Always something to learn

As you walk, run or dance your way through life, there are core skills we learn either as a child or, as we move into adulthood; riding a bike, using a knife and fork, being courteous to others, these would all, in my eyes, fall into this core skills basket, as too, would tying knots. 

I learnt how to tie a multitude of knots at a young age, as I progressed through the scouting movement, each knot was carefully shown how to tie and their uses being explained.  It didn’t stop there though.  As I started fishing and climbing around the Peak District, I picked up more and more knots, then learning to sail, camping, hammock camp, whatever I did, there seemed to be more useful knots to learn.  In the scouts, I learnt that in order to know that you can really tie each knot, turn the lights out, tie it in the dark, behind you back or with your eyes closed even, but, tie it so many times it becomes second nature to you.

As I progressed from standard camping (in a tent, on a campsite) to hammock camping, I very quickly took the leap (helped a very good deal by Woodland Ways) to go on their flagship bushcraft weekend.  I have always been into bushcraft, but until then, more from the armchair watching Ray Mears light fires by rubbing sticks together in the pouring rain, obviously in the jungle somewhere, whilst fighting off all manor of insects, but, here I now was, actually in the Peak District learning how to create fire, build shelter, clean water for myself.  The weekend was fantastic and sparked the move to further my bushcraft skills!  I have now completed their 2 year Woodland Wayer course (completely worth it by the way) and spent many hours helping out going in the woods as an apprentice, all whilst using a lot of the knots I learned as a child.

If I may, I’ll take you through some of the knots that I have found really useful though out my life so far. 

The first knot is the every so simple Over Hand knot.  The first knot I remember being shown and in the right use, a powerful knot.  Firstly as a stopper knot on the end of some string, or swim shorts to stop the cord disappearing, to hold beads on a rope, tied double it creates a loop on the end and much more.  It can be put to a higher use though, the Single Fishermans’  knot, joins two bits of rope together, I wouldn’t trust my life on it but its a strong knot, the Double Fishermans’ however, yes I have.  The truckers hitch, is simply a ‘slip’ over hand knot, turned into a pulley so that you can really pull something tight.  The Jam knot makes a fantastic anchor or it can be used to secure branches together.  When pulled properly tight it’s a little hard to undo though!

The next knot must be the Reef knot, right over left and under, left over right and under.  Taught to me very early on, it’s a good knot for tying two ropes together that will be under constant light to mid tension, although I have found it can come undone if the tension is repeatedly applied and then released.  A variant of this knot worth mentioning is the Granny knot, right over left and under, right over left and under.  For me this is an incorrectly tied Reef knot that comes undone easily or, if put under real tension, slips apart.

For joining two ropes of similar, but more usefully, dissimilar diameter, you just can’t beat a Sheet Bend.  A very strong knot when tied correctly and in fact I’ve used this knot whilst out sailing in an emergency, when the kicking strap (a high strength rope used to apply vertical downward pressure on the boom) on a 45ft yacht snapped, rendering the yacht almost impossible to sail.  I used this quick and easy knot too successfully reconnect the strap, so sailing could continue.

A Clove Hitch is a must to know.  When learnt, it’s a simple knot for the use as an anchor, or joining onto something, the harder it’s pulled on, the tighter it gets.  I’ve used it extensively whilst climbing to create safety anchors for belaying, simply a fantastic knot to know but it must be pulled in the intended direction of pull, otherwise I have seen it undo although you can add a ‘bite’ to to make it safer still.  Often I use it as the starting knot for when I lash something together but whatever you use it for, it needs to pull correctly.

The Bowline.  A fantastic anchor knot with many uses but, one thing that is really useful to understand about a bowline is, it’s easy to undo after being tensioned up.  By this I mean, if you put a bowline on a rope end to create a loop, then say pull a truck out of a ditch, really putting a huge force through it, you could walk back to the knot, ‘break its back’ and simply undo it.  Most other knots would be pulled so tight, a clove hitch or double figure 8 for example, you would need to cut the knot to release it or spend hours with pliers trying to undo them.  I remember seeing an old picture of Victorian steam liners having their docking line bowlines’ being broken by sledge hammers, the ropes were about 12 inches thick and would have huge tension put on them.  If the bowline is tied double and a loop left, it can create an impromptu harness, it’s truly a very useful knot.

The Figure 8 is very versatile and a true must have.  Used as a stopper knot, a running figure 8 creates a loop on a rope without cutting said rope, (similar to the alpine hitch) and a double figure 8 creates a loop in the end to tie onto something.  I’ve used this knot most whilst climbing, to tie the climbing rope to my harness or to secure to an anchor, but when you master and understand how it can be used, you’ll be glad you learnt it and will use it all the time.  A word of caution though, if it’s really tensioned up, it can be a swine to undo!!  The slippery figure 8 hitch is another varient and is the knot I use to tie up my hammocking tarp and often my hammock lines too, a strong yet easily released knot.

A Prusik knot, used in climbing to climb up a rope (very hard work but really satisfying) can be used to tension things such as guide lines.  The knot is designed so when loaded in one direct it holds fast on a rope, but in the complete opposite, it releases and moves easily along the rope its on.

As well as the knots already mentioned,  other knots I find really useful in different situations would be the round turn and 2 half hitchs, Highwaymans hitch, timber hitch with chain stich, Italian hitch and The Half hitch. 

Really the list could go on and on and I must stop somewhere as there are hundreds of knots out there (just do an internet search!!) however, a lot of the knots are quite specific and I’d say not necessary to learn until you need too.  The blood knot for example, is excellent at tying a hook on to fishing line, but I can’t ever remember using it for anything else.    I would also recommend learning how to hank and coil a rope so that it stores neatly and doesn’t get all tangled, I would also investigate the different type of ropes you can get and their limitations, Static or Dynamic, Nylon or Hemp are just a snapshot but they all have their uses and knots that will do better or worse when used with them. 

Out of all the knots I have learnt, the above knots, I use on a regular basis and have got me this far through life without the need to learn hundreds of specific knots.  You should be open to learning all the time though, the slippery Figure 8 and the Jam knot,  I’d never heard until I did the Woodland Wayer course, I now use them regularly.

Whatever you choose to do in life, having a really good grasp of how to tie the above knots, how to coil and store ropes, would give you a great toolbox of different knots to choose from whilst out and about but remember, when learnt, practice and practice until you can tie them with your eyes closed!!

Happy tying.