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We have in the past looked at our favorite: Candy Bars, Singers and Peanut Butter.

Which knot do you think is the most useful?

Which Knot do you use the most?

Where do you go to look up stuff on knots?

Eamonn

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I can't say which knot is most useful.

 

As a sailor, I use the bowline and figure 8 knots most often. Sometimes a clovehitch.

 

As a camper, I most often use two half hitches or a clove hitch. With the prevalence of tent slides, I don't use a taut line hitch much anymore.

 

As far a references go I don't have much. If I have a question on one of the basic knots, I usually track down my son's BS Handbook.

 

SA

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I stink at knots. I always recruited others to help out when we had to work on knots. Had a Dad of one of the boys in my den who was in the Navy - he was very helpful. Met a fellow Scouter who is a Merchant Marine. Not only did he know how to tie all kinds of cool knots the boys had never even heard of, he was an excellent teacher.

 

The only knots I tie on a regular basis are the square knot and a granny knot!

 

I have a couple of books on knots, but I can seem to translate the words and pictures in the books to my hands.

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I find that I seldom have a need to tie knots in "real" life. That doesn't keep me from sitting with my knot book and tying knots frequently while watching TV. My favorite is the butterfly. I don't know why, I just like tying it.

 

I saw something proved the other day. Don't use it and you lose it. My son has a keen memory and gets out a rope and ties knots periodically. He is a PL and he put a knot tying relay on the agenda as their game for last week's meeting. There were seven stations set up with a rope and placard at each station. The boys had 15 seconds at each station. They had previously "learned" all of these knots. Out of 8 boys, 2 got one knot each correct and my son got six correct. He actually got the seventh correct too, he just took longer than 15 second to complete it. Don't use it, you lose it. With todays tents and EZ-ups in place of dining flys, the boys seldom have any practical use for knots.

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"find that I seldom have a need to tie knots in "real" life."

 

I tie knots on a regualar basis. I have to tie my shoes. I tie things to the roof of my car. I tie the dog to various and sundry poles and posts. Then there are the lynchings too.

 

 

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I love to paddle my canoe. Useful knots there include: the bowline, the figure eight on a bite, water knot, double fisherman's knot, the truckers' hitch and the alpine butterfly.

 

I am a committed knot-lover and try to keep my hand in on a daily basis. I tie some specialties used for awards like the star knot, pineapple knot and monkey fist. I put becoming a pioneering M.B. instructor on my ticket for Wood Badge. I almost always have a piece of cord in my pocket and get ribbed quite a bit by some of my fellow scouters. I don't know how many knots I have learned. I know that I have forgotten more than most people will ever learn.

 

Cord and knots were the first tools and corresponding technologies developed by early humans. When I see the intricate patterns developed by sailors from an earlier age, I see this technological heritage brought to an art form.

 

I have quite a few knot books and am always looking for my next (probably The Morrow Guide To Knots by Guido Regazzoni). The most comprehensive one I own is The Ashley Book Of Knots by Clifford Ashley. It has literally thousands of knots and illustrations and tons of trivia (useless information for most).

 

Of course, with the advent of the internet my list of resources is darn near endless. I was really upset a couple of years back when my computer crashed and I lost my bookmarks until I could do a data recovery. I still have a few that I can't find.

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A good length of rope combined with a knowledge of knots and lashings is the most important tool one can have when working outdoors.

 

All knots have their own uses and therefore the usefulness of a knot depends on how often you come across the right situation to use it. If you're a climber, a figure eight on a bight might be more useful than a taut line or clove hitch; if you're a fisherman, then a square knot or bowline wouldn't be too useful in tying a fishing line; if you work in the outdoors and you need to move a fallen tree, a timber hitch would be more useful than two half hitches. Most people find little use for a sheep shank; however, to people who work in or around ships and boats, the sheep shank is invaluable.

 

To me, however, the most useful knot would have to be the sheet bend. I always end up overestimating the length of the rope when I go to tie things. The sheet bend is an easy knot to tie two ropes together, it's more trustworthy than the square knot (less likely to slip) and doesn't jam up as easily as the square knot does under tension (especially if you make a slippery sheet bend).

 

To make a non-slip loop, the bowline would probably be the more common choice of knot, but I find that the bowline on a bight and the figure eight on a bight are easier to tie, they're less likely to slip (or jam up for that matter), AND they're easier on the rope. A knot that jams up (like a granny knot, for example) and is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to untie usually decreases the strength of the rope... Eye splices are excellent to use IF you have them tied BEFORE you need to use them; otherwise, stick with the knots.

 

Some knots can be improved by combining the concepts of two knots: a figure eight knot can be added at the short end of a bowline to increase security; a timber hitch can be secured around a log with one or two half hitches.

 

I've learned most of my knots from boy scouts; aside from learning the 8 basic knots from the boy scout handbook, I've picked up other knots taught in some merit badge classes: fishing, pioneering, and climbing for example. I once saw a demonstration of a navy veteran tying a monkey's fist, and I quickly picked it up.

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FOG, You have an amazing talent for taking a Scout thread and injecting real nastiness. NJCubScouter, lynching is quite different than hanging. I know that FOG's tongue is firmly in cheek. It doesn't make the suggestion any less offensive.

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Boleta, you're correct all around. But FOG gives offense intentionally. It's the character he plays in this forum, someone who delights in saying outlandish things and getting other people upset. I was trying to take a light-hearted swipe back at him. I thought it was funny. But maybe, as you suggest, the reference to "lynching" makes a humorous response inappropriate, so I'll just leave it to everybody else to discuss knots as per the opening post.

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