
The Most Useful Rope Knots for the Average Person - gnosis
http://www.layhands.com/Knots/Knots_SingleLoops.htm
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krschultz
This list is way too complicated.

Simply know 5 knots and you are there.

Bowline - used whenever you want to tie a rope to an object with a loop at the
end of the line. Really strong knot, but you can't tie it under tension so you
won't get a perfect length if you are trying to tie something down. If you
don't know what to tie, this is probably it.

Hitch - This is when you want to tie a rope around an object but the length
matters or there is tension in the rope when you go to tie the knot. Useful in
another 20% of situations. If you are tying something down I put a bowline on
one side first since the length doesn't matter, and a hitch on the other since
you will have tension in the line and want to tie it off with that tension in
tact.

Know how to put a loop in the middle of a line. You can use the loop as a way
to get extra tension in your line.

Figure eight stopper knot - whenever you need to keep a knot from going
through something else. Not always obvious when it is useful.

Know how to properly tie the end of one line to the end of another.

If boating, also know how to tie a line to a cleat.

I've been boating/sailing my entire life, rock climbing for a few years too.
Never needed to know more than that. Better to know 6 knots perfectly so that
in an emergency you can literally do them with your eyes closed or not
looking, than to know 15 and try to find the perfect one for some specific
situation.

~~~
JshWright
I don't get the fixation with the bowline... it's harder to tie than a figure
8, and not as strong.

Learn the figure-8 family (on a bight, follow-through, double loop, etc), and
you'll know enough knots for almost any situation.

On a bight it gives you a solid attachment point in the middle of a rope (tie
a double loop if your life is gonna depend on it), Use a follow through around
an object if you need to tie a hitch (also worth knowing a alternative like a
clove hitch). A figure 8 bend is a _very_ secure way to attach two ropes
together (again, also worth learning a simpler alternative like the becket
bend).

Once you've got the figure 8 mastered, pick up a couple more complex knot
"systems" (trucker's hitch, tensionless hitch, etc).

There are plenty of neat knots out there for specific situations, but for
general purpose knot tying, nothing beats the figure 8 family.

Obligatory "here's why I think I'm an expert" blurb: I've been climbing since
I was 10, and am a New York State certified rope rescue technician.

~~~
krschultz
That is one of the differences between sailors and rock climbers. The "base"
knot for sailors is generally the bowline and for climbers the figure 8. I
think it has to do with priorities.

In rock climbing your loads are pretty defined. So the ropes are sized
appropriately and the knots are the weakness. You care about the strength of a
knot, the stronger the knot the thinner the line you can carry.

On a boat, that isn't really the priority. I have lines from 1/32" up to 2.5"
on my boat. I don't really know the exact loads on anything and they are
always changing. So all of the lines have a huge factor of safety, like 3-5x
more than it needs. The strength of the knot matters little.

But what does matter is speed. I can tie a bowline in under 2 seconds and
figure 8 in under 2 seconds easily, if i'm using both hands. But if I'm using
one hand, well it takes me a hell of a lot longer with the figure 8 than the
bowline. There are a lot of situations where that might happen. For me it
usually arises in emergencies. Am I laying on the deck reaching to tie a knot
with one hand while holding on with the other? Or am I tieing a knot around a
towing post while the line is starting to get taught? Am I holding onto a sail
while trying to tie it off because a shackle broke?

Those are the times that the ease of tieing and the speed of getting it done
out weigh the benefits of the figure 8. They both have their place but doing
both sports I think culturally thats why people know what knots they know.

------
mattiss
Knowing how to tie a few useful knots is surprisingly empowering. Cinch things
down, strap things to your backpack, hang a tarp, fix broken items, etc. etc.

I highly recommend learning to rock climb or sail as you will most definitely
use the knots you learn on a regular basis.

~~~
yan
I've been a climber for a bit over two years and am looking to get into
sailing. Other then volunteering to help out during races, do you know of any
other cheap ways to get into the sport/pastime?

~~~
URSpider94
Where do you live? In Boston, for example, there's Community Boating, where
you can get out on the water for a couple hundred dollars per season and learn
with peer-to-peer instruction.

~~~
fallentimes
Excellent; I live in Boston. Is this what you're talking about?

<http://www.community-boating.org/>

~~~
TrevorJ
Anyone know of anything like this in west Michigan?

~~~
tesseract
The Grand Rapids Yacht Club (on Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids) has some
classes but I don't know if it's really comparable to Boston's program.

Community Sailing sounds great - I wish I'd found out about it before I spent
the summer of 2008 in the Boston area rather than once it turned cold in the
fall.

~~~
TrevorJ
Oh, that's a good call, I will have to check that out. Are you from this area
as well?

------
URSpider94
Check out <http://www.realknots.com/knots/> for a more thorough list. On my
short list, I would recommend:

\-- the bowline, for putting a slip-free loop around something \-- two half
hitches, for putting a cinching loop around something \-- the clove hitch, for
tying a rope to a pole or other cylindrical object

Start with those three, tied properly, and you can do a lot.

~~~
naish
I would add a couple of other useful hitches: the taut-line and trucker's.
Along with the bowline, I use these constantly for attaching adjustable-length
lines to things and securing items to vehicles.

~~~
dhimes
They are both a part of my repertoire also. The trucker's offers a great
"quick and dirty" mechanical advantage for tying things down on your car, on
your boat (my mast when I trailer it, for instance); heck I even use it to tie
down my trash-can lids to keep the animals from getting into the trash
(raccoons, not bears!).

------
heyitsnick
I went on a 2-year sailing trip with a friend. I'd never been aboard a boat up
until the month we left, but before I left I spent a long time cramming myself
with information. One was the knots, of course, and I learnt dozens of
combinations and knew the pro's and con's of each knot, their breaking points,
what to use with wet ropes, etc.

Over the 2 year sailing trip, of the dozens I learnt, I used 5 in total:

\- The bowline \- One hitch (round turn and two halfs) \- Two bends
(fishermans, figure of eight) \- One stopper (figure of eight)

Now back on land, I still use these 5 frequently, and the bowline daily. In a
jam, you can use the bowline to do anything (even two of them to bend 2
ropes). It doesn't jam, is fine when wet, is ~60% as strong as the rope
itself, and you can trust it with your life.

------
HeyLaughingBoy
In a previous life I was a Merchant Marine officer cadet. Had to take tests
for some of these knots without looking (given a choice of blindfolded or with
hands behind back) and with 3-5 second time limits depending on knot. The
point being of course that seamen often need to tie knots rapidly, in complete
darkness or in less than convenient positions.

I still find it amusing that there is a Federal agency (US DOT) that requires
that an applicant pass a _knot tying test_ as part of a set of license exams
:-)

------
JCThoughtscream
Knots! One of the few things about the Boy Scout program that I still remember
and find useful. Much gratitude for posting this link.

------
gnosis
My favorite knots:

    
    
      ** adjustable grip hitch
    
        an easy to tie and very reliable noose-type knot
        for when you need to adjust frequently
    
     ** zepplin bend
    
        a very reliable way of joining ropes that's
        also easy to tie and untie (but won't slip apart
        on its own)
    
     ** double constrictor knot
    
        grips anything you tie it around **very tightly**, exceptionally secure
    
     ** icicle hitch
    
        when you know the direction of pull is going to be
        mostly parallel to what you're tying your rope to,
        then this knot grips even tighter
        than the double constrictor.
        
        useful for when hanging something from a vertical,
        slippery cylinder (hence the name)
    
      ** ashley stopper knot
    
        a bulky knot useful for when you don't want the end
        of your rope to slip out
    
      ** alpine butterfly
    
        an easy and secure way to tie a loop in the bight

------
yan
I had to learn a lot of these knots for rock climbing (and their numerous
variations) and I find myself using them in 'normal' life too. Knowing a few
crucial knots (learn the bowline and a few variations, seriously) is a great
skill to have.

------
albertsun
There's far too many there for someone not dedicated to knots to actually
bother learning. A few good ones to start with would be the bowline, reef
knot, figure eight knot, fisherman's knot, clove hitch and trucker's hitch.

For everyday use in tying things together so they don't fall apart and other
odds and ends they are probably the most useful and easiest to learn.

Of course, if you rock climb, or sail, etc. there are different knots to
learn.

------
pasbesoin
It's been years since I studied any knots. The ones I continue to use
regularly and to great (personal) effect:

    
    
        slip
        square
        double half hitch
        bowline
        barrel  (combine the ends of two equal (esp. equal diameter) ropes)
        figure eight
        (and, I suppose, whatever it's called that I use for shoelaces)
        Gordian (mostly metaphysical applications  ;-)

------
crux_
The knots I use all the time: Figure 8 (climbing, mostly), clove hitch (pretty
much anything), truckers' hitch. (Pretty much anything as well.)

Also helpful in everyday life are coiling / stacking skills you pick up when
working with rope. For example, my headphone cords are never tangled. ;)

~~~
pyre
I'm interested in what knots/skills you use to do things like keep your
headphone cords untangled.

~~~
crux_
I usually simple butterfly coil w/ wrap finish around my index + ring ringers.
There's a bunch of different approaches people use; the general ideas of not
introducing twists (not a big deal for short cables) and finishing with a wrap
are more important than any One True Way.

Specific to headphones and other cords: avoid introducing sharp bends as well
-- cheap cords will eventually short out. (For me, I try to have a fairly fat
"bundle" before I do the wrap, and don't pull it too tight.)

------
jksmith
A mandatory requirement for being alive includes at least knowing how to tie a
bowline.

------
mahmud
Where is the Politician's Noose? that would be the most useful, imo.

------
Aegean
Sorry if I am being negative here, but isn't this off topic?

~~~
mcantor
I downvoted you; this is why:

1\. Your post apologizes for itself. This is offensive to both the reader and
the writer.

2\. You seem to have not read the very first point in the guidelines. I am
reproducing them here for convenience:

 _What to Submit_

 _On-Topic_ : Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes
more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the
answer might be: _anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity._

 _Off-Topic_ : Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless
they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or
disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's
probably off-topic.

This submission is clearly gratifying to intellectual curiosity, being a
primer for a presumably esoteric but actually highly useful skillset, and it
does not stumble into the territory of politics, crime, sports, or animal
pictures.

How is it off topic?

