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| MacGyver Online Forums > MacGyverisms > Knots? |
| Posted by: Scorpion Regent 10 December 2016 - 10:51 AM |
| Knots are a natural extension of Macguyvering. Take a rope, bend it to your will, (pun intended) and get some control over a situation. Stopper knots keep the free end from getting away and fraying. Bends attach two lines together. Hitches attach a line to a object. Fixed loops can be used to surround, suspend or attach objects and lines. Used in combination knots can provide mechanical advantage and or direct motion. Here is just a partial list of the knots I use and their applications: Bowline (and variants) - my "go to" loop for the end of a line. Alpine butterfly - Easily makes a loop in the middle of a rope you can't reach the ends of. Sheet bend (single, double and slipped) - put two ropes together and go. Figure of Eight (bend, loop, stopper knot) a good semi-permenant knot that you can trust. Clove hitch (single and double) - need to hitch something to a post? this'll do. Backhanded hitch - a good hitch to tie and release under load. Marline spike hitch - Want to quickly hitch a object for lifting, such as a shovel or a axe or create a T-handle, this will do it. Tautline hitch - when tied in a loop allows tent and load lines to be adjusted and yet hold under strain. Prussik hitch - attach a separate loop to a fixed line that can be moved yet will hold under strain. Anchor bend - permanent tie off. So what knots do you use? |
| Posted by: RobertKelly65 14 December 2016 - 05:45 AM | ||
I used to be good at it but I've forgotten a lot of things. Could you post pictures of these knots, as a reminder. How about tutorials? I'd love to learn it again. |
| Posted by: Scorpion Regent 14 December 2016 - 09:28 AM |
| I used to be good at it but I've forgotten a lot of things. Could you post pictures of these knots, as a reminder. How about tutorials? I'd love to learn it again.[QUOTE] Any knot I listed can be found with a simple image search. There's no need to going to construct a web page here. If you are interested in learning, Youtube has videos, the library has books, and there are animated knot sites on the net. If you have specific question about a knot or some such, ask. |
| Posted by: Anabaena 7 May 2017 - 09:55 AM |
| I use reef knots for joining, or bowlines depending on the situation. Figure-eights for end stops or for joining two different sizes of rope. But my favourite knot is the clove hitch - so simple, so effective. I remember numerous attempts to learn the bowline when I was younger using the "rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree and back down the hole" sort of method and never ever got it; what worked, in the end, was just looking really closely at the knot and learning the mechanics of it. It's one loop, with another holding it closed, and once you see that, it becomes much easier to see how to tie it. |
| Posted by: Barry Rowland 11 May 2017 - 12:07 AM |
| Thankfully, my son is an Eagle Scout and lacks my penchant for not being able to tie different knots because his brother is now in Scouts and needs all the help he can get! I'd love to be able to do all the knots, but I just haven't practiced enough. |