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If you're not handsome, at least be handy ;) Got into knots partly as a hobby, partly because they actually come in handy when camping or when the license plate
by floatrock 7y ago
If you're not handsome, at least be handy ;) Got into knots partly as a hobby, partly because they actually come in handy when camping or when the license plate holder of your car gets knocked off from a low curb and you need a quick way of reattaching it. You know, good life skills.
If you want to experiment, there's really only three knots that will solve 80% of your common needs:
1) Bowline: https://www.animatedknots.com/bowline-knot https://www.animatedknots.com/bowline-knot -- secure loop that doesn't slide, easy to undo (mnemonic: "rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and runs back down the hole")
2) Midshipman's Hitch: https://www.animatedknots.com/midshipmans-hitch-knot https://www.animatedknots.com/midshipmans-hitch-knot -- sliding adjustable-tension knot for tying down gear or guy lines
3) Square Knot: https://www.animatedknots.com/square-knot https://www.animatedknots.com/square-knot For quick tying of two ropes together. Fun fact: the square knot is also how you already tie your shoelaces! You're just using a loop (a "bight") instead of the end of the rope because bights are commonly added to quickly undo knots (see, you're already using advanced techniques!). And funner fact: if you understand how you accidentally reverse the square knot to make it weaker, you can understand how NOT to tie your shoelaces in the way that makes them come undone easily!
Bonus Points: the Trucker's Hitch for tying down gear. It's basically any number of fixed-loop knots like the bowline to create a "pully" (mechanical advantage), fixed by any number of adjustable tension knots like the midshipman's to hold it down.
- LgWoodenBadger 7y agoYou really should never use the square knot as a bend (joining two lines together) as it can spill/capsize. "But under no circumstances should it ever be tied as a bend, for if tied with two ends of unequal size, or if one end is stiffer or smoother than the other, the knot is almost bound to spill. Except for its true purpose of binding it is a knot to be shunned." To quote from Ashley. Others refer to it as the most dangerous knot because of the number of people killed by relying on it as a bend.
- hprotagonist 7y agoi strongly prefer the EDK, despite the name. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_death-knot https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_death-knot
- oasisbob 7y agoIf you don't like calling it an EDK (agreed!) just ignore its awful misleading nickname and call it an offset overhand bend instead.
- djtriptych 7y agoI actually changed how I tie my shoes at like 32 years old after browsing this site a few years back :)
- JadeNB 7y agoMe too, at 35!
- tomxor 7y agoWouldn't argue with the bowline, although do make sure you give it a generous safety stopper knot if it's vital (I climb with it and consider it incomplete without). It's a good alternative to figure of eight if you are untying frequently. RE the "square not", in the UK this is usually called a reef knot: never use this for safety, a far superior alternative is the double fishermans https://www.animatedknots.com/double-fishermans-bend-knot https://www.animatedknots.com/double-fishermans-bend-knot, also use this for climbing, this is considered the best, strongest, safest way to join the ends of two ropes and it's pretty simple (you can add stoppers for safety or just make very long ends unlike the video). Unlike the bowline it can be a bitch to undo, but if you need safety...
- sizzzzlerz 7y agoI add a couple half-hitches to the bowline for extra assurance. I like the sheetbend, or double sheetbend for tying two ropes together, as long as they are similar is size and not to thick.
- tomxor 7y ago> I add a couple half-hitches to the bowline for extra assurance. That sounds good, but the thing with that knot is it's not "assurance", it's required, it has a tendency to come undone without it, the free end just works it's way back toward the knot - especially when wet which makes many sailors shun it. Many climbers have also died using this knot without a stopper. The stopper should be considered an integral part of the bowline, there are other bowline variations which also serve this purpose as with your example.
- pbalau 7y agoSorry, but what? Sailors shunning the bowline? RYA Level 4 Dinghy Sailing is even teaching you how to tie a bowline around yourself with one hand. I never used a stopper on a bowline, if done correctly you don't need a stopper, is not going to slip.
- 7y ago
- JshWright 7y agoI'd replace the Bowline with the Figure-8. It's faster to tie on a bight, and only slightly slower when tying around a fixed anchor. It's also a lot stronger and less failure prone.
- AceyMan 7y ago> Fun fact: the square knot is also how you already tie your shoelaces! Uhh, in theory. In practice no one knows how to tie their laces any more. I can go days and see nothing but granny knots and self-invented tangle (and I sneak photos to document such). This seems to be an international issue, as well. Foreign nationals fare no better than we Yankees in my observations. I don't know when this happened—the application of velcro in kid's shoes?—but it's definitely a real thing. Be warned: once you start to look at people's shoes ... it's like a bad dream. (p.s. Ian's Shoelace Site is a great resource and the double bunny ears knot (aka "Ian's Knot") is a life changer once you start to use it everydsy. I refer to it as the "All-day knot" since the added bight makes it last all day.