

Andy's Most Useful Knots - gnosis
http://www.asiteaboutnothing.net/cr_most-useful-knots.html

======
TGJ
Psh, doesn't even have the fastest shoelace knot.

Plus I would say this site is better anyway for knots.

<http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm>

~~~
roryokane
And as an alternative to the double-knot for a tighter shoelace knot than the
normal one, <http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm> from that site is
also handy.

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gnosis
Previously on HN:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=828539>

Also see:

<http://davidmdelaney.com/knot-pages.html>

and:

<http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?board=6.0>

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davcro
I think the list is too long. You can do 99% of things with 3 knots. The ones
I use in order of frequency:

1\. Truckers hitch - for tying anything to the roof of my car or the bed of my
pickup.

2\. Bowline - for attaching anything to the end of a rope.

3\. Fishermans - for tying two ropes together, for backing up a bowline.

I also like the following knots.

Clove Hitch - provides an adjustable anchor. I use this rock climbing and
rafting. For rafting I use it to tie the raft to shore. I can easily adjust
the length of the anchor when the river level fluctuates.

Double Figure 8 - the standard for rock climbing. I prefer the bowline because
it is easier to untie.

~~~
gnosis
I do like the truckers hitch, but have some different preferences for the
other knots you list.

For a fixed loop at the end of a rope, I prefer the zeppelin loop. It's just a
tiny bit more difficult to tie than a bowline, but has the virtue of being
very easy to untie, even after being subjected to great loads (ie. it doesn't
jam). It's also very secure.

When joining two ropes together, I like to use the zeppelin bend. It's very
easy to tie, very secure, and very easy to untie (like the zeppelin loop, it
doesn't jam).

As for the clove hitch, according to Wikipedia, it "can slip when loaded. In
smaller diameter cords, it may jam and become difficult to untie after being
heavily weighted. It is also very unreliable when used to hitch to a post with
sharp corners."

So, instead of the clove hitch, I prefer to use the double constrictor knot.
Unfortunately, like the clove hitch, it can be difficult to untie when
subjected to a lot of stress. But it is very, very secure (gripping tighter
and tighter when either end is tugged).

Here are some other knots I find useful in various situations:

For an adjustable loop, I prefer the adjustable grip hitch. For a simple
noose, I like the figure-of-eight noose.

If I need a fixed loop in the middle of a rope, I like to form the alpine
butterfly.

For an incredibly tight grip on a slippery cylindrical surface, where weight
will only be applied in one direction parallel to the cyliner, there's
virtually nothing better than the icicle hitch.

For tying bags shut, there's the appropriately named bag knot.

For tying packages, the packer's knot.

To tie my shoelaces I use the Turquoise Turtle Knot, which is very simple to
tie, and never accidentally unties.

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metachris
He didn't include one of the most essential knots to tie two ropes together:
the one-sided overhand bend (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-
sided_overhand_bend>). It's very strong and really simple (which is most
important in stressful situations when you can't afford any mistakes).

In rock climbing when you do multiple pitches, you usually climb with two
ropes (50 or 60 meter each). That provides double safety and you can abseil 60
meters straight. At abseiling you make the bend on one end, put the rope
through the carabiner on top of the route and use both ropes to get down on.
Then you simply pull on one rope and both come down.

~~~
gnosis
Personally, I prefer the zeppelin bend
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin_bend>). It's very secure, very easy to
tie, and very easy to untie.

------
moultano
Great article. I hadn't heard of most of these before. I've added a link to my
knol on backpacking: <http://knol.google.com/k/how-to-backpack#view> in the
knots section for further reading.

------
phil
If you enjoy reading about this kind of thing, check out Black Diamond's QC
Lab blog, which has lots of interesting posts about climbing gear strength
from their head of quality control.

Here's a post on the strengths of three knots commonly used to tie two ropes
together: [http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-
us/journal/climb/qcl...](http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-
us/journal/climb/qclab/qc-lab-what-is-the-best-rappel-knot-en-glbl)

------
minouye
Great list--I'd argue that one of the most important ones on there is the one-
handed bowline. It could save your life!

[http://www.asiteaboutnothing.net/cr_bowline-
methods.html#one...](http://www.asiteaboutnothing.net/cr_bowline-
methods.html#one-handed-bowline)

~~~
johngunderman
I learned the one handed bowline a few years back, and in the process actually
forgot how to do a 2-handed bowline. Now its only useful if I'm drowning...

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jamesgeck0
I'm a fan of the tautline hitch because, while not optimal for everything, it
adapts decently to a wide variety of situations. It's also easy to remember
and modify. Need more grip? Just add more loops. Too tight? Take a loop out
and you have two half-hitches.

A good fallback knot.

~~~
gnosis
If you like the tautline hitch, you might want to check out the adjustable
grip hitch. I've heard several recommendations of the AGH over the TH, such as
this one:

"The Tarbuck Knot and the Tautline Hitch (Midshipman's Hitch) are also good
slide-and-grip knots, but in my experience they are not as easy to dress and
set as the Adjustable Grip Hitch, and they don't seem to grip as well."

from:

<http://www.layhands.com/Knots/Knots_Hitches.htm>

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dantheman0207
These are some great knots to know, but all of these knots are common ones,
with common names. None of which he accurately refers to here.

~~~
dhimes
It might depend on your domain. These are what mariners call them.

~~~
electromagnetic
You're right, these are the names I frequently heard for them growing up
(fishing community) and what I hear from my boss (fisher/farmer growing up),
but I've heard completely different names for some of them from people who've
worked in forestry and things.

------
webginja
What does this have to do with HACKING though?

Crap this site is going down hill fast.

~~~
bootload
How would you know? - for all the 30 days you have been listed? Knots are
pretty interesting. Why? Well skills for one. Get stuck, practice a new skill
- one knot per session. Knots are also pretty useful if you get stuck outside
~
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157623445003205...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/sets/72157623445003205/)
hiking ~ <http://paulgraham.com/addiction.html>

Knots are also pretty interesting maths wise ~
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knot_(mathematics)>

