Take 5 minutes out of your day, find a small piece of rope (or CAT5, headphone wire, USB cable), and actually tie the knot with your hands. It's super easy to pre-visualize the knot forming and you can learn to tie the knot in any orientation after just a couple tries.
Being able to adjust the tension on the line after tying the knot pops up in all manner of practical situations. This was my gateway drug to the wonderful world of knots.
---
EDIT: to encourage people to actually tie the damn thing, here's a picture of my computer mouse cable around the handle of my coffee cup: https://i.imgur.com/ZN4WXoB.jpg (in the "right handed down" orientation, as opposed the the "right handed up" direction from the instructions).
I rarely find situations where I want to use this knot over a trucker's hitch (which trades some ease of adjustment for significant mechanical advantage when tensioning). I have combined the two from time to time (using the adjustable hitch to secure the working end)
If you're not handsome, at least be handy ;) Got into knots partly as a hobby, partly because they actually come in handy when camping or when the license plate holder of your car gets knocked off from a low curb and you need a quick way of reattaching it. You know, good life skills.
If you want to experiment, there's really only three knots that will solve 80% of your common needs:
1) Bowline: https://www.animatedknots.com/bowline-knot -- secure loop that doesn't slide, easy to undo (mnemonic: "rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and runs back down the hole")
3) Square Knot: https://www.animatedknots.com/square-knot For quick tying of two ropes together. Fun fact: the square knot is also how you already tie your shoelaces! You're just using a loop (a "bight") instead of the end of the rope because bights are commonly added to quickly undo knots (see, you're already using advanced techniques!). And funner fact: if you understand how you accidentally reverse the square knot to make it weaker, you can understand how NOT to tie your shoelaces in the way that makes them come undone easily!
Bonus Points: the Trucker's Hitch for tying down gear. It's basically any number of fixed-loop knots like the bowline to create a "pully" (mechanical advantage), fixed by any number of adjustable tension knots like the midshipman's to hold it down.
You really should never use the square knot as a bend (joining two lines together) as it can spill/capsize.
"But under no circumstances should it ever be tied as a bend, for if tied with two ends of unequal size, or if one end is stiffer or smoother than the other, the knot is almost bound to spill. Except for its true purpose of binding it is a knot to be shunned." To quote from Ashley.
Others refer to it as the most dangerous knot because of the number of people killed by relying on it as a bend.
> Fun fact: the square knot is also how you already tie your shoelaces!
Uhh, in theory. In practice no one knows how to tie their laces any more. I can go days and see nothing but granny knots and self-invented tangle (and I sneak photos to document such).
This seems to be an international issue, as well. Foreign nationals fare no better than we Yankees in my observations.
I don't know when this happened—the application of velcro in kid's shoes?—but it's definitely a real thing.
Be warned: once you start to look at people's shoes ... it's like a bad dream.
(p.s. Ian's Shoelace Site is a great resource and the double bunny ears knot (aka "Ian's Knot") is a life changer once you start to use it everydsy. I refer to it as the "All-day knot" since the added bight makes it last all day.
Wouldn't argue with the bowline, although do make sure you give it a generous safety stopper knot if it's vital (I climb with it and consider it incomplete without). It's a good alternative to figure of eight if you are untying frequently.
RE the "square not", in the UK this is usually called a reef knot: never use this for safety, a far superior alternative is the double fishermans https://www.animatedknots.com/double-fishermans-bend-knot, also use this for climbing, this is considered the best, strongest, safest way to join the ends of two ropes and it's pretty simple (you can add stoppers for safety or just make very long ends unlike the video). Unlike the bowline it can be a bitch to undo, but if you need safety...
I'd replace the Bowline with the Figure-8. It's faster to tie on a bight, and only slightly slower when tying around a fixed anchor. It's also a lot stronger and less failure prone.
There's a link to the site that describes the one step shoelace knot. [1] It's saved me 5 seconds a day for 15 years, that's 8 hours I got back, plus it's neat to demonstrate and spread the word.
This information is useful, but I'm often disappointed at the super-granular focus of information offered by knot-tying manuals, and this guide is no different.
For example, take the truckers hitch (https://www.animatedknots.com/truckers-hitch-knot). I could give this to someone and I'm sure they could tie the knot, but I would have great doubt about their ability to actually secure a load on a rooftop rack. There's a big gap between the mechanics of knot-tying and the application of the knot to a larger scenario.
I wish a guide came out that was more scenario based, covering things like:
How to secure a tarp so it doesn't blow away, how to secure a load on a car, how to lash together a back-country field-table/stool, etc.
As useful as sites like these are, there is still no substitute for the encyclopedic Ashley Book of Knots[1][2], which contains every knot under the sun and then some (up to the time it was written -- and, to be fair, quite a few knots have been invented since then, but it's still an impressive tome).
I have mixed feelings about Ashley - there's no doubt it's a very cool book for its sweeping scope, but I would never recommend it as a guide for learning tie knots. There are many good choices from Budworth[1], Pawson[2], Toss[3] and more.
This is pretty cool, it helps to see things moving. I've got an app for the iPad that does this for a zillion knots. Of course it isn't as funny as the Ylvis youtube video on the trucker's hitch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUHgGK-tImY) :-)
This looks very nice - I use the rather lovely Knots 3D on iOS - an app that I've had installed for about 10 years or so? Handy if you are out on the road and lets you use a scrubber bar to see the construction of the knot and rotate it around 3 axes.
In the linked pdf, a bight is bend/curve of rope that doesn't cross itself; however, they show a "double bight" which seems to cross itself. They say that the "strands" don't cross... errr ok?, I'm not understanding how the "double bight" is not a "loop"... the rope is crossing itself!
You "make" a loop but "take" a bight, as unhelpful as that may be. A loop is a step in making a knot, where as a bight is just a handful of rope somewhere in the middle of it.
You can tie a regular bowline, or a bowline on a bight. The same knot will need a different technique for tying on a bight, since you can't pass the ends through. When you tie a bowline on a bight, first you take a bight, then you make a loop.
A "bight" is simply a curved section in the middle of a line. There's no hard and fast definition of "how curved". Some folks would say a "bight" can't be any more than a semi-circle, others would say it can loop around as many times as you want.
I love how clean and professional looking this is, and how difficult it is to tell that it's being monetized. Content like this is why the internet exists! I can definitely see the value in having this app on my phone too.
Awesome that this is here on HN - By chance, used this site last week when setting up some fishing gear and commented to some friends how great the site was.
The site does an amazing job at a visual step-by-step guide that's easy to understand w/o always asking.. "did I skip a step?".. "How does that move that way?" .. The makers seem to have separated their steps in just the right way which is always a challenge. The pictures are high-quality too.
If you're going for one mostly-perfect bend or knot, make it the Zeppelin Bend[1] and the Zeppelin Loop[2]. Secure, fixed, easy, jam-resistant. It's not well known, so don't use it when other people need to understand your knots, but it's hard to beat for overall utility. If you need other people to understand it, use the Alpine Butterfly Bend[3]/Loop[4].
I'm pretty ignorant about knots, but is there any specific reason the hangman's knot isn't listed? Perhaps I'm just unable to find it?
In case its not included at all - I realize the knot has macabre associations, but a site aiming to be an encyclopedia of knots should in my opinion include every knot there is, good or bad alike.
There is some discussion on the noose knot page that indicates the hangman's knot is deliberately not included in the encyclopedia. The site doesn't give a reason for not including it.
I agree it should be included in an encyclopedia of knots. Any knot can be dangerous if you put it around your neck.
That's a pretty cool sight, although some of the classifications confused me.
For example, suppose I've got two ropes that I want to join together near the ends. I need a splice, right? And there is a "splicing" category...but the "splicing" category only contains one knot for joining two ropes end to end. All the rest are for joining a rope to a non-rope, or joining two non-ropes via a rope, leading me to wonder if I misunderstand what "splice" means.
There are plenty of splices on the site for joining two ropes near their ends, but they aren't in "splicing". There is the Double Fisherman's knot, which is described as being for securely joining two ropes of similar size, which is listed under "climbing" and "scouting". There are similar cases of splices in "fishing" and "boating" and some other categories.
It’s worth having a hardcopy version of Ashley’s Book Of Knots if you’re really into this sort of thing... but for (my) practical purposes, i prefer John Long’s “Climbing Anchors”.
Long's books are definitive in the world of climbing, but the knots he teaches are limited by the needs of climbers. He isn't big on slip knots or knots that require tension (sheepshank) because those aren't safe for climbing. Knots for lashing and knots designed for natural fiber rope are similarly absent. Many a climber thinks they know knots until asked to lash a pair of ladders together.
Ironically the most common knot in all climbing, the one used by virtually every climber every day, isn't in Long's books. He doesn't teach how to lace and tie your climbing shoes. There are right and wrong ways. I have seen a climber injured by incorrectly tied boots. They hurt their foot and couldn't remove the boot quickly because the laces were all wrong.
This is the kind of frame-by-frame guide that really helps me learn knots. For a while there, I was carrying a few feet of paracord in my work bag and would practice knots.
Ha! I still do. Well, technically, I work from home, but my paracord is always next to me. If I'm stuck on a problem, I'll tie a few knots and then go back to work. It's really helpful in several ways.
I was pretty interested in why someone would create such a rich and detailed resource without any clear monetary incentive (yes, capitalism makes me cynical), so I checked out the "Grog Story" section, and wow, I highly recommend it: https://www.animatedknots.com/grog-story
The site is the years-long passion project of an anesthesiologist from South Carolina who happens to love making websites, along with his two sons. He's also an avid sailor, holds patents on medical devices, and creator of a bunch of other similarly niche sites devoted to subjects like stereo art, napkin folding, and magic squares. What a guy!
I love learning how to tie new knots. My problem is that, unless I use them regularly, I tend to forget how to tie the more complicated ones. My go-to knots are the bowline, sheetbend, tenter's hitch, the alpine butterfly, and the bloodknot, for joining fishing line.
Seeing the amount of tail left for the bends that are listed as alpine worried me. They should really all be able to take one knot inversion without capsizing.
As someone who climbs I'm surprised that the EDK is not high up there.
This is just wonderful, love it when I see a site on HN with well-structured and displayed information on a physical skill. Gives me a reason to move away from the screen for a while :).
Great looking site. I just grabbed the app because I've been using the "What Knot to Do" app forever now, but find these animated single page descriptions more concise!
[+] [-] rraval|6 years ago|reply
Take 5 minutes out of your day, find a small piece of rope (or CAT5, headphone wire, USB cable), and actually tie the knot with your hands. It's super easy to pre-visualize the knot forming and you can learn to tie the knot in any orientation after just a couple tries.
Being able to adjust the tension on the line after tying the knot pops up in all manner of practical situations. This was my gateway drug to the wonderful world of knots.
---
EDIT: to encourage people to actually tie the damn thing, here's a picture of my computer mouse cable around the handle of my coffee cup: https://i.imgur.com/ZN4WXoB.jpg (in the "right handed down" orientation, as opposed the the "right handed up" direction from the instructions).
[+] [-] JshWright|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mycall|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] floatrock|6 years ago|reply
If you want to experiment, there's really only three knots that will solve 80% of your common needs:
1) Bowline: https://www.animatedknots.com/bowline-knot -- secure loop that doesn't slide, easy to undo (mnemonic: "rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and runs back down the hole")
2) Midshipman's Hitch: https://www.animatedknots.com/midshipmans-hitch-knot -- sliding adjustable-tension knot for tying down gear or guy lines
3) Square Knot: https://www.animatedknots.com/square-knot For quick tying of two ropes together. Fun fact: the square knot is also how you already tie your shoelaces! You're just using a loop (a "bight") instead of the end of the rope because bights are commonly added to quickly undo knots (see, you're already using advanced techniques!). And funner fact: if you understand how you accidentally reverse the square knot to make it weaker, you can understand how NOT to tie your shoelaces in the way that makes them come undone easily!
Bonus Points: the Trucker's Hitch for tying down gear. It's basically any number of fixed-loop knots like the bowline to create a "pully" (mechanical advantage), fixed by any number of adjustable tension knots like the midshipman's to hold it down.
[+] [-] LgWoodenBadger|6 years ago|reply
"But under no circumstances should it ever be tied as a bend, for if tied with two ends of unequal size, or if one end is stiffer or smoother than the other, the knot is almost bound to spill. Except for its true purpose of binding it is a knot to be shunned." To quote from Ashley.
Others refer to it as the most dangerous knot because of the number of people killed by relying on it as a bend.
[+] [-] AceyMan|6 years ago|reply
Uhh, in theory. In practice no one knows how to tie their laces any more. I can go days and see nothing but granny knots and self-invented tangle (and I sneak photos to document such).
This seems to be an international issue, as well. Foreign nationals fare no better than we Yankees in my observations.
I don't know when this happened—the application of velcro in kid's shoes?—but it's definitely a real thing.
Be warned: once you start to look at people's shoes ... it's like a bad dream.
(p.s. Ian's Shoelace Site is a great resource and the double bunny ears knot (aka "Ian's Knot") is a life changer once you start to use it everydsy. I refer to it as the "All-day knot" since the added bight makes it last all day.
[+] [-] tomxor|6 years ago|reply
RE the "square not", in the UK this is usually called a reef knot: never use this for safety, a far superior alternative is the double fishermans https://www.animatedknots.com/double-fishermans-bend-knot, also use this for climbing, this is considered the best, strongest, safest way to join the ends of two ropes and it's pretty simple (you can add stoppers for safety or just make very long ends unlike the video). Unlike the bowline it can be a bitch to undo, but if you need safety...
[+] [-] djtriptych|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JshWright|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cheerlessbog|6 years ago|reply
[1] https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm
[+] [-] mjstone|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bradford|6 years ago|reply
For example, take the truckers hitch (https://www.animatedknots.com/truckers-hitch-knot). I could give this to someone and I'm sure they could tie the knot, but I would have great doubt about their ability to actually secure a load on a rooftop rack. There's a big gap between the mechanics of knot-tying and the application of the knot to a larger scenario.
I wish a guide came out that was more scenario based, covering things like:
How to secure a tarp so it doesn't blow away, how to secure a load on a car, how to lash together a back-country field-table/stool, etc.
[+] [-] stronglikedan|6 years ago|reply
I'm pretty sure the answer to all of those is duct tape.
[+] [-] pmoriarty|6 years ago|reply
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashley_Book_of_Knots
[2] - https://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford-W/dp/03850...
[+] [-] blacksmith_tb|6 years ago|reply
1: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1069046.The_Complete_Boo...
2: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220058.Handbook_of_Knots
3: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1476184.Knots
[+] [-] ChuckMcM|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Angostura|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] throw7|6 years ago|reply
https://home.army.mil/wood/application/files/8915/3868/3675/...
In the linked pdf, a bight is bend/curve of rope that doesn't cross itself; however, they show a "double bight" which seems to cross itself. They say that the "strands" don't cross... errr ok?, I'm not understanding how the "double bight" is not a "loop"... the rope is crossing itself!
[+] [-] butisaidsudo|6 years ago|reply
You can tie a regular bowline, or a bowline on a bight. The same knot will need a different technique for tying on a bight, since you can't pass the ends through. When you tie a bowline on a bight, first you take a bight, then you make a loop.
[+] [-] JshWright|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JimBrimble35|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sunsetMurk|6 years ago|reply
The site does an amazing job at a visual step-by-step guide that's easy to understand w/o always asking.. "did I skip a step?".. "How does that move that way?" .. The makers seem to have separated their steps in just the right way which is always a challenge. The pictures are high-quality too.
Kudos! Glad to see it get more eyeballs!
[+] [-] peterwwillis|6 years ago|reply
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin_bend [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin_loop [3] https://www.animatedknots.com/alpine-butterfly-bend-knot [4] https://www.animatedknots.com/alpine-butterfly-loop-knot
[+] [-] zwww|6 years ago|reply
In case its not included at all - I realize the knot has macabre associations, but a site aiming to be an encyclopedia of knots should in my opinion include every knot there is, good or bad alike.
[+] [-] williamscales|6 years ago|reply
The site also has the noose knot which can be extended to create a hangman's knot: https://www.animatedknots.com/noose-knot
There is some discussion on the noose knot page that indicates the hangman's knot is deliberately not included in the encyclopedia. The site doesn't give a reason for not including it.
I agree it should be included in an encyclopedia of knots. Any knot can be dangerous if you put it around your neck.
[+] [-] tzs|6 years ago|reply
For example, suppose I've got two ropes that I want to join together near the ends. I need a splice, right? And there is a "splicing" category...but the "splicing" category only contains one knot for joining two ropes end to end. All the rest are for joining a rope to a non-rope, or joining two non-ropes via a rope, leading me to wonder if I misunderstand what "splice" means.
There are plenty of splices on the site for joining two ropes near their ends, but they aren't in "splicing". There is the Double Fisherman's knot, which is described as being for securely joining two ropes of similar size, which is listed under "climbing" and "scouting". There are similar cases of splices in "fishing" and "boating" and some other categories.
[+] [-] butisaidsudo|6 years ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bend_knots
[+] [-] mtreis86|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hprotagonist|6 years ago|reply
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/animated-knots-by-grog/id376...
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.animatedkn...
It’s worth having a hardcopy version of Ashley’s Book Of Knots if you’re really into this sort of thing... but for (my) practical purposes, i prefer John Long’s “Climbing Anchors”.
[+] [-] sandworm101|6 years ago|reply
Ironically the most common knot in all climbing, the one used by virtually every climber every day, isn't in Long's books. He doesn't teach how to lace and tie your climbing shoes. There are right and wrong ways. I have seen a climber injured by incorrectly tied boots. They hurt their foot and couldn't remove the boot quickly because the laces were all wrong.
https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/caf-combat-boot-lacing.htm
[+] [-] vorpalhex|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JustSomeNobody|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] g_sch|6 years ago|reply
The site is the years-long passion project of an anesthesiologist from South Carolina who happens to love making websites, along with his two sons. He's also an avid sailor, holds patents on medical devices, and creator of a bunch of other similarly niche sites devoted to subjects like stereo art, napkin folding, and magic squares. What a guy!
[+] [-] sizzzzlerz|6 years ago|reply
Great site!
[+] [-] X6S1x6Okd1st|6 years ago|reply
As someone who climbs I'm surprised that the EDK is not high up there.
[+] [-] somada141|6 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ch|6 years ago|reply