Knots: the first step to becoming the next MacGyver
| knotsIt all started in the woods, in a survival training meant to forge new Rambos; it ended in the city with a cheaper version of MacGyver.
Actually, the survival training didn’t explain how useful knots might be in day-to-day life, but it was enough to spark an interest in me.
So I took The Morrow Guide to Knots (MGTK), an illustrated book that shows how to tie the most common knots and explains why they are used. Even though the book was good, it didn’t fuel my interest. I was just learning the knots as a hobby.
Then I started thinking outside my box, which didn’t have ropes at the time, and understood that ropes and knots can be very helpful in everyday life.
Whenever I had a problem, I started to think about whether a rope could help me. For example:
I used it to lock my cat’s leash to my jeans, created a handle for a garage box, attached shirts and bottles to my backpack, made a leash for my dog1 and fixed my car bumper in the middle of the road. For this reason, I have a rope tied to my backpack in a quick-release manner , just in case I need it.
I’ve discovered that a simple knot can solve many problems; sometimes the most unexpected skills can become invaluable tools in our everyday lives, transforming challenges into manageable tasks.
Types and uses «
There are a lot of knots out there, that can be categorized in many types. The following are the categories I utilize:
I will list all the knots that I use and for each paragraph I will highlight
the most significant knot with (*).
Many of these notes appear in The Ashley Book of Knots (ABOK), the bible of the knots, and will have a reference to the pages of the book.
Stopper Knots «
Stoppers are used primarily to make other knots more secure: are made in the end of a rope to prevent its slipping through an aperture when the rope is being used.
For example, it is added to the Bowline , which can shake loose, to eliminate the risk of undoing.
Double Overhand (*) «
[ABOK # 516, p 84]
The Double Overhand Knot is based on the Overhand Knot with one additional turn. It creates a larger knot that is far less likely to shake loose and looks cooler. It is also really easy to tie. Beyond two tuns, the knot must be worked into shape, and for that reason, it may be considered more decorative than practical.
The Overhand knot, in its variations (Double and Triple), provide the basis for other useful knots as the Fisherman’s Bend , Scaffold Knot , and Strangle knot.
I used this knot in my dog leash1 as a stopper for the Scaffold knot. I had a fair excess of rope, enough to make the double overhand knot. It is more beautiful and secure than the simple overhand knot.
Ashley Stopper Knot «
[ABOK # 526, p 86]
This is a less-known knot that is bulkier and less prone to shake than the other Stopper knots. It may be better in some circumstances when you need a bulkier knot; but remember that It is easy to do it right, and unfortunately, it is also easy to get it wrong.
Heaving Line Knot «
[ABOK # 538, p 88]
The Heaving Line knots are very strong and don’t wear the fibers of the rope, and add weight to the end of a rope making it heavier.
There are different types of Heaving Line Knots, I prefer the Franciscan or Monk’s Knot [MGTK p 36] because it is very easy and quick to tie and hard to untie.
I tie it at each end of my dog’s toy rope, to make them bulkier and strong, becoming easy to hold for both of us when we are playing.
They are also used to make the end of the rope heavier before throwing it, making the throw more precise.
Hitch Knots «
Hitches are used for tying a rope directly to or around an object, and many of them capsize if removed from the supporting object.
Half Hitch (*) «
[ABOK # 50, p 14]
[MGTK p 58]Half Hitches are temporary knots not intended to support a lot of strain. They are often used to complete and make other knots stronger and more secure, like with the Anchor Hitch and the Taut Line Hitch , and the more Half Hitches you concatenate the more secure a knot becomes
The Half Hitch is similar to the Clove Hitch because they have the same knot form, but the difference is that the first is tied around its own standing end, and the second is tied around another object.
As I said it is mainly used to make other knots more secure, but I also use it to attach little things to my backpack, like my Hat, because It is very easy and quick to tie and untie.
Anchor Hitch «
[ABOK # 1841, p 309] [MGTK p 60]
Also known as Fisherman’s Bend Hitch, this is one of the strongest and most secure hitches. Used to anchor the extremity of a rope to something.
Bull hitch «
It is a better version of the more famous Cow Hitch, it is more stable and less prone to slipping. This hitch is very easy to tie and is typically tied around a ring. I use it to tie a lanyard to my keychain or Swiss army knife.
Noose Knots «
Also known as Running Knots, this type of knot is tied in hand, and, when placed
around an object, renders and constricts when the standing part is pulled. It is
not a hitch because a hitch is tied directly to an object, and it doesn’t always
constrict when the rope is pulled.
Any
Loop Knots
becomes a Noose if the running end passes through
the loop.
Scaffold Knot (*) «
[ABOK # 1120, p 204]
This knot is one of my favorites.
It is easy to tie, strong, and secure.I used it in my dog’s leash1 and also in some circumstances when I want to tie a rope around an object that cannot be easily reached, like when I needed to tie a rope around a screw to fix my car.
Canadian Jam Knot «
[ABOK # 2069, p 336]
This noose is simple and quick to tie; however, it can loosen easily. To maintain its form, I secure it with two Half Hitches or a Taut Line Hitch tied to the same rope.
I like this knot because it is really easy to tighten the rope around the object without needing too much force.
I use this method to bundle my sets of blankets and to secure one corner of the comforter cover: this allows me to hold the comforter in place while I insert the remaining portion inside.
Loop Knots «
These knots serve the same purpose as a hitch, but they are tied in hand,
which is the main distinction between the two. Its shape, a loop, is not
dependent on the object that it is fast to, and it may be removed at any time
and will still retain its shape.
A Loop Knot can become a Noose if the standing part is passed through the loop.
Bowline Knot (*) «
[ABOK # 1010, p 186]
[MGTK p 70]If you have to remember only one knot, this is the one.
The Bowline Loop Knot can hold heavy weights and it is easy to tie and untie. It is so easy that it can be tied with one hand, it is useful if you are injured or cannot use the other hand for some reason.
It is pretty secure, but it can very readily work its way untied when unloaded and I would not put my life on it. So It is best to add a Stopper Knot or a more secure Bowline variant like the Scott’s Locked Bowline.
Double Dragon Loop «
The Double Dragon Loop is a less known knot, and it is a shame because it is
- more secure than the standard Bowline : doesn’t need a Stopper knot
- it doesn’t bind: it is easy to untie,
- it is highly adjustable: while you are tieing you can easily determine the loop size that you want,
- it is an inline knot: can be tied in the middle of the rope.
Even though it has all these advantages, it is not present in the ABOK, but we can find a similar one: the Angler’s Loop [ABOK # 1017 p186-187], which is tied with only one loop around the knot, making it is less secure than the Double Dragon Loop.
Bend Knots «
Bends are used for joining two ropes at the ends to form a longer rope, or to tie two ending parts of the same rope together closing the rope. Bends should only be used as a temporary measure.
Square Knot «
[ABOK # 1402, p 258]
[MGTK p 128]Also known as Reef Knot.
This bend knot is very easy to tie and untie, for this reason, it is widely known. But it must not be used to secure things, it is slippery and it comes undone. If tied with two ends of unequal size, or if one end is stiffer or more slippery than the other, it is bound to spill.
For this reason it cannot be trusted.
It should only be used for making temporary joints in identical ropes which will not be subject to strain.
Nevertheless, the Square Knot has many uses but not where safety is critical.
For example, I use it when I tie my water bottle to my backpack: do a Purcell Prusik Loop over the bottle and close the rope with a Square knot over the handler of the backpack. I use the Square Knot and not the Fisherman’s Bend , because I want to tie and untie it often.
Tip for tiening: put always the same rope on top of the other and under the other, this will make it easy to remember.
Sheet Bend (*) «
[ABOK # 1431, p 262]
[MGTK p 122]This Bend Knot can be used to bend two ropes of the same, or different, diameters and types. It has the interesting property that the greater the strain put on the ropes, the better the jamming action.
It is quickly made and easily untied and by doubling the knot you make the Double Sheet Bend that is more secure especially when you have two ropes that are markedly different in size.
The Slippery version of it can be used to tie pants easily.
Fisherman’s Bend «
[ABOK # 294, p 50]
[MGTK p 140]This is one of my favorite knots. It is a very secure, easy to tie, and hard to untie, for this reason it is used by climbers to bend the ropes.
It is made with two or three Overhand Knots tied around the other standing end, obtaining two knots that hold each other ropes and when pulled they will crash with each other, welding the knots together.
It is suggested to tie more than one overhand knot because it is not secure enough. The more overhand knots are done, the more it is secure, and make sure to leave enough extra rope.
I use this knot only when I don’t want to untie it, like in my dog leash1 or for example, it is used with the Prusik Knot .
Lashings Knots «
A lashing may wrap and bind, or else bind only with a multiplicity of turns, a parcel, box, chest or other container, either for transportation or for storage. It may secure something movable to something that is fixed, with various turns and hitches, so that it cannot shift from its position. Some of these knots act like the zip ties.
Trucker’s Hitch «
[ABOK # 2124, p 344]
This knot is used primarily for securing loads or tensioning ropes for tarpaulins, or any other cases when you need to tension the rope. It is widely used for its simplicity and the fact that it provides a mechanical advantage when tightening the rope.
Here you can find a cool variant of it.
Taut Line Hitch (*) «
The Taut Line Hitch knot creates an adjustable loop at the end of a rope, like a zip tie, that can be slid by hand either to lengthen or to shorten the rope but, left alone, it stays where it is.
There are three different knots, very similar to each other, that are called in this manner: Midshipman’s Hitch [ABOK # 1855, p 310], Rolling Hitch [ABOK # 1856, p 310], and the [ABOK # 1857, p 310]
The Midshipman’s Hitch is the strongest, the other two are easier to adjust and secure enough for most applications.
(What makes the Midshipman’s Hitch Knot the strongest and most secure is the creation of the useful intermediate Awning Hitch; this takes the strain while tying the final Half Hitch. Also, it is relatively easy to tie or untie under load and, even after being heavily loaded, it is reasonably easy to release For more information look at this video )
These knots are extremely versatile and quick to make, I often use them to tie the end rope to itself and tension it a little bit (if you want to tension your rope, you better use the Trucker’s Hitch , which have a stronger tension power), or, using the loop that is formed, to compress object, like sleeping bag, or to hold objects together like a couple of books.
Prusik Knot «
This knot is one of the best knots for friction hitch: it holds its place even under load, you have to manually pull it to move it. It is very secure.
Because the Prusik Knot is a symmetrical slide and grip knot, it is useful if a load might need to be applied in either direction
It is widely used in climbing, and I used it in my dog leash1, in which it is the main protagonist because enables the leash to fold in itself without losing strength.
This knot is also used to create the Purcell Prusik Loop , a zip tie knot, as you will see next.
Purcell Prusik Loop «
This is a Prusik knot that is tied to the same rope, basically to itself.
To tie it you have to bend the two ends of the rope, for example with a Fisherman’s Bend Knot , if you need a secure bend, or a Square Knot if you want to untie it later on. After the bend, you create the Prusik Knot and pass the rest of the rope inside it.
This knot takes a lot of rope, the double of the end result, but I like it and it feels more secure than other zip tie knots, for this reason it is my first chooise if I need a zip tie knot that is secure. I use it to hold my water bottle because my rope is too long to use the Taut Line Hitch which doesn’t need the bend.
Decorative Knots «
Diamond knot (*) «
[ABOK # 787, p 141]
[MGTK p 200] Also known as Lanyard KnotThis knot can be categorized as a stopper knot, loop knot, lanyard knot, and decorative knot. But it is mainly used as a decorative, lanyard knot.
It ties together two ends of the rope, usually of the same rope, and it looks cool for this reason it is used for decorating any cord that is to be left in view such as a knife or lanyard.
Monk’s Knot «
I already talked of this knot in the Heaving Line Knot , and I quote it here because I use it even as a decorative knot for lanyards.
I use this knot when I have only the end of a rope to decorate: it is bulky, a bit long, and also a bit decorative.