COMMON USEFUL KNOTS
There are literally thousands
of knots that have been developed since the first knot was tied. Some of these
knots were of practical use (securing ends of ropes, joining ropes together,
shortening or ropes or decorative). Knots have been sorted into general
categories - Bends, Bights, Splices and Lashings.
The knots presented here are
simple to tie and will handle most need's around the home, at a campsite, or
in an emergency. It is important that you learn and practice tying a knot
around the home before trying them in the field or in an emergency. Knots can
and will fail if not properly executed.
CAUTION:
When securing (tightening) a knot, it should be lubricated by using water or
saliva prior to pulling tight. If lubricating is not practical, then when
cinching (tightening) up the knot do so slowly. The reason for doing this is
to reduce the heating of the line or rope, because this heating will cause
damage and reduce the strength of the rope - inducing failure at a critical
time during use. The thinner the line or rope the more critical it becomes.
OVERHAND KNOT
This is the most basic of
knots, but it is probably the weakest of knots in terms of reducing rope
strength. The overhand knot is often used at the end of ropes to prevent their
unraveling and as the commencement of other knots such as a simple noose,
overhand loop, angler's loop, fisherman's knot and a water knot. It is a very
secure knot and should be used when you want a knot that is permanent.
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Make a loop with your rope.
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Take one end of your rope and
stick it through the loop you just made.
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Pull both ends of the rope
tight.
While this seems so simple
the overhand knot is important, as it is frequently used in fastening the ends
of yarns and strands in splicing, whipping, and seizing.
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DOUBLE OVERHAND KNOT
This is essentially a doubled
Overhand Knot. To tie this knot, simply tie an Overhand Knot in two loops
instead of only in one loop (images 1, 2, and 3). Dress and set the knot image
4).
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IMAGE 1
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IMAGE 2
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IMAGE 3
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IMAGE 4
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The Double Overhand Knot is
sometimes used as a "stopper knot". However, it can be difficult to untie.
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JOINING KNOTS
SQUARE KNOT
Also known as the Reef Knot,
this knot was used for centuries by sailors for reefing sails and tying things
aboard ship. It is important that this knot should not be used as a bend (for
tying two ropes together). It is unsafe and can come apart. Be sure to form
the square knot and avoid tying a granny knot, by making sure that both parts
of the rope, the standing line and the free end, exit the knot together.
This knot is typically used
in light applications such as string wrapping a package. It is not intended
for use in applications where high tension (lifting) situations arise.
Notice in the drawing that
the ends of rope are both under the right-hand bight, and the ends of rope are
both over the left-hand bight.
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GRANNY KNOT
This an example of a common
error when tying the Square Knot. When a Square Knot is incorrectly tied it
will fail when placed under strain.
Notice in the drawing that
the ends of rope are not under the right-hand bight, and the ends of rope are
not over the left-hand bight. This knot WILL FAIL during even casual use.
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J KNOT
When splicing two lines of
similar diameter together, the little known J Knot proves to be stronger than
either a Blood Knot or surgeon's Knot. In fact the J Knot beat all other knots
for that purpose according to the Feburary 2009 Issue of Field & Stream.
In the J Knot, unlike the
Blood Knot or Surgeon Knot, the standing line goes straight thru the knot's
initial turns. This feature prevents the line from wrapping tightly around a
small radius which may cause heat build up resulting in fracturing (of
particular concern when dealing with synthetic material such as nylon).
In the illustration below in
order to facilitate photographing the knot tying process, the blue cord
represents one line and brown cord to represent the other line.
Tying the J Knot:
Overlap the main line and the
attaching line by at least 12 inches.
Tie a large overhand loop,
pulling the attaching line all the way through.
Hold the loop of the overhand
open as you pass the two lines under the bottom and up through the loop.
Then pass the two lines over
the top of the loop and back through the loop in a downward direction.
Then take one more turn under
the bottom part of the loop and upward through the loop again (Not
illustrated) and pull all four lines to tighten the loop.
As with all knots, do not
forget to lubricate the line with water or saliva prior to pulling tight and
be sure to cut the tag ends correctly.
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SHEET BEND
This is a well-known bend,
but it is not generally considered to be very strong or reliable.
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IMAGE 1
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IMAGE 2
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This bend can be used with
two ends of rope that are different thicknesses, as long as the thinner rope
is the one which wraps around the thicker rope:
This bend is also good for
tying ends of cloth together.
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DOUBLE SHEET BEND
This is a variation of the
Sheet Bend in which you make an extra turn with the end of rope which is
coming up from the bottom in Image 1.
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IMAGE 1
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IMAGE 2
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This bend can be used with
two ends of rope that are different thicknesses, as long as the thinner rope
is the one which wraps around the thicker rope:
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FISHERMAN'S KNOT
The Fisherman's Knot is
similar to the Double Fisherman's Knot, except that it uses regular Overhand
Knots instead of Double Overhand Knots. Using one end of rope, tie an Overhand
Knot around the other end of rope (image 1).
Now flip the rope over and
once again tie an Overhand Knot around the other end of rope (image 2). Notice
in Image 1 that the end of rope with a blue circle on it is on the right side,
and when you flip the rope over (image 2) then the end of rope with a blue
circle is now on the left side. It works best if you tighten the knot in image
1 before flipping the rope over to tie the second knot, but the the first knot
is un-tightened in image 2 just for the sake of clarity.
After you tighten the two
knots, pull them together and they should stack nicely next to each other
(image 3).
The Fisherman's Knot is easy
to remember, easy to tie, it results in a small, clean, nice-looking knot
which is less bulky than most of the other bends. However, it can be difficult
to untie if it has been under a strain.
This bend should only be used
with two ends of rope which are roughly the same thickness.
For the average person who
only wants to learn one or two good bends, the Fisherman's Knot is an
excellent choice (for rope or string which will not hold a heavy load).
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DOUBLE FISHERMAN'S
KNOT
This bend is similar to the
basic Fisherman's Knot, except that it uses Double Overhand Knots instead of
regular Overhand Knots. This seems to be a popular bend among rock climbers.
It is generally considered to be a strong and secure bend, but it can be very
difficult to untie. Using one end of rope, tie a Double Overhand Knot around
the other end of rope (Image 1).
Now flip the rope over and
once again tie a Double Overhand Knot around the other end of rope (Image 2).
Notice in Image 1 that the end of rope with a blue circle on it is on the
right side, and when you flip the rope over (Image 2) then the end of rope
with a blue circle is now on the left side.
It works best if you tighten
the knot in Image 1 before flipping the rope over to tie the second knot, but
first knot is un-tightened in Image 2 just for the sake of clarity. After you
tighten the two knots, pull them together and they should stack nicely next to
each other (Image 3).
This bend should only be used
with two ends of rope which are roughly the same thickness.
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SHORTENING KNOTS
In many cases a rope may
prove too long for our use or the free ends may be awkward, or in the way. At
such times knowledge of "shortenings" is valuable. There are quite a variety
of these useful knots, but only two are presented here.
CHAIN KNOT
To make this shortening, make
a running loop (A), then draw a bight of the rope through this loop, as shown
at B, draw another bight through this, as at C to D, and continue in this way
until the rope is shortened to the desired length; the free end should then be
fastened by running the free end through the last loop, as at E.
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IMAGE A
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IMAGE B
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IMAGE C
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IMAGE D
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IMAGE E
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SHEEPSHANK KNOT
The Sheepshank can be used to
shorten a length of rope, or to isolate a damaged section of rope. To tie this
knot, first make three identical loops (Image 1).
If you are trying to
strengthen your rope by isolating a damaged section of the rope then the
damaged section must be in the middle loop, not the outer two loops. Now reach
through the outer two loops and pull the middle loop through the outer loops
(Image 2).
Tighten by pulling on the
ends of the rope (Image 3). The knot will only hold as long as both ends of
the rope are putting a strain on the knot. When the strain is released, the
knot can easily be shaken apart (which can be handy in certain situations but
dangerous in other situations).
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ROPE PROTECTION
This knot is used to prevent
damage to rope ends. It is a good practice to apply a whipping to the end of
any rope whether they are of the twisted strand (most common style) or weaved
style (clothes line, Polypropylene, etc.). Melting the ends of synthetic ropes
to prevent un-wrapping, although effective, will fail over time, especially if
not done correctly.
WHIPPING
Whipping or "seizing" is the
common way of preventing a rope from unraveling. This method is fast, and,
more importantly, it does not increase the diameter of the rope which can
therefore be reeved through a block without difficulty. Sail Twine makes an
excellent material for whipping because it has been waxed coated for moisture
protection. However, Kite String is a good substitute.
To make a whipping, a fine
yarn is generally used. Make a loop in the end of the string and place the
loop at the end of the rope.
Wind the standing part (B)
around the rope approximately 15 - 20 times, covering the loop of the
whipping, but leaving a small loop uncovered as shown in figure 3. Pass the
remainder of the standing end up through the small loop, and pull the dead end
(A) of the string - thus pulling the standing end (B) and the small loop
through which it is threaded back toward the end of the rope underneath the
whipping.
Continue pulling the dead end
(A) of the string until the small loop with the standing end through it
reaches a point midway underneath the whipping. Trim both ends of the string
close up against the loops of the whipping. Do not knick the rope when doing
this trimming
The finished whipping is
shown in the image below.
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