About 2005 I started with a list of about 70 knots. Over the next 5 years I tested these knots here on the farm. I worked cattle with them, hauled loads of hay etc. I also used them camping in all types of weather.
Over time I whittled the list down with considerations of ease of use, whether it was dry or wet out. Easy to untie is just as important as easy to tie. For instance, you tie a loop in the center of a line stretched between two trees only to discover your loop needs to be 2ft to the right or left. How easy is it to move your loop(s)?
Wet weather is a big concern, some knots are almost impossible to untie when wet after they have had a load on them. A couple of these made my final lists of knots… there were simply no replacement for their overall usefulness. Just be aware what will happen if it rains.
The one knot I use more often than the others? #9 – Adjustable grip hitch. It’s two biggest pluses… As a load increases the knot gets tighter and it’s still adjustable with a load.
Example: I was warm weather camping in a stand of timber, no tent, just bedding and a 20ft tarp stretched over my camp at a slope so rain would run off. A big thunder storm blew in about midnight, winds gusting to 40mph. My tarp was secured with adjustable grip hitches. When the lines got wet, they stretched a little. All I had to do was move my knots while under load, easy, peasy! My tarp didn’t move during the storm.
Those of you who have had training in wilderness medicine will recognize a few of these knots like numbers 7 and 8. How do you lift and injured person out of a ravine?
How do you get a line across a ravine or over a tree limb? Everyone should know how to tie a “monkey fist”. I learned that knot the first time I went to sea in 1980. More than a couple of these knots have been used by men at sea for eons! It’s easiest to learn to tie a monkey fist with a line the size of a climbing rope.
Dress your knots! By dressing I mean make sure there are no unwanted twists of the line in a knot. Even a good knot will explode under load if not dressed properly.
One last item… These instructions teach you to tie a knot from a certain perspective. It’s just as important to be able to tie the knot from the opposite perspective, right becomes left. You won’t always be to stand in the perfect spot to tie a knot the way you learned it. Maybe a knot is needed above your head, barely within reach. Yet another perspective. Maybe there is no light, complete darkness, can you tie the knot in the dark? By feel?
I bought a 20ft piece of climbing rope from WM. I also use a piece of 550 cord 10ft long. Almost every winter I sit by the fire and practice these knots while watching tv. This is one of those perishable skills, practice is needed from time to time. An emergency isn’t the time to try and remember how to tie a particular knot.
Anyway, I hope folks find this list is useful.
Over time I whittled the list down with considerations of ease of use, whether it was dry or wet out. Easy to untie is just as important as easy to tie. For instance, you tie a loop in the center of a line stretched between two trees only to discover your loop needs to be 2ft to the right or left. How easy is it to move your loop(s)?
Wet weather is a big concern, some knots are almost impossible to untie when wet after they have had a load on them. A couple of these made my final lists of knots… there were simply no replacement for their overall usefulness. Just be aware what will happen if it rains.
The one knot I use more often than the others? #9 – Adjustable grip hitch. It’s two biggest pluses… As a load increases the knot gets tighter and it’s still adjustable with a load.
Example: I was warm weather camping in a stand of timber, no tent, just bedding and a 20ft tarp stretched over my camp at a slope so rain would run off. A big thunder storm blew in about midnight, winds gusting to 40mph. My tarp was secured with adjustable grip hitches. When the lines got wet, they stretched a little. All I had to do was move my knots while under load, easy, peasy! My tarp didn’t move during the storm.
Those of you who have had training in wilderness medicine will recognize a few of these knots like numbers 7 and 8. How do you lift and injured person out of a ravine?
How do you get a line across a ravine or over a tree limb? Everyone should know how to tie a “monkey fist”. I learned that knot the first time I went to sea in 1980. More than a couple of these knots have been used by men at sea for eons! It’s easiest to learn to tie a monkey fist with a line the size of a climbing rope.
Dress your knots! By dressing I mean make sure there are no unwanted twists of the line in a knot. Even a good knot will explode under load if not dressed properly.
One last item… These instructions teach you to tie a knot from a certain perspective. It’s just as important to be able to tie the knot from the opposite perspective, right becomes left. You won’t always be to stand in the perfect spot to tie a knot the way you learned it. Maybe a knot is needed above your head, barely within reach. Yet another perspective. Maybe there is no light, complete darkness, can you tie the knot in the dark? By feel?
I bought a 20ft piece of climbing rope from WM. I also use a piece of 550 cord 10ft long. Almost every winter I sit by the fire and practice these knots while watching tv. This is one of those perishable skills, practice is needed from time to time. An emergency isn’t the time to try and remember how to tie a particular knot.
Anyway, I hope folks find this list is useful.
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Hope he is doing good,miss him.
