Some knots worth tying

I describe some knots that I like, and perhaps why you should as well.

I like knots. I have liked knots for a long time, since I was first starting in boy scouts. In scouting of course, everyone has to learn the essential knots. Over time, what I’ve considered to be an essential knot has changed. The knots have ebbed and flowed, come and gone, as needs shifted or new knots were discovered. At one point I had even reduced my list of essential knots to only two for everything: the bowline and the taut line hitch¹. While those are still great, they aren’t quite enough.

I have compiled here a list of my favorites, or at least knots I find to suit a particular practical purpose. Of course, there are many other good knots out there, but as I rarely have a practical need for any knot, I get to be choosy about my favorites.

Bowline

      ╭───╮
    ╭─────│────╮
    │ │ ╭─│─╼  │
◄─────│─│─╯    ┊
    ╰───╯      ┊
      │        ┊
      ╰┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈╯

The bowline is my all time favorite knot. It combines simplicity with extreme loop strength. In my two-knot system, the bowline was used to tie a line to anything and everything, unless the line length needed to be adjusted. Usually this meant every line had a bowline on one side and a taut-line hitch on the other.

Adjustable grip hitch

       ╭╼
     ╭───╮╭╮╭╮
╭┈┈┈───│─│─│─│───►
┊    │ │ ╰╯╰╯│
╰┈┈┈───│─────╯
     ╰─╯

The adjustable grip hitch is a more recent discovery for me. It is used to adjust the length of the loop, in order to shorten the rest of the line. This has effectively replaced the taut-line hitch in my knot vocabulary. One of the biggest advantages of it, when compared to the taut-line, is that it does not loosen when a line is under slack.

Reef knot, square knot

    ╭───╮
  ╾─────│─╮
◄─────╮ ╰─│─╼
    ╰─────│───►
      ╰───╯

The square knot is the most fundamental knot. It’s usefulness is to join two ends that will remain under tension, usually held against an object. Such as the closure of a bag or box.

Despite this, the fact is that I rarely use a true square knot. However, there are many everyday knots that are simply slight variations on the square knot, since it is so versatile.

Sheet bend

With a slight change of direction in the tail, the square knot becomes a sheet bend, and joins two differently sized ropes.

Double slipped square knot

Or, commonly, the shoelace knot. The traditional shoelace knot is just a square knot with both tails slipped to make loops that can be easily pulled out. Realizing this is important to tying your shoes correctly. Many people complain that their shoes will not stay tied, no matter how many times the “double knot” them. Almost always, the root cause is that they are inadvertently tying a “double slipped granny knot” instead, but cannot tell because of the loops. Pulling the loops through will usually reveal this. The solution is simple, you must train yourself to tie the first part of the knot backwards, as the muscle memory involved in the steps with the loops (or rabbits) will be too ingrained.

double Fisherman’s

    ╭─╮ ╭───╮
  ╾───│─│─╮ │ ╭─╮ ╭───╮
◄─────│─│─│─────│─│─╮ │
    │ ╰─│─│─────│─│─│─────►
    ╰───╯ ╰─╯ │ ╰─│─│───╼
              ╰───╯ ╰─╯

Unlike the square knot, the double fisherman’s knot can join two lines to make one longer line. The knot will remain tight regardless of tension or slack applied. Further, it accomplishes this as one of the best looking knots on the list!

Alpine butterfly

  ╭┈┈┈┈┈┈╮
  ╰┈┈╮╭┈┈╯
   ╭─────╮
  ╭─────╮│
  │╰─││────►
◄────││─╯│
  ╰──╯╰──╯

The alpine butterfly has a very special property that warrants space on my list: the loop is tied without access to either tail of the rope. Also, the resulting lines naturally want to go in the direction of the tension in the rope. There is no other simple knot that I know of like it.

Carrick bend

     ╭╼
   ╭───╮
◄────│───╮
   │ │ │ │
   ╰───│────►
     ╰───╯
      ╾╯

The carrick bend is useful for joining very large ropes, often such as cables. Now, this is hardly a situation I regularly find myself in. However, the carrick bend can easily become a diamond knot² by tucking the tails around the lines and up through the bottom. This is great for key lanyards and zipper pulls.

Turks head

    ╭──────╮
  ╭─│────╮ │
╭─│──────│─────╮
│ │ │    ╰─│─╮ │
│ │ │      │ │ │
│ │ │      │ │ │
│ ╰─│────────│─╯
╰──────────╯ │
    ╰────────╯

A braid of one continuous line running in a circle, usually around an object. This was a classic in scouting, used for decoration, or kerchief slides, hatbands, etc. Many staff members, including myself, would tie a turks head or two on our paddles when storing them at base camp, simply to tell them apart.

Ashley stopper

    ╭─╮
   ╭─╮│
◄──││─│╮
   ╰│──╯
    ╰╯╰╼

A simple stopper knot with a nice clover pattern on the end, used to keep a line from being pulled all the way through a grommet. Another common stopper knot might be the figure eight, but this one is both stronger and nicer looking. It is simply a slip knot with the tail tucked through and pulled tight.

Appendix

The diagrams in this article are just preformatted monospace text. I created them in monodraw. This is the first time I’ve used this application, but it was very pleasant to use, and I expect to use it again next time I find myself reaching for mermaid or nomnoml.