The Knot Guide

Post your best, most useful, or otherwise awesome knots here. Please make sure your contribution is understandable in that it could be followed by someone, rope in hand, who wants to practice the knot you're describing. Also, please stay on topic, as I'd like this thead to be a quick reference for someone searching for a certain special knot. List the name of your knot in the heading of your post, for sake of clarity. Now, lets see how many knots we can gather...

Some references on the web -

Roper's Knots Pages

Animated Knots

important climbing knots page by a friend, Eddie Joe (aka EC Joe)

an Irish climber's knot page

I have a few dozen more reference URLs, some of which I will post later

I almost always use a scaffold knot. It's so easy to adjust the tension on the line!

http://www.knotpro.com/members/camping_knots_scaffold_knot.htm

I second the animated knots listed above in answer one. It shows you step by step with animation how to tie just about any knots.

Knot doing this. It'd take too big a bight of my time. Probably drive me loopy. No hitch to my comments, I'm just not bending on this one.

Bill S said:

Some references on the web -

Roper's Knots Pages

Animated Knots

important climbing knots page by a friend, Eddie Joe (aka EC Joe)

an Irish climber's knot page

I have a few dozen more reference URLs, some of which I will post later

The animated knots site is a good find - I like the fact that you can watch it step by step if you want. Helps me with some of the more difficult knots.

Question: How many of you use a Trucker's Hitch to tension your guy lines? Any other knot for that purpose? The three holed plastic tensioners that come standard on a lot of guy lines just don't seem like they would hold up to major stress (I'm sure someone will comment about hurricane force winds...).

I use the trucker's hitch for a number of things, but rarely for tensioning. I worry about the rope-to-rope wear, since I have seen how quickly it can wear through a rope.

Has anyone used any of the iPhone apps for knots?

Earlier this week I was thinking about putting a few outdoors-related apps on my phone (mainly for fun), but it can be hard to know which ones are worthwhile beforehand.

Knot Time has instructional videos and pretty good reviews, so I may try that one.

Knots. "There's an app for that."

All kidding aside, I didn't even think to look for an app on the iPhone. I think I'll check some out.

Bill S said:

I use the trucker's hitch for a number of things, but rarely for tensioning. I worry about the rope-to-rope wear, since I have seen how quickly it can wear through a rope.

As a rescue tech and tree climber, I can tell you that rope to rope friction is far overstated - especially if you use kernmantle rope. Only about 20% of a rope's strength is in the sheath. The outer cover would have to be cut completely around the circumference of the rope to force the core to hold the weight. Even when a section of the core is exposed due to sheath abrasion, the rope is still at about 90-95% strength.

In tree climbing, one of the most commonly used knots is the blake's hich or B53. It is basically a trucker-type hitch slung over a limb. As you pull the standing end, you go up the rope. To come down, that is, rappel, you use the hitch as a brake - totally rope to rope. I know arborists who have been using the same rope day after day, for years.

When hanging a tarp ridge, I use a siberian hitch on one end and a trucker's hitch on the other. I use a taut-line hitch on corner tieouts (sometimes I have to add an extra "inside" turn to my tautline if I'm using dyneema cord).

Siberian hitch: (first knot he shows) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR3DMj-zJu8

truker's hitch: http://www.animatedknots.com/truckers/index.php

tautline hitch: http://www.animatedknots.com/rollinghitchboating/index.php

f_klock said:

... Only about 20% of a rope's strength is in the sheath. The outer cover would have to be cut completely around the circumference of the rope to force the core to hold the weight. Even when a section of the core is exposed due to sheath abrasion, the rope is still at about 90-95% strength.
...

That is contrary to published data from UIAA and from a number of the rope manufacturers. The latest edition of John Long's climbing anchors book has an appendix giving the results of numerous tests from a number of sources, showing a much greater loss of strength than you state. There is a significant difference, though, between static and dynamic ropes in wear and abrasion resistance. I believe arborists mostly use static lines, as does much of the rescue community. Rock climbers and alpinists use primarily dynamic ropes, which have a lower abrasion resistance.

Ah yes, you are correct Sir. The ratio is closer to 50/50, sheathe/core, on dynamic rope. I'm also using rope with an 8000 pound breaking strength.

f_klock -

Given your comments about wearing through ropes when it is nylon on nylon, you might be interested in this anecdotal occurence. True, it is just a story and not a scientific experiment, and reported in the news media which is very trustworthy and all that. Still, this is something that has happened all to often in climbing circles.

Ah, a classic mistake: Using FOUND gear. Using the biner would have been bad enough, but using found nylon cord as an anchor, and running your rappel line through it? Unthinkable. The fact that they referred to nylon 'cord' vs. 'rope' also leads me to believe that it was of a smaller diameter - something like 8mm or so.

That being said, nylon to nylon friction is a REAL danger. I never meant to imply otherwise. Arborists and tree climbers use the Blake's hitch because it spreads the rope to rope contact in such a way that it greatly reduces the single point friction.

Other rappel systems allow rope to rope contact too. Ever use a Muenter Hitch? Technically, the rope running through the HMS biner is in constant contact with the opposing strand, but for never more than a split second at any given point on the rope's length.