knots?

[nell67]

Anyone have any practice tying different types of knots which could be used in survival situations? Which knot is best for different situations?

[Tony uk]

I have a book on this but ive never really used it

It depends on what you want to do what kind of knot you need

[kiamichisavage]

Bowline knots are very useful. One of the most useful knots are overhand and two half hitches!

[Tony uk]

The Bowline On A Bight is good if you want to climb something, also an eye splice is good

[spiritman]

I agree with everyone about the bowline, its a great knot. Mostly because you can tie yourself onto a rope one handed, without ever entirely letting go of the end, really fast while your hanging from a cliff! My most used knot however (other than the overhand) is the clove hitch. It's what I use to start and end any lashings (which I use a lot, and are amazing for shelters and other furniture), or quickly hang things on a branch. A downside would be if your using plastic type, or rope that has no stretch, it's hard to tighten for very long. All other ropes and chords hold well you just have to keep the tension point of the knot at least halfway around from where your weight or pull will be . Also, the one you use to stake something down really well (with 2 or 3 stakes) is good to know but I'm not sure the name for it.

[marberry]

i mostly use a two half hitch or an overhand knot , bowline is good too , some of the more complex ones ilik to use the double sheet bend, lineman's knot, square knot, and the figure of eight slip knot

[Sarge47]

One of the easiest knots to tie is the "Prussic Knot". It's very simple and is used by climbers, yet has a multitude of uses in camping & Survival!

[Tony uk]

Found some of these:

Bowline:
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Round Turn and Two Half Hitches:
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Reef Knot or Square Knot:
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Diagonal Lashing:

Begin with a timber hitch.

Do three diagonal turns across one way.

Then three across the other way.

Pull the lashing together with about three frapping turns

Finish off with a clove hitch

Prussic Knot:
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A knot used by climbers. It is made with a strop (endless loop, either spliced or tied) round the main climbing rope. It can be loosened and slid along the rope to vary its position on the rope.

[Sarge47]

Found some of these:

Bowline:
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Round Turn and Two Half Hitches:
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Reef Knot or Square Knot:
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Diagonal Lashing:

Begin with a timber hitch.

Do three diagonal turns across one way.

Then three across the other way.

Pull the lashing together with about three frapping turns

Finish off with a clove hitch

Prussic Knot:
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A knot used by climbers. It is made with a strop (endless loop, either spliced or tied) round the main climbing rope. It can be loosened and slid along the rope to vary its position on the rope.

Tony this post is great, love the animation!!!!

[grazer]

I seem to use the clove hitch and taught-line hitch more than anything else.
A taught-line hitch is a very useful slip knot which lets you slide it up after tying it to tighten a line. It then holds without slipping, retaining its tension.

Basically, you do like the half-hitches, but you make a couple of turns sort of like the half-hitches, in toward the post, peg, or whatever you are tightening against, then lay the end back and tuck in the last half hitch. I like to use the variation with the last hitch reversed. I use this knot anytime I have to tie something onto the roof of my car, like that annoying neighbor I used to have, or if I have to secure a load in a truck or something like that.

A good adaptation if you have a rope that is longer than you need is to fold a loop over at a convenient length and tie an overhand knot with it or use the prussic knot. You then have a loop that you can use to tie off the taught-line hitch to.

Wikipedia has a good explanation of this hitch. I also use four turns to the inside instead of two for greater security. It sometimes slips if you use polypropylene rope (which I never use for much of anything if I have a choice).

[dragonjimm]

http://www.animatedknots.com/


the square knot has been around since the romans and was used by early surgeons as well as fishermen

[crashdive123]

Anyone have any practice tying different types of knots which could be used in survival situations? Which knot is best for different situations?

All good knots mentioned above. Nell if you're intereste, here are some sites with animations, that IMO make it a bit easier to learn than just looking at a picture. I prefer the first link.

http://www.animatedknots.com/

http://www.42brghtn.mistral.co.uk/knots/42ktmenu.html

http://www.tollesburysc.co.uk/Knots/Knots_gallery.htm

[Rick]

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ighlight=knots

[Ole WV Coot]

I probably carried a couple of hundred feet of rope when I was working and knots are worth learning. I was quickly and firmly told when I tied something wrong. When we lashed or tied off if the knot didn't hold or slipped someone could get hurt badly and at the least very, very irate. We even had a method for rolling and tying rope so it came off smoothly and you only made a mistake once.

[sthomas]

I just posted this in another topic where a forum member was asking about books on knots and foraging. Afterward I thought there must be another knots topic here somewhere, where the reference info might be of more value (this one). My apologies for repeating a post, and I'll be more wary of it next time.


**cut**

You could get overwhelmed trying to learn and remember too many knots. If you learn just these 5 knots, you should be able to get by in most knot-tying situations:
Square
Bowline
Timber Hitch
Clove Hitch
Taut-line

I also use a trucker's hitch often when stringing up a shelter backbone:
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That's a 3-part knot - a loop, a purchase, and two half hitches. I sometimes tie a slip knot in place of the loop.
Basically you tie one end of your rope to one tree, using a taut-line or whichever applicable knot you prefer. Then you tie the loop a couple feet out from the opposing tree you're tying the other end to. You then throw the rope around the tree, come back through the loop for the purchase, pull it as taut as you can (pull hard), and finish off with the two half hitches. Works like a champ and is super fast and easy to take down when you break camp.

Here are 8 basic Boy Scout knots:
http://pack741breaksdistrict.org/photo_album1.0.html

And if all else fails, remember what my grand-dad used to say;
If you can't tie one good knot, just string together a bunch of bad ones.

(in reality my grandfather was an avid fisherman/boatman and was a stickler for using the right knot for the right occasion)

**cut**

POST-EDIT: The animated trucker's hitch image link embedded here doesn't seem to display in the post using one version of IE on my laptop. I don't know if it's an IE issue or an IE and this forum code compatibility issue. It displays fine using Firefox. Here's a copy of it:
http://www.well.com/~sthomas/truckers-hitch.gif

[crashdive123]

Sthomas - good information bears repeating. Thank you.

[trax]

well then, I'll repeat a link that I posted way back when:

http://www.animatedknots.com/

[crashdive123]

well then, I'll repeat a link that I posted way back when:

http://www.animatedknots.com/

Great site. I use it often.

[Ziggy]

Try this site, make up your own mind: http://www.animatedknots.com/

[crashdive123]

Hmmmm. Deja vu all over again.