Learning knots
November 11, 2020 1:14 PM Subscribe
I’d like to learn some knots. I have two use cases:
- camping; so things like setting up tarps
- transporting stuff on the roof of my car.
For the latter one, I learned truckers hitch which works wonders. The issue is I forget it, cause I only use it three times a year.
For camping there seem to be a million videos so I’m basically overwhelmed.
How do I build an inventory of useful knots and don’t forget them?
You need to practice them regularly. Use them to tie your shoelaces with a different knot each month and get into the habit of tying things to something else - and example would be to get into the habit of carrying your water bottle lashed to your backpack instead of tucked into a pocket or inside.
Get some coloured cord to practice with and set yourself the mini goal of tying a knot every day at a set time - morning coffee break, while you listen to your daily podcast etc. Coloured cord is useful as you tie two colours together and that makes it easier to see which end is going where.
If you have a yard with a tree go hang things on the tree using your knots. You can hang blocks of suet or Christmas decorations or whatever. When you take them down put another set of things up.
Get into the habit of tying things together rather than using a bag. For example people used to use bookstraps to hold a stack of books together. Use string and knots to tie together anything that might bundle. Consider it a green initiative to save using plastic bags. Use cord to bundle things like chopsticks when organizing your kitchen, or use a sheet to carry laundry with the corners tied together.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:25 PM on November 11, 2020
Get some coloured cord to practice with and set yourself the mini goal of tying a knot every day at a set time - morning coffee break, while you listen to your daily podcast etc. Coloured cord is useful as you tie two colours together and that makes it easier to see which end is going where.
If you have a yard with a tree go hang things on the tree using your knots. You can hang blocks of suet or Christmas decorations or whatever. When you take them down put another set of things up.
Get into the habit of tying things together rather than using a bag. For example people used to use bookstraps to hold a stack of books together. Use string and knots to tie together anything that might bundle. Consider it a green initiative to save using plastic bags. Use cord to bundle things like chopsticks when organizing your kitchen, or use a sheet to carry laundry with the corners tied together.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:25 PM on November 11, 2020
Animated Knots good step-by-step instructions and commentary on when to use or not use a particular knot.
posted by Consult The Oracle at 1:28 PM on November 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Consult The Oracle at 1:28 PM on November 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
i learned in the dark ages from diagrams. i think the videos will accelerate it. name, shape, use. know what it looks like when it's complete.
so, learn a knot, and it's use in context. then practice. and use them in your daily life. kite string? there's a knot. caving, there's a bunch? load a roof rack? yep.
there are whole books in sailing knots. yosemite valley pioneer royal robbins wrote 'knots for climbers'
posted by j_curiouser at 1:45 PM on November 11, 2020
so, learn a knot, and it's use in context. then practice. and use them in your daily life. kite string? there's a knot. caving, there's a bunch? load a roof rack? yep.
there are whole books in sailing knots. yosemite valley pioneer royal robbins wrote 'knots for climbers'
posted by j_curiouser at 1:45 PM on November 11, 2020
Instead of just memorizing a bunch of different knots, try to understand what is going on with the rope, what the purpose of the knot is, and how it works. Look for the patterns in knot-tying and how those patterns are recycled and re-used in various knots. If you learn maybe 3-4 basic knots and variations, you can put those together to make most knots you would need in daily life.
Just for example, I've tied and used a "truckers hitch" lots of times even though no one ever taught me how to tie it and I had no idea it was called a "trucker's hitch".
But if I want to cinch things down with a rope I know I'm going to need a pulley-type arrangement and then when I have it tightened I'll need to tie it off somehow. That leads naturally to thinking of the slip knot (one of a few ways you can make a loop in the middle of a rope) to act as a "pulley" and to the half hitches at the end to hold everything in place.
Also after tying a few half-hitches I realized they are hell on earth to un-tie, especially if they've been put under tension. But if you just tie the half-hitch with a loop you can easily untie it by tugging on the loose end. This is the same principle you use when tying your shoes with loops.
(Terminology is from the truckers-hitch video here.)
Point is, basic elements like slip knot, half-hitch, and making knots with loops instead of single strands are basic elements you can re-use in a few dozen different ways to make nearly any kind of knot you might need.
posted by flug at 1:46 PM on November 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
Just for example, I've tied and used a "truckers hitch" lots of times even though no one ever taught me how to tie it and I had no idea it was called a "trucker's hitch".
But if I want to cinch things down with a rope I know I'm going to need a pulley-type arrangement and then when I have it tightened I'll need to tie it off somehow. That leads naturally to thinking of the slip knot (one of a few ways you can make a loop in the middle of a rope) to act as a "pulley" and to the half hitches at the end to hold everything in place.
Also after tying a few half-hitches I realized they are hell on earth to un-tie, especially if they've been put under tension. But if you just tie the half-hitch with a loop you can easily untie it by tugging on the loose end. This is the same principle you use when tying your shoes with loops.
(Terminology is from the truckers-hitch video here.)
Point is, basic elements like slip knot, half-hitch, and making knots with loops instead of single strands are basic elements you can re-use in a few dozen different ways to make nearly any kind of knot you might need.
posted by flug at 1:46 PM on November 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
Inventory:
1. Slip knot
2. Square knot*
3. Rope around pole, two half hitches.
(Now you can do truckers hitch with above)
4. Bowline
5. Clove hitch
*you’ll never really need the square knot but it is a good practice step. It teaches that the order and orientation of crosses matter. My trick is to always try and start with the same side over every time. I have a little mnemonic phrase “left over right, then right over left.” I also read left to right so left goes first.
You will then understand that the two overhand knots that make up a square knot are equivalent to the two half hitches, and like the square knot, the order matters.
Square knots are ok for joining two ropes together when your first rope is not long enough. It is not the best way but good enough.
posted by sol at 2:30 PM on November 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
1. Slip knot
2. Square knot*
3. Rope around pole, two half hitches.
(Now you can do truckers hitch with above)
4. Bowline
5. Clove hitch
*you’ll never really need the square knot but it is a good practice step. It teaches that the order and orientation of crosses matter. My trick is to always try and start with the same side over every time. I have a little mnemonic phrase “left over right, then right over left.” I also read left to right so left goes first.
You will then understand that the two overhand knots that make up a square knot are equivalent to the two half hitches, and like the square knot, the order matters.
Square knots are ok for joining two ropes together when your first rope is not long enough. It is not the best way but good enough.
posted by sol at 2:30 PM on November 11, 2020 [4 favorites]
I'm a sailor with several thousand sea miles in my logbook, and I have a confession to make: I really only tie two knots. Bowline, and a round turn with half hitches. Those two cover like 99% of actual uses.
I guess occasionally a reef knot? And a double figure 8 for tying a safety line to a harness. But that's pretty much it. Like flug says, when you need something complicated, you can just make it up from first principles and simple primitives.
I mean, I should really remember how to tie a sheet bend, but if I need to join two ropes I can just link two bowlines. Which I can tie blindfolded, behind my back, because I do it all the damn time.
posted by automatronic at 2:45 PM on November 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
I guess occasionally a reef knot? And a double figure 8 for tying a safety line to a harness. But that's pretty much it. Like flug says, when you need something complicated, you can just make it up from first principles and simple primitives.
I mean, I should really remember how to tie a sheet bend, but if I need to join two ropes I can just link two bowlines. Which I can tie blindfolded, behind my back, because I do it all the damn time.
posted by automatronic at 2:45 PM on November 11, 2020 [2 favorites]
I use a bowline and figure 8 all the time. It's genuinely helpful to be able tie a square knot, and to be able to tell at a glance if it's correct. Take a piece of cord, color one half with marker, helps to understand the knot. There must be a knot-tying app, use a long shoelace, keep it in your pocket, practice.
posted by theora55 at 2:52 PM on November 11, 2020
posted by theora55 at 2:52 PM on November 11, 2020
I've had Knots 3D on my phone for years (I got it free in some sort of promo), and I finally pulled it up a week ago to learn how to tie a tarp knot (an adjustable grip hitch, for the record). The app was very easy to follow, and it helpfully organizes knots by category. Highly recommended.
posted by Go Banana at 3:10 PM on November 11, 2020
posted by Go Banana at 3:10 PM on November 11, 2020
To sol's inventory I would
6. Stopper knot (makes a lump at the end of a line to it from going thru a pulley or thru your grip. Figure 8 is the simplest, but not always the best.
7. Adjustable knot,like a tautline hitch.
posted by SemiSalt at 3:24 PM on November 11, 2020
6. Stopper knot (makes a lump at the end of a line to it from going thru a pulley or thru your grip. Figure 8 is the simplest, but not always the best.
7. Adjustable knot,like a tautline hitch.
posted by SemiSalt at 3:24 PM on November 11, 2020
Please forgive me for linking to this practically useless yet culturally priceless "instructional video" for the Trucker's Hitch.
posted by heatherlogan at 4:48 PM on November 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by heatherlogan at 4:48 PM on November 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
Buy some paracord at a hardware or surplus store (or online) and keep some 1' runs in a baggie, along with some completed knots as models, and descriptions of how to tie them on index cards. When you have a few minutes free (e.g., when waiting for tea to steep), practice tying one.
posted by dws at 8:28 PM on November 11, 2020
posted by dws at 8:28 PM on November 11, 2020
Another addition to the above: Double Fisherman's Knot, for those times you want to tie two ropes together to make one longer rope.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 12:07 AM on November 12, 2020
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 12:07 AM on November 12, 2020
Taut-line hitch is very handy as a sliding knot for adjusting tension on tent and tarp guy lines around stakes or trees. Tie the knot then just slide the knot up to increase the tautness of the guy line.
posted by JackFlash at 8:23 PM on November 12, 2020
posted by JackFlash at 8:23 PM on November 12, 2020
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posted by carmicha at 1:24 PM on November 11, 2020 [2 favorites]