Knot hole

“ To make a square knot, take the ends of the rope and pass the left end over and under the right end, then the right over and under the left.
If you once learn the simple formula of "Left over," "Right over," you will never make a mistake and form the despised "Granny," a most useless, bothersome, and deceptive makeshift for any purpose (Fig. 13) . The true "Reef Knot" is merely the square knot with the bight of the left or right end used instead of the end itself. This enables the knot to be "cast off" more readily than the regular square knot (A, Fig. 12) . ”

“ A certain class of knots are, however, really ornamental and seldom serve to fasten two ropes together, or to make any object fast to another. They are, however, very useful in many ways, especially aboard ship, and they are so handsome and interesting that every one interested in rope work should learn to make them.
The simplest of the fancy knots is known as the "Single Crown" (Fig. 110) . To form this knot unlay the strands of a new, flexible rope for six to eight inches and whip the ends of each strand, as well as the standing part, to prevent further untwisting. ”

“ D shows a mode by which the end of a rope may be quickly fastened to a ring. E and F are lark knots, used for fastening the painters of boats or canoes; it is only necessary, in case of sudden attack or alarm, to pull out the stop stick to instantly free the painter without untying. G is a bowline knot, which is applicable to any purpose where it is requisite to have a loop which will not run home. H is a hawser bend, which can be expeditiously made use of for joining the ends of large ropes. I is a knot commonly made use of for securing a hawser to a mooring post. ”

“ Taking up one of the cords from the ground, and weighing it in my hand, I asked myself if I could by any means turn it to my purpose; after thinking some little while, it came into my mind that if I made a big knot at one end, and thrust it through one of the rifts so that it would hitch on the outer side of the wall, I might then make a loop or two in the loose end, by which I could raise myself against the wall to the height of the said rift, and so reach up to the loose boards, if loose they were, above. ”

“ They should be taught knot-tying and its application in an intelligent and thoro manner, and have frequent practice-drill therein, till it becomes second nature to them.
When a knot is tied, it must be pulled together tight, so as to stay. Otherwise, especially if the cord is stiff, the loops will slide apart or flop out of position, and the knot will come loose. A knot derives its strength and reliability from the friction between its different parts. ”

“ The “bowline knot” (Fig. 20) cannot slip, and is therefore always used for slinging a man for the purpose of doing some particular piece of work; [Pg 28] the workman sits in the sling. The end is first laid back over the standing part, so as to form a loop; the end is then passed up through the loop, round the back of the standing part, and down through the loop again. Hauling on the end and the standing part makes the knot taut.
A modification of this knot, called a “Bowline on a Bight,” is shown by Fig. 21. The loop is made as in the previous knot, only with the two parts of a doubled rope ”

“ The overhand knot is large, and the Solomon’s knot is a little unwieldy, but is considered more beautiful when tied. The flat reef knot is small, is easily tied and will not slip. The netting process has a good knot and has the advantage of a short single cord, as the meshes are made independently and the cord is carried on the netting needle.
It is a great advantage, when making a hammock with the simple overhand, the flat reef, or the Solomon’s knot, to loop all the pairs of cords at the center about a rod, Fig. ”

“ The “knot” is formed to make a knob on a rope, generally at the extremity, and by untwisting the strands at the end and weaving them together. But it may be made by turning the rope on itself through a loop, as for instance, the “overhand knot” (fig. 1) . A “bend” (from the same root as “bind”) , and a “hitch” (an O.E. word) , are ways of fastening or tying ropes together, as in the “Carrick bend” (fig. 21) , or round spars as the Studding Sail Halyard Bend (fig. 19) , and the Timber Hitch (fig. 20) . ”

“ ROPE FORMATION.
Knotting is an ancient device with which very early inhabitants of this earth must have been acquainted. From the beginning, mankind must always have used some kind of knot to join animal sinews, plant fibres, or hide strips which, in ancient days, were the prototypes of the varieties of cordage now employed.
A large number of knots has been invented by the skill of man, and on their strength and correct tying depend the lives of thousands and thousands of workmen—seamen, building trade operatives, etc., day by day. ”

“ Two half-hitches (Fig. 24) are a useful knot for a variety of purposes, as they are quickly made, and will not slip, no matter what strain is put upon them—indeed, the more they are hauled upon the faster they hold. They are the best means of making a rope fast to a hook. First one hitch is slipped on, and then the other on the top of it, and the rope is fast in less than two seconds. This knot is used by surgeons in reducing a dislocation of the thumb joint. ”

“ The “chain knot,” for lashing to a spar is illustrated by Fig. 71; a clove-hitch is first formed round the spar, and as many single hitches as required are then made. It may be finished off with any secure knot. Fig. 72 shows another and better way of making the chain knot. An overhand knot is formed at each turn, and consequently it is much more secure than Fig. 71. This is used for bending yachts’ sails to the gaff. As each turn forms a knot if the cord parts, the remainder holds firm, [Pg 60] and does not necessarily come adrift, as it would be almost sure to do it if fastened as in Fig. ”

“ You must learn these in order to understand the directions for knot-tying; they are: the bight, the loop, and the round turn.
The bight (Fig. 46) is made by bending the rope so that the sides are parallel. The loop (Fig. 47) is made by lapping one rope of the bight across the other. The round turn (Fig. 48) is made by carrying one rope of the loop all the way around to the other side, making half of the loop double.
Square Knot
This is probably what you would at first call a hard knot, and so it is a hard knot to come untied of itself or to slip, but it is easy to untie when necessary. ”

“ As to the utility of knots and rope work there can be no question. A little knowledge of knots has saved many a life in storm and wreck, and if every one knew how to quickly and securely tie a knot there would be far fewer casualties in hotel and similar fires. In a thousand ways and times a knowledge of rope and knots is useful and many times necessary. Many an accident has occurred through a knot or splice being improperly formed, and even in tying an ordinary bundle or "roping" a trunk or box few people tie a knot that is secure and yet readily undone and quickly made. ”

“ Some persons’ shoes always come untied, the reason being that they are tied with granny instead of true bows.
Fig. 8.—Overhand Rosette Knot or Bow.
Another way of joining the ends of two pieces of cordage is shown in Fig. 8. This is merely an overhand knot, made with two ropes instead of one. Sometimes it is called an openhand knot. It can be made very quickly, and there is no fear of its slipping, but if there is much strain put upon it the rope is very apt to part at the knot, in consequence of the short “nip,” or turn, that it makes just as it enters the knot. ”

“ Continue the use of the mesh stick until a net 8 ft. long is made. When the cord gives out rewind the shuttle and tie with a small knot that will not slip. The weaver’s knot is good if known, or the simple square knot shown in Fig. 9 is very good. It is too easy to make to need direction, but unless it is thrown over just right it will slip. ”

“ Middleman's Knot. Somewhat similar to the fisherman's knot but in this case only one rope is used. Can safely be used as a halter.
The Slip Knot. You sometimes want to release a knot quickly so this knot is used. It is simply the reef knot with one of the ends (A) pushed through one of the loops. To release, pull end A.
Overhand Loop Knot. When pulling a rope you may wish to gain more purchase on it or you may wish to insert a short stick to pull with. Use the loop knot shown in our diagram. ”

“ It is then drawn taut and the ends seized to the standing part if desired.
Sometimes we have occasion to join two heavy or stiff ropes or hawsers, and for this purpose the "Garrick Bend" (Fig. 26) is preeminently the best of all knots. To make this knot, form a bight by laying the end of a rope on top of and across the standing part. ”

“ The number of knots, ties, bends, hitches, splices, and shortenings in use is almost unlimited and they are most confusing and bewildering to the uninitiated. The most useful and ornamental, as well as the most reliable, are comparatively few in number, and in reality each knot learned leads readily to another ”

“ These ring knots take the place, in macramé, of bead drops, in gimp trimmings; when they are made of a double chain, you cut away 3 threads, when of a single, 1 thread, conceal the ends carefully inside the knot, make a loop with the 4th or 2nd thread, fig. 608, and lastly, fasten off all the ends with two or three invisible stitches. ”

“ The best end-man knot can be made with a single continuous movement of the hand. The methods of roping and knotting are dealt with elsewhere; but we must remember to re-examine waist-knots frequently, for ourselves and the inexperienced. The noose sometimes slips down or becomes dangerously loose amid the confused disarrangement of garments which stiff rocks excite. Cases have occurred where men, slipping on rock or into a crevasse, have all but fallen out of their careless waist-nooses, and have remained suspended by one armpit. Theoretically we always rope round the chest ”

“ A Double Carrick Bend is formed in precisely a similar manner, but a complete round turn is taken around the cross of the first hawser at c, and then led up again through the eye b and finished off as before (Fig. 56) .
(5) . A Diamond Knot formed by the two ends of a rope is really a fancy knot. It is often made with Hambro' line in forming lanyards for marline-spikes, knives, etc. It is a pretty knot and very easily made.
First lay one of the cords in a loop shaped as in Fig. ”

“ The knot is the universal “fisherman’s knot” or becket hitch made in the usual manner. The method of using the mesh stick, however, is rather peculiar, and somewhat clumsy compared with that used by civilized net-makers, as it serves only to measure the mesh and not also to hold the successive meshes as they are made. It is a long flat piece of bone or antler, shaped like a case knife, with a blade square at heel and point. There is often also a little blunt hook (as in Fig. 316, No. 56581 [1021] ) at the point, bending upward or toward the back of the blade. ”

“ For the first reason, we found it necessary to put a pad of some kind inside the knot--leather, linen, or a little tow or waste rope will do. For the second reason we preferred knots in which the folds are least sharply bent round each other; that is, in which the curves are large. We therefore conclude that--1st. No knot, which is not absolutely necessary, ought to be allowed to remain on the rope: 2nd. The tighter and harder a knot becomes, the worse it is: 3rd. ”

“ On shipboard there is a great variety of knots, hitches, bends, splices, etc., but the larger portion of these can only be adapted to the particular requirements of a vessel, many of them having a special duty to perform. The chief virtue of a knot is to hold well and be easily cast off.
There are three parts to a rope besides the ends: the standing part, which is the part leading from the end made fast; the running part, which is the part used or hauled; and the bight, which is the curve of the rope.
Fig. 1. ”

“ While for most purposes knots serve every purpose for fastening two ropes together or for attaching a rope to some other object, yet a tied rope is never as strong as a whole rope and moreover where two ropes are thus fastened together, the knot will not pass through blocks, eyes or other openings which will admit the rope itself. ”

“ As stated before, stacks that are supported by guy wires have from one to three sets, and generally four wires to a set. A 1⁄2-inch galvanized wire is sufficient for any stack, although some people prefer a larger size wire for double safety.
[58]
KNOTS
Knots are a very important factor in the Steeple-Jack’s life. Only knots that have been properly tested should be used. Many a terrible disaster has been caused by the use of a knot which was quickly invented by a man and never tested. Avoid such accidents by learning to tie knots in the proper fashion. ”

“ Double chain knotting—is started like the single chain knot, but the second loop is formed from the free end, and slipped thru from the same side as the first. Both ends are used, alternately, and the loops are pulled taut. It makes a beautiful cord, triangular in shape.
30. Genoese braid, begun—two cords are used, one end of each is used as a core, tho a thicker core may be used, and with the other two ends, in turn, loops are drawn around the core. ”

“ To make this, pass the end of rope around the spar or timber, then over itself; over and around the spar, and pass the end under itself and between rope and spar, as shown in the illustration.
The Clove hitch with ends knotted becomes the "Gunners' Knot" (Fig. 37) . These are among the most valuable and important of knots and are useful in a thousand and one places. The Clove hitch will hold fast on a smooth timber and is used extensively by builders for fastening the stageing to the upright posts. ”