much greater vertical force trying to pull it out of the ground.
In short, the worse it gets, the worse it gets.