Practical Knots

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Peanut

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About 2005 I started with a list of about 70 knots. Over the next 5 years I tested these knots here on the farm. I worked cattle with them, hauled loads of hay etc. I also used them camping in all types of weather.

Over time I whittled the list down with considerations of ease of use, whether it was dry or wet out. Easy to untie is just as important as easy to tie. For instance, you tie a loop in the center of a line stretched between two trees only to discover your loop needs to be 2ft to the right or left. How easy is it to move your loop(s)?

Wet weather is a big concern, some knots are almost impossible to untie when wet after they have had a load on them. A couple of these made my final lists of knots… there were simply no replacement for their overall usefulness. Just be aware what will happen if it rains.

The one knot I use more often than the others? #9 – Adjustable grip hitch. It’s two biggest pluses… As a load increases the knot gets tighter and it’s still adjustable with a load.

Example: I was warm weather camping in a stand of timber, no tent, just bedding and a 20ft tarp stretched over my camp at a slope so rain would run off. A big thunder storm blew in about midnight, winds gusting to 40mph. My tarp was secured with adjustable grip hitches. When the lines got wet, they stretched a little. All I had to do was move my knots while under load, easy, peasy! My tarp didn’t move during the storm.

Those of you who have had training in wilderness medicine will recognize a few of these knots like numbers 7 and 8. How do you lift and injured person out of a ravine?

How do you get a line across a ravine or over a tree limb? Everyone should know how to tie a “monkey fist”. I learned that knot the first time I went to sea in 1980. More than a couple of these knots have been used by men at sea for eons! It’s easiest to learn to tie a monkey fist with a line the size of a climbing rope.

Dress your knots! By dressing I mean make sure there are no unwanted twists of the line in a knot. Even a good knot will explode under load if not dressed properly.

One last item… These instructions teach you to tie a knot from a certain perspective. It’s just as important to be able to tie the knot from the opposite perspective, right becomes left. You won’t always be to stand in the perfect spot to tie a knot the way you learned it. Maybe a knot is needed above your head, barely within reach. Yet another perspective. Maybe there is no light, complete darkness, can you tie the knot in the dark? By feel?

I bought a 20ft piece of climbing rope from WM. I also use a piece of 550 cord 10ft long. Almost every winter I sit by the fire and practice these knots while watching tv. This is one of those perishable skills, practice is needed from time to time. An emergency isn’t the time to try and remember how to tie a particular knot.

Anyway, I hope folks find this list is useful.
 

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There is someone doing a YouTube series on a variety of knot tying. This is just one of his.

Imho... This guy IS trying to sell books, states it in fact. He come up with cool looking knots that are silly and useless. In stead of a Seizing Bend he could have tied a figure 8 (takes 3 seconds), or if adjustment were needed he could have joined two adjustable grip hitches. Less than 10 seconds to tie and adjustable under load.
 
Imho... This guy IS trying to sell books, states it in fact. He come up with cool looking knots that are silly and useless. In stead of a Seizing Bend he could have tied a figure 8 (takes 3 seconds), or if adjustment were needed he could have joined two adjustable grip hitches. Less than 10 seconds to tie and adjustable under load.
Peanut, as someone who has never really known about knots, I had no idea. I thought his idea of making videos about how to do knots was a great idea. Too bad he doesn't do knots that are good and usable.
 
Peanut, as someone who has never really known about knots, I had no idea. I thought his idea of making videos about how to do knots was a great idea. Too bad he doesn't do knots that are good and usable.

@Weedygarden That's were I was at in 04 & 05. I had no idea. One website says this, the other says that.

That's why I started with the best of the best as recommended. Then I put them into daily use, see for myself what works and what doesn't. It only took a couple of years to narrow the list down to what was practical. The time consuming part was taking two or three practical knots and narrowing that down to one that works well in all weather conditions and had ease of use over time. As easy to untie as to tie and easy to remember.
 
I boot camp we had to hang all of our laundry on lines with short cords. You had to use a square knot. The company commander went through every knot and untied any that weren't square knots and tossed the cloths on the ground for you to rewash. I was the only one that had every knot correct. As a reward I was appointed to check every knot, on every piece of clothing, every week. I held square knot lessons every week and some guys never did figure it out.
I have about 5 or 6 knots that I use, not counting fishing knots.
 
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For those of you who are knot nuts this book has a few you can practice on. I bought it at a garage sale a few years ago for a buck. It would keep you busy all winter @Peanut.
 
Thanks @The Innkeeper probably give me nightmares. ;)

I have a suggestion for any fisherman out there... How about working up a pdf with the top 10 or 15 fishing knots, just basic stuff, a refresher course for people like me who have been fishing 6 times in 30 years.

I not suggesting a in depth course in "fly tying". :D
 
Ashley's is a classic. Every commercial fisherman or merchant mariner knows that book.
I didn’t know that but considering the content of the book I am not surprised. It’s an expensive book new, I would never have bought it if I had to pay that kind of money for it.
 
Last night while re-lacing a chair my knot tying failed me for a bit. I used knots that worked but not the one I wanted to use. I couldn’t remember how to tie that knot. I was reminded once again that knot tying is a perishable skill.

So tonight, I’m practicing my knots on a piece of climbing rope I keep for this purpose.
 
I found that I only need two knots. A granny knot to almost secure things...
and a hangman's noose for those who complain about my ability to tie a knot. ;)
It's been very effective for the most part. Nobody's complaining but I do keep losing stuff.:rolleyes:
 
I use a bowline a lot, one of my go to knots. The bowline has a couple of variants that I also use from time to time. A triple bowline is great for pulling an injured person out of a ravine for example.

The one that had me stumped the other night was actually my favorite for tightening all the slack out of a line, the adjustable grip hitch. My problem was that to make it invisible to a casual glance (aesthetics), I had to tie it upside down and backwards from the way I normally tie it. It has been at least a year since I practiced doing that. I finally gave up and used a bowline.
 
Last night while re-lacing a chair my knot tying failed me for a bit. I used knots that worked but not the one I wanted to use. I couldn’t remember how to tie that knot. I was reminded once again that knot tying is a perishable skill.

So tonight, I’m practicing my knots on a piece of climbing rope I keep for this purpose.

My feelings exactly. Knot Tying is a use it or lose it skill. I have always been interested. I read instructions and watch videos. I even practice, but I don't have the occasion to use what I have learned. I can't remember how to tie a single knot.
 
My feelings exactly. Knot Tying is a use it or lose it skill. I have always been interested. I read instructions and watch videos. I even practice, but I don't have the occasion to use what I have learned. I can't remember how to tie a single knot.

I have tied a minimum of 100 rifle slings using the same knot
if i do not tie that knot at least 1 time a month i forget how.
weird how our brains work

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Thanks Peanut.

I was about to be happy InnKeeper was back,then I saw I was on the worng page again!:confused2:Hope he is doing good,miss him.

Back on topic, I can tie my shoes and a boat dock knot,thats about as tacticle with a knot I get.Interesting subject though.
 
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I use a truckers hitch a lot when hauling rolls of hay on a trailer, best knot for getting the rope extra tight. It'll work great when hauling just about anything on a trailer or truck bed, like firewood or furniture when moving.
 

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