https://getpocket.com/explore/item/essential-knots-how-to-tie-the-20-knots-you-need-to-knowby Tim MacWelch
August 27, 2019
Knot tying has always been one of those key outdoor skills that the inexperienced take for granted. The experienced outdoorsman, however, has had enough success and failure to know that there are right and wrong knots for certain jobs.
But first, it helps to know a few strange terms. Put it simply, a knot is some kind of fastening or splice made by intertwining one or more ropes or some other flexible material. After tightening a knot, it should hold on its own. A hitch is a little bit different. It’s like a knot, but it generally involves another object like a stick, a post, a ring, or occasionally another rope. Properly tied, hitches can hold their place, or they may be able to slide, depending on the hitch you choose. A lashing is like a hitch, but slightly more complex. Lashings involve the use of a rope or similar material to secure two or more objects together. To grossly oversimplify all this, the knot is just rope fastened together; the hitch is a rope fastened to an object; and a lashing is a rope fastening multiple objects together.
A good knot can save lives when you’re dealing with a survival situation, performing first aid, and when working over heights or water. But, you have to know how to tie it. So make sure you know what to do with your rope the next time you head into the wild by learning these 20 essential knots.
- Square knot
- Clove hitch
- Bowline
- Figure-eight
- Sheet bend
- Two half-hitches
- Taut line hitch
- Fisherman's knot
- Water knot
- Rolling hitch
- Prusik knot
- Timber hitch
- Blood knot
- Man harness
- Carrick bend
- Trucker's hitch
- Barrel hitch
- Sheepshank
- Tripod lashing
- Square lashing
Pictures and instructions at the link above.
Handy little review for any of us who were in scouting as a kid.
