How to Tie the 10 Most Useful Knots

Enlarge Image Image Gallery 1: Overhand Knot 2: Figure-eight Knot 3: Reef (Square) Knot 4: Sheet (Becket) Bend 5: Carrick Bend 6: Bowline 7: Clove Hitch 8: Timber Hitch 9: Taut-line Hitch 10: Sheepshank Mother Earth News editors

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Headin' back to the land (or making any move toward greater self-sufficiency) will, sooner or later, mean a return to the use of ropes. Without simple hitches (single ropes tied to objects) and bends (ropes joined together), loads fall off trucks, an expensive cow or goat escapes, a boat goes adrift, and hoisting hay from wagon to mow becomes a major problem.

ROPE RHETORIC

However, before you start to learn down-home knotsmanship, a brief summary of rope vocabulary is in order.

BITTER END: The end of a rope that's being manipulated ... also called the "working end."

STANDING PART: the segment of the rope that you aren't using at the moment. It can be coiled, stretched, or otherwise left inactive.

BIGHT: a curve or are in the rope. This can be a semicircle or a loose loop through which the working end may run.

There are over 4,000 hitches and bends used in special crafts, but—with the following 10 knots in your rope repertoire—you'll be able to handle just about any situation that requires you to fasten two objects together, secure one line to another, or tie a rope to a solid object.

As we go along, take a look at the numbered photos and diagrams ... and practice with ropes of your own until your memory has mastered these often essential knots.

THE 10 BEST KNOTS

[1] OVERHAND KNOT: This one is easy ... just bitter end over and under the bight. The overhand is used as a temporary stopper to prevent a rope from unraveling or passing through a ring, eye, or pulley. It's also We starting point for other knots, including the reefor square-knot.

[2] FIGURE-EIGHT KNOT: The figure eight is a better stopper knot than the overhand, because it's easier to untie after the rope has been pulled tight. Just form a bight with the working end over the standing part ... run the bitter end under the standing part to form a second bight ... then put the bitter end through the first bight. The result looks like a sideways numeral 8.

[3] REEF (SQUARE) KNOT: Use this one to lash two objects together with one line, or to join two separate ropes. But take care: The reef knot will often slip under strain ... if the two ropes knotted together are of different diameters.

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