No photos, but so far...bowlines (multiple means of tying), double (Spanish?) bowline, reef, figure eight (easy) knots, killick, timber, marlinespike, clove hitches...um...a carrick bend, and I learnt basic splicing (to my complete and utter joy)last Sunday. That's all I can remember right now. I'm loving knots, though, even though I'm just working on the basics, and I've sat there in something like awe watching more experienced folk effortlessly convince rope to do all sorts of magical things. On top of everything else it's a lot to remember! I'm angling to learn more splicing and Turk's Heads, that sort of thing, because they're so good for leatherwork and horsey stuff, too. Can you recommend a book in particular that might be good for a raw beginner like me?
It's good that you're learning real knots. When you posted about the killick, I did have to bite my tongue, because you were so proud, and it's ... oiy. You might finish a real knot with a killick, to keep the long end out of the way, but it's the epitome of "if you can't tie a knot tie a lot".
The carrick bend is lovely, I approve heartily.
The Morrow guide to knots, from memory, is a good basic knot book - I'll check my shelf tonight.
I had the real beginner's squiggle of joy to get this reply.:)
The killick hitch has specific applications on a ship, so it's worth learning for me at least (and I can see the applications for horsey stuff as well, when it comes to securing things onto a saddle, etc), which is why it was recommended I learn that one. I haven't seen it used to finish a knot though (I've only ever seen it wrapped around something like a barrel)...interesting. How do you tie it as a knot?
My carrick skillz leave a lot to be desired still, but I'm getting there somewhat painstakingly and looking forward to learning hte more decorative ones.
That would be lovely if you could recommend something. I'm enjoying this so much I'd love to become actually decent at it. I'm taking in so much information so fast at the moment, I'm afraid, that I'm becoming a little flustered. I coiled a rope anti-clockwise last Sunday, much to my humiliation, because I was staring somewhat entranced at tangles of blocks and tackles and trying to remember facts about vang lines. Being the only southpaw on board is kinda hard - everything is far more natural "backwards". I'm learning to be ambidextrous where rope is concerned, and probably a good thing, too.
We're talking about the same killick hitch, yeah? To me, that's a half hitch, and then another half hitch, with the tail wrapped around the rope a lot.
That's not a knot :) It's half a timber hitch, really, and the only bit that makes it a "killick", as far as I can see, is the multiple wraps of the tail at the end. Which is something I do just to tuck tails out of the way after, say, a clove hitch - if I have a loose end, I'll do a half hitch and then a "killick". So better to say I'll use it to finish another hitch, but I'm more likely to use a clove with an extra half, or timber hitch.
Sorry. This is why I bit my tongue in the first place - arrant knot snobbery. But now that you've learned the beautiful Carrick, does the Killick not start to seem ... graceless? Uncouth, even? A bit of rope just wrapped around itself a few times?
Oh, the picture in that entry is so unromantic, it's no wonder you're anti-killick. Technically, I guess you're right. But bear in mind I'm a) a complete beginner, and b) the Killick is (as I mentioned) both the name of a character in the Patrick O'Brien novels, and also an old Gaelic word for a makeshift anchor, which is why I like it. The pictures I've seen are far more elegant; instead of a piece of nylon cord wrapped 'round a plastic bucket, it's a piece of nice rope securing a craftsman-made barrel rather elegantly and simply; the subtleties of 'locking' based on the direction of the knot in relation to the direction of the rope's weave is something I'm just starting to appreciate.
I get where you're coming from, but I'm still liking the things I'm starting with. I mean, I've ridden international standard dressage horses, but that doesn't mean I can't see the beauty in the ponies I use for teaching.:)
But all this is really me gearing p to asking - what's your favourite knot, then? Which one do you love?
The carrick is a beautiful knot. I'm a big fan of the bowline, with a slight variant - once the "rabbit" has gone back in the hole, tuck it back up next to the standing end. That keeps it out of the loop so it doesn't interfere.
For all its flaws, I like the clove hitch - it's simple, fast, can be tied on the bight, and is effective.
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Date: 2009-02-25 03:19 pm (UTC)Knots soon. I have to be up in four hours for work.:/
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Date: 2009-03-11 11:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-12 10:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-12 10:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-03-12 10:26 am (UTC)The carrick bend is lovely, I approve heartily.
The Morrow guide to knots, from memory, is a good basic knot book - I'll check my shelf tonight.
Knot nerdery.
Date: 2009-03-12 10:41 am (UTC)The killick hitch has specific applications on a ship, so it's worth learning for me at least (and I can see the applications for horsey stuff as well, when it comes to securing things onto a saddle, etc), which is why it was recommended I learn that one. I haven't seen it used to finish a knot though (I've only ever seen it wrapped around something like a barrel)...interesting. How do you tie it as a knot?
My carrick skillz leave a lot to be desired still, but I'm getting there somewhat painstakingly and looking forward to learning hte more decorative ones.
That would be lovely if you could recommend something. I'm enjoying this so much I'd love to become actually decent at it. I'm taking in so much information so fast at the moment, I'm afraid, that I'm becoming a little flustered. I coiled a rope anti-clockwise last Sunday, much to my humiliation, because I was staring somewhat entranced at tangles of blocks and tackles and trying to remember facts about vang lines. Being the only southpaw on board is kinda hard - everything is far more natural "backwards". I'm learning to be ambidextrous where rope is concerned, and probably a good thing, too.
Thank you!
Re: Knot nerdery.
Date: 2009-03-12 10:48 am (UTC)That's not a knot :) It's half a timber hitch, really, and the only bit that makes it a "killick", as far as I can see, is the multiple wraps of the tail at the end. Which is something I do just to tuck tails out of the way after, say, a clove hitch - if I have a loose end, I'll do a half hitch and then a "killick". So better to say I'll use it to finish another hitch, but I'm more likely to use a clove with an extra half, or timber hitch.
Re: Knot nerdery.
Date: 2009-03-12 01:41 pm (UTC)Re: Knot nerdery.
Date: 2009-03-12 02:29 pm (UTC)Re: Knot nerdery.
Date: 2009-03-12 02:28 pm (UTC)I get where you're coming from, but I'm still liking the things I'm starting with. I mean, I've ridden international standard dressage horses, but that doesn't mean I can't see the beauty in the ponies I use for teaching.:)
But all this is really me gearing p to asking - what's your favourite knot, then? Which one do you love?
Re: Knot nerdery.
Date: 2009-03-12 03:01 pm (UTC)For all its flaws, I like the clove hitch - it's simple, fast, can be tied on the bight, and is effective.
Re: Knot nerdery.
Date: 2009-03-12 03:05 pm (UTC)Of course, everything these days goes back to Ashley, and you of all people will eventually want a copy of Ashley if you take knots seriously.