What Knots?

[match]

Just wondering what knots people tend to favour or use all the time - maybe a top 5/top 10 list. My favourites are:

Alpine Butterfly - for putting a loop in a rope - strong and easy to tie - can make double/triple loops.

Adjustable Grip Hitch - For making adjustable loops or tightening guylines etc

(I use either of above for joining lines together).

Round turn & two half hitches - a classic for things like hammocks, bow drill cordage etc - any temporary fixing.

Larks Head/Prusik - friction locking hitch/quick way of fixing things.

Jug Sling Hitch - for attaching loops onto the tops of bottles.

Timber/Killick Hitch - for dragging heavy logs etc around.

So what knots do you all use and why?

 

[falcon]

I use the waggoner's hitch for securing all kinds of duffle onto my small trailer - you can get it tight as a piano string. The evenk knot, tightening knot and tautline hitch on the basha. Then there's roundturn/half hitches at random times and square lashings on my sweet pea sticks. I've just finally cracked the falconer's knot as an alternative to the evenk knots. It's great messing around with knots - some seem so difficult, then suddenly you click and wonder what all the previous fuss was about...

 

[match]

If I'm thinking correctly then the waggoners knot is the same as the dolly knot - kind of looks like a sheepshank but with a pulley action built in - I've used it for lashing ropes over loads before, going from one loop to another along a trailer.

Not seen the falconer's knot before, but it looks like it could be handy as a one-handed knot.

 

[bambodoggy]

I use about the same as you Match but also use the bowline quite a lot as i find it strong and yet easy to untie.
I also use the Italian Hitch rather a lot, it's great for tying off the main line of a hammock as the hitch was originally used to aseil/rapple on and I then tie it off with a half hitch into a daisy chain.

Bam.

(Oh and tend to use the Klemhist instead of the prussic ).

 

[Goose]

Waggoners hitch/knot is the same as a dolly knot, but I think there may be regional variations with the knot as well.
The falconers hitch is a cracking knot (thanks Stuart) it ends up the same as a slippery hitch/quick hitch/highwaymans hitch, which might help you work it out!
It is easier to tie in paracord type cordage rather than rope.
Another knot I find useful is the bowline.

 

[match]

I used to use the bowline as my main loop knot, but changed to the alpine butterfly as I found it easier to tie, and also easier to loosen after its been under strain. It is apparently also stronger, and has the advantage that multiple loops can be put into it easily, making it suitable for bigger jobs like chairlifts.

Learning the falconers knot is now my challenge for the day - just found these instructions:

http://www.themodernapprentice.com/knot.htm

 

[Biddlesby]

Haven't heard of these two:

Jug Sling Hitch - for attaching loops onto the tops of bottles.

Timber/Killick Hitch - for dragging heavy logs etc around.

And I forgot how to do this one the next day:

Larks Head/Prusik - friction locking hitch/quick way of fixing things

Any good knot sites where i can learn them?

 

[Goose]

http://www.folsoms.net/knots/
Try this site.

 

[Stew]

So many knots to choose from. I use them without thinking about what it is a lot of the time but I guess my most used would be the constrictor knot.

 

[Minotaur]

Haven't heard of these two:

Quote:
Jug Sling Hitch - for attaching loops onto the tops of bottles.

Timber/Killick Hitch - for dragging heavy logs etc around.

Not sure abot the Jug Sling hitch(Know it is in Ashleys)

The Killick hitch is easy(I will upload pics if someone explains how).

You have a log lengthwise in front of you. Thread the rope under the one end(the back end from how you want to pull it) and then taking the short end, take it round the long end and twist it back round itself to form a loop. You pull the long end and the rope tights around the log. That is a killick hitch, but then what you do is go to the front end of the log, keeping the tension on the killick hitch, put the rope under the log and though the gap, forming what is know as a half hitch round the log.

That sort of makes sense to me anyway. To give you an idea of what they look like : -

Fold a rope in half, put your finger in the loop, twist the rope, that is basically a Killick hitch.

Imagine you have a bannister in front of you going horizonatal accross. Take a rope round it, and then take the ends level with the bannister, if you cross the rope when you do this, you have a half hitch.

And I forgot how to do this one the next day:

Quote:
Larks Head/Prusik - friction locking hitch/quick way of fixing things

Larks Head - fold a rope in half, take the loop round something and thread the rest of the rope though the loop.

A prusik knot is basically a larks head with more turns before you go though the loop. There are at least two types of prusik and I have a feeling that is not how it is spelt.

Any good knot sites where i can learn them?

http://boys.brigadeaustralia.org/leaders/index.php?p=Resources:Knots_-_Ends_of_Ropes

http://www.scoutingresources.org.uk/knots_index.html

I think that was as clear as mud.

Knot I use the most is the fisherman's bend. It is designed to join line but works really well on cheap and nasty stuff you do not care about and is easy to tie in problem areas.

 

[led]

A prusik knot is basically a larks head with more turns before you go though the loop. There are at least two types of prusik and I have a feeling that is not how it is spelt.

Actually, you've got it spot-on. Named after Karl Prusik, most people mangle it into prussik etc. The other similar hitch is the klemheist, which is preferred when climbing.

Prusik/Klemheist: http://www.chockstone.org/TechTips/prusik.htm

 

[rich59]

Just wondering what knots people tend to favour or use all the time - maybe a top 5/top 10 list.

If I were to need a thumb loop for hand drilling then I use a piece of cloth and tie it onto the top of the drill with a clove hitch. A useful knot also when dealing with potentially fragile home made cordage as you hardly bend the cordage in making the knot.

If I want to join 2 ropes with no fear of slipping then it is the fisherman's knot for me. (I think the fisherman's bend is for tying onto a loop)

When tying up rubbish bags I like a knot that I can tie while still holding the two ends and not letting go. The knot is the reef knot but the method is one I learnt from a surgeon that you don't see much elsewhere.

A while ago I made up some bolas (Latin American version of a lasoo) out of paper and string that inspired my scout troup. I recall I used a clove hitch onto the balls of paper and a marlin spike hitch to join on another piece of string in the middle of a length.

I would use a seaman's whipping for stopping a piece of rope from fraying at its end.

I have used a continuous set of sheet bends to make a net.

 

[MagiKelly]

Falconer's knot is my most used knot, by far.

 

[match]

I have to say I've not ever learnt the falconer's knot - from what I've read it seems to be a quick release knot - how does it have advantages over say a highwaymans hitch, or something simple like a chain knot?

If its good, I'll get you to teach it to me at the Scottish meet in exchange for any of the knots I use all the time

 

[led]

One that I like quite a lot is the constrictor hitch. http://www.realknots.com/knots/constric.htm

 

[MagiKelly]

I have to say I've not ever learnt the falconer's knot - from what I've read it seems to be a quick release knot - how does it have advantages over say a highwaymans hitch, or something simple like a chain knot?

If its good, I'll get you to teach it to me at the Scottish meet in exchange for any of the knots I use all the time

No problem. It is one you can use for hanging your hammock and adjusting the hieght of it.

 

[scanker]

Thought this might be of use to someone - here's some links for knot sites I have bookmarked:

http://www.ropeworks.biz/text/arch.html
http://www.realknots.com/knots/
http://www.folsoms.net/knots/

The last one I found particularly good.

 

[Goose]

I have to say I've not ever learnt the falconer's knot - from what I've read it seems to be a quick release knot - how does it have advantages over say a highwaymans hitch, or something simple like a chain knot?

If its good, I'll get you to teach it to me at the Scottish meet in exchange for any of the knots I use all the time

The falconers knot is away of making the highwaymans hitch with one hand!

 

[falcon]

It's also very similar if not the same as RM's two evenk knots.

 

[Minotaur]

If I want to join 2 ropes with no fear of slipping then it is the fisherman's knot for me. (I think the fisherman's bend is for tying onto a loop)

I stand corrected, the fisherman's bend is a varient on a round turn and two half hitches.

I prefer the constrictor to the clove hitch. It holds better and does not have the slipage problems of the clove hitch.