Miscellaneous Knots
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If you have never visited this website before then I would recommend that you begin at the Home Page. It explains that the type of rope you use, the age of the rope, the wear and tear on the rope, the types of knots you tie, whether you tied the knots properly or not, whether you "dressed" the knots properly or not, whether you "set" the knots properly or not, and so on, all have an impact on the Safe Working Load of your rope and the security of the knots you tie. Whatever risks are associated with the rope or string that you use and the knots that you tie, remember that the risks are entirely your own.
Here is a list of the articles in this series. Every link will open up in a new window to give you more control as you browse around in this website:
Be sure to practice tying your favorite knots periodically (from different angles) so that you'll know how to tie them when you need them.
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According to Budworth, "Clifford W. Ashley, whose monumental work The Ashley Book of Knots is every knot enthusiast's bible, devised this knot sometime before 1910." (The Complete Book of Knots, p.32).
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Notice that the end of the rope is tied off with a Bowline, although a Double Dragon can be used as well.
In order to see how this hitch works, tie a fairly large Overhand Knot (picture 1). Where the rope crosses itself in the middle of the knot (near the blue dot in picture 1), grab the strand of rope on top and bring it towards you, then lay it back down as in picture 2 (notice where the blue dot is in picture 2). In picture 2, notice that there is a strand of rope which runs diagonally from the bottom left to the top right, creating two large loops. Place a plastic cup (or some other tall object) on top of that diagonal strand of rope, then carefully bring those two loops up the sides of the cup, and you should be able to lift up the cup using both ends of the rope (picture 3).
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In picture 3 (above), notice that the end of the rope is tied off with a Bowline, although a Double Dragon can be used as well.
Method #2
Notice that picture 2 (above) looks similar to a
Figure-Eight Knot.
Try tying a
Figure-Eight Knot
instead of an
Overhand Knot,
and you'll find that it works just as well for making a Barrel Hitch.
Method #3
Once you see how the Barrel Hitch works, an easier way to tie it is to set the object on top of the rope (without any knots in the rope) and then tie a simple
Overhand Knot
on top of the object as in the picture below. Now pull apart the
Overhand Knot
(as indicated by the arrows in the picture below) and bring those two strands of rope down the sides of the object so that you end up with picture 3 above.
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Budworth calls this a "Blimp Knot" because it is similar to a Zeppelin Bend but is smaller and softer, and he says, "This is a nicely symmetrical ornamentation for an otherwise uninteresting length of cord." (The Complete Book of Decorative Knots, p.34).
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The Double Overhand Knot is sometimes used as a "stopper knot," such as with the Figure-Eight Bend. However, it can be difficult to untie.
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The Figure-Eight Knot is frequently used around the world as a "stopper knot."
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To learn how to throw and spin a lariat, see Throw a Lariat.
Sailors refer to this type of knot (which will automatically tighten up under a strain) as a "running knot." For more "running knots," see the Running Bowline.
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Since this is a decorative knot, it can also be found in the Decorative Knots section.
NOTE: For clarity, the Timber Hitch in the picture only shows the end of the rope making a single turn around the main part of the rope. It is much more secure to make at least three turns around the rope instead.
Budworth says, "Use the killick hitch to tow long loads through water or drag them overland. It works well on rough objects, such as tree trunks, but can slip on smooth spars." (The Complete Book of Knots, p.47)
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Notice that this is really just a Slip Knot with an object such as a screwdriver stuck through the loop.
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Here's another way to remember how to tie a Reef Knot. Notice that the end of rope which is coming in from the left in picture 1 (which crosses over the other end of rope) is the same end of rope which crosses over the other end of rope in the second Overhand Knot in picture 2. Therefore, my way of remembering how to tie a Reef Knot is simply to make sure that the same end of rope crosses over the other end of rope in both of the Overhand Knots.
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The Reef Knot is perhaps the best known parcel knot, but it does not hold well under a load. It is also the best knot for tying a triangular bandage. Ashley says that it is admirable as a binder knot, "but under no circumstances should it be used as a bend." (The Ashley Book of Knots, p.258, #1402).
In other words, the Reef Knot should never be used for tying two ends of rope together. For some secure ways of tying two ends of rope, see the Bends section.
Granny Knot
If the Reef Knot is not tied correctly then you will end up with a Granny Knot (which is far inferior to the Reef Knot -- see Budworth's comment below).
According to Budworth, "Tying a reef knot around something ensures that the more strain placed upon it, the tighter it is pulled. It is not a bend and is quite weak (reducing the breaking strength of whatever it is tied in to no more than 45%), so avoid using it for ropes or any two bits of mismatched cordage. ... The Ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians all knew this knot and were aware of its superiority over the unreliable granny knot, which both slips and jams." (The Complete Book of Knots, p.134-135, emphasis added).
Now that you know the difference between a Reef Knot and a Granny Knot, try taking a close look at the way you tie your shoelaces. You are either tying them as Reef Knots or as Granny Knots, but notice that the Reef Knot will result in a better shoelace knot than the Granny Knot will. For some interesting variations on tying your shoelaces, see the Shoelace Knots.
Notice that just about any loop knot can be used to make this type of "running knot," such as an Alpine Butterfly or a Double Dragon.
For making lariats, cowboys generally prefer the Honda Knot.
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A more secure way to isolate a damaged section of rope is by using an Alpine Butterfly.
A decorative version of the Sheep Shank is called the Sheep Shank Man o' War. To tie this knot, first make four identical loops (picture 1). Reach through the two left-most loops and grab the closest part of the third loop (picture 2), then reach through the two right-most loops and grab the closest part of the next loop (picture 3), then pull your hands back out of all of the loops. Pictures 2 and 3 show these actions as two separate steps, but you would actually do them both at the same time. Tighten the knot by pulling on both ends of the rope (picture 4).
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There are numerous interesting variations on the standard shoelace knot at Ian's Shoelace Site.
NOTE: For clarity, picture 2 only shows the end of the rope making a single turn around the main part of the rope. It is much more secure to make at least three turns around the rope instead.
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After you bring the rope over the top of the items to be lashed down, tie a loop in the rope. An Alpine Butterfly or some other mid-line loop will work fine, but many people use a simple Slip Knot as in picture 1. Pass the end of the rope through a ring or some other solid feature on your truck, car, etc., then pass it through the loop which you had tied in the rope (picture 1). You now have an improvised pulley system which will multiply the amount of force that you can apply as you tighten down the load. Then tie off the end of the rope with your favorite hitch.
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Using a single loop knot such as an Alpine Butterfly or a Slip Knot makes a sharp bend for the rope to go around as you pull on it, which can lower the breaking strength of the rope and shorten the life of the rope. In addition, a Slip Knot can jam under heavy tension. An improved Trucker's Hitch can be made by tying a Slip Knot in a doubled rope (picture 2 above), then passing the end of the rope through some solid feature on your truck (for example), then passing it through the three loops in the doubled Slip Knot (picture 3). Brion Toss refers to this as the Biegner Hitch (The Complete Rigger's Apprentice, p.15).
Here is a list of the articles in this series. Every link will open up in a new window to give you more control as you browse around in this website:
Consider visiting some of my other websites!
You'll find a Christian ministry with dozens and dozens of articles and answers to many questions that I have received over the years (please feel free to send me your questions and prayer requests!); plus a collection of some of the best self-working card tricks around (no sleight-of-hand required!); plus a bunch of amazing/funny/fascinating/interesting videos from around the Web which are all clean and family-friendly; plus lots of reviews of numerous fun and educational (and free!) computer games that you can download; plus a huge collection of cool science tricks and other fun stuff to try (using things around the house), and more!
For a complete list, go to http://www.Layhands.com/DavesWebsites.htm.
Hope you like 'em!
Modification History
11/17/2006: | Modified the description of how to tie the Jug Sling Hitch. Added a link to my new page called "Dave's Websites." |
10/17/2005: | Added the ABOK # to the list of names for each knot (based on Clifford Ashley's The Ashley Book Of Knots). Added the ability to download this entire website (all 9 articles) in a single .ZIP file. |
01/13/2005: | Modified some of the wording throughout the article. Added the Axle Hitch. Enhanced the description of the Reef Knot. Added a link to the "real" Square Knot. Added the Trucker's Hitch. |
07/09/2004: | Added links to some interesting variations on the basic shoelace knot. |
06/13/2004: | Added the Honda Knot, added the Running Bowline, and added new pictures of the Barrel Hitch. |
05/18/2004: | Modified my description of how to tie the Jug Sling Hitch. |
05/10/2004: | Added the Jug Sling Hitch and the Scaffold Hitch, and modified my description of the Reef Knot. |
05/04/2004: | Added the Blimp Knot. |
12/10/2002: | New article. |
Dave Root
Send e-mail to: dave@Layhands.com