The simplest knot that is made is the overhand knot (Fig. 1). It is very useful, and forms a part of many other knots. To make it, the standing part of the rope—that is, the main part in opposition to the end—is held in the left hand, and the end of the rope is passed back over it (whence its name) and put through the loop thus formed. It is used at the end of a rope to prevent the strands unlaying, and sometimes in the middle of a rope as a stopper knot. If the end of the rope is passed through the “bight” or loop two, three, or more times before hauling it taut, the double, treble, or fourfold knot, A (Fig. 2), is obtained. This is a larger knot than Fig. 1, and is often used on the thongs of whips, being then termed a blood knot. B (Fig. 2) shows the knot hauled taut. Fig. 1 also goes by the name of the Staffordshire knot, as it forms the insignia of the county. A Flemish or figure-of-eight knot is shown by Fig. 3. To make it, pass the end of the rope back, over, and round the standing part, and up through the first bight. The Flemish knot is used for much the same purposes as the preceding knots, but is rather more ornamental.

The bight of a rope is the loop formed when a rope is bent back on itself, in contradistinction to the ends.

The conditions under which the ends of two pieces of cordage have to be joined together are various, and several methods are brought into requisition; but it is always of considerable importance that the most suitable knot be employed in each case. The value of some knots consists in the rapidity with which they can be made, of others in the readiness with which they can be undone; but it is an essential that the knot holds firmly and does not slip when once hauled taut.

The commonest knot for joining the ends of two ropes, and probably the knot that is most often made, is the sailor’s, true, or reef knot (Figs. 4 and 5). When correctly made it is as perfect as a knot can be. It can be made and undone with equal rapidity, and is very secure when taut. Its one disadvantage is that it will not answer when made with ropes of different sizes, as it then slips and comes adrift, but where the two pieces of cordage are of the same size it is most secure and reliable, the strain being equally distributed on every part. It requires a little practice to make it properly. To do this, take an end in each hand and lay one over the other, the right end being undermost; bring the left-hand end under the standing part of the right end, as shown at A (Fig. 5), and over the end at B, round it, and up through the bight at C. The key to the knot is the putting of the right end under the left when the two ends are crossed at the beginning of the knot, as the left-hand end then comes naturally first over and then round the other rope, and the ends lie parallel with the standing parts, as at A (Fig. 4).

If the ends are not passed correctly, a granny, lubber’s, or calf knot results. This is shown in Fig. 6. Though at first sight this seems to be a good knot, yet it is not so in reality, and when any strain comes upon it, it slips and becomes useless. Fig. 7 is a granny knot, as it appears when hauled upon. It is considered a very lubberly thing to make a granny knot, and readers should practise until they can make a true knot rapidly and with certainty in any position.

The sailor’s knot is invariably used for reefing sails, the ease with which it can be undone making it very valuable for this purpose. It is only necessary to take hold of the two parts on each side just outside the knot and bring the hands together, and the loops slip over one another, as in Fig. 4, and the knot can be opened at once.

This knot has a curious peculiarity which is not generally known. If the end of one of the ropes is taken in one hand and the standing part of the same rope in the other, and both are hauled until the rope is straight, the knot becomes dislocated, so to speak, and the rope not hauled upon forms a hitch, B (Fig. 4), round the other part. This property was the secret of Hermann’s celebrated trick, “the knotted handkerchiefs.” After the handkerchiefs, knotted together at the corners, were returned to him by the audience, under pretence of tightening the knots still more, he treated each knot as has been described. The knots seemed firm, but really were loosened so that a touch with his wand separated them easily.

The common bow or rosette knot is a modification of the sailor’s knot. The first part of the process of making it is the same, but instead of passing one end singly over and under the other, as in the sailor’s knot, both ends are bent back on themselves, and the double parts worked as before. Care must be taken to pass these doubled ends exactly as those described in the sailor’s knot, or a granny bow will result. Some persons’ shoes always come untied, the reason being that they are tied with granny instead of true bows.

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.

Fig. 9 shows the weaver’s knot partly made, and Fig. 10 the same knot completed, but not hauled taut. Weavers call this the “thumb knot,” as it is made over the thumb of the left hand, and is used by them in joining their “ends” as they break. The rapidity with which they make the knot, snip off the ends, and set the loom going again is wonderful. Netters use this knot to join their twine, and it also forms the mesh of the netting itself, though, of course, it is then made in a very different way. In making the weaver’s knot, the two ends to be joined are crossed in the same way as in the sailor’s knot, placing the right end under, and holding them with the thumb and finger of the left hand at the place where they cross. The standing part of the right-hand rope is then brought back over the thumb and between the two ends, as shown in Fig. 9. The end A is then bent down over it, and held with the left thumb, while the knot is completed by hauling on B.

An excellent way of joining two ropes is illustrated by Fig. 11. The ends are laid alongside one another, overlapping each sufficiently to give room for the knot to be made. The double parts are then grasped in each hand and an overhand knot is formed, which is made taut by hauling on both parts at once, as if the knot were single.

Though the above is the easiest way to make the knot, it is not available where the ropes are fast. In this case a simple knot is made on the end of one rope, but not drawn taut. The end of the other rope is passed through the bight of the first, and a second loop formed with it alongside the first. The knot is closed by drawing the two ropes as before. This is in every way an excellent knot, and very secure.

Fig. 12 shows the ends of two ropes joined by means of a Flemish knot. It does not require much description, and is made after the manner of the knot last described.

The fisherman’s knot (Fig. 13) derives its name from the fact that it is always used for joining silkworm gut for fishing purposes. In making it, the strands are made to overlap one another, and an overhand knot is made with one end round the other strand. The strands are turned round, and another overhand knot made with the other end round the first strand. When the knot is tightened by hauling on the standing parts, one knot jams against the other and holds securely. The knot is improved by putting the ends twice through their respective loops, as at A (Fig. 2, p. 15). The size of the knot is increased by this means, but it will stand a much heavier strain, so that it is advisable to do this whenever the size of the knot is not of paramount importance.

The whipcord knot (Fig. 14) is used to fasten the lash to a whip. The lash B is laid across the ends of the thong A which are turned up over it. The lash is brought completely round the thong and through the loop it makes, which secures the ends of the thong firmly. If a silk lash is used, the short end is cut off, but if whipcord, the two ends are generally twisted together for a few inches, as at B, and an overhand knot made with one end round the other, to secure them. The remaining part is left somewhat longer, and another overhand knot at the end prevents it from unravelling.