[HN Gopher] Animated Knots
___________________________________________________________________
Animated Knots
Author : zingerlio
Score : 613 points
Date : 2023-09-01 02:34 UTC (20 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.animatedknots.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.animatedknots.com)
| umvi wrote:
| For those who don't know many knots, I recommend learning the
| bowline if you could only choose one. It's called the "king of
| knots" for a reason - it's highly reliable and won't fail under
| load when lesser knots would.
|
| https://www.animatedknots.com/bowline-knot
|
| There's a way of tying it one-handed as well, which can be useful
| in rescue scenarios (i.e. you are a hiker who fell into a ravine,
| and someone lowers a rope to you. Even if one arm is
| broken/disabled you could tie a bowline around your waist with
| your other arm)
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XIUiUOzq7Q
| vanderZwan wrote:
| Interesting. I used to go to a Dutch sailing camp in summer as
| a teenager. My sailing instructors would have disapproved of
| the bowline shown here - they were always insisting that we use
| what this site calls a "left-handed bowline" variation. The
| reasoning is that otherwise the end would be wedged between the
| created loop and mooring. That has a number of downsides:
|
| - it can be dangerous when (say) undoing the knot in stormy
| weather because you end up having to wedge your fingers between
| loop and post to undo the knot.
|
| - theoretically if the boat rocks a lot and the loop is too
| tight, the mooring post could end up pushing into the end bit
| of rope, eventually undoing the knot.
|
| So it was just considered better to make the lefthanded version
| the one you pick by habit. Now I haven't sailed in
| (effectively) a quarter century since so the fact that I
| remember this says something about how serious they were about
| drilling this into our heads.
|
| When I think about it know the difference in risk is probably
| not significant for individuals, but I imagine that if you are
| a sailing camp responsible for hundreds of teens each summer it
| reduces the chance of accidents for them.
| bigmattystyles wrote:
| I know the linked site in the submission is more about practical
| knots, everyday knots, but this Tom Scott guest video from Up and
| Atom on mathematical knots blew my mind.
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eVd2Ugk9BU So awesome that it's
| able to mathematically quantify knots.
| jeroenvlek wrote:
| Thanks for sharing, I have been passively wondering about how
| mathematical knot theory works for quite some time. Awesome :)
| sbt567 wrote:
| Uh wow. That video is awesome. Thanks for sharing
| Brajeshwar wrote:
| My pastime on the phone, besides playing chess, is to browse
| through Knots 3D - https://knots3d.com
| Terr_ wrote:
| There's a certain kind of sci-fi premise of "what if every
| intelligent species has something they're particularly good at."
|
| Naturally, most stories revolve around something impressive (or
| damning) for humanity like "war" or "kindness", but in the past
| I've wondered what kind of story one could make if the answer was
| "knots".
|
| Perhaps that's a question for mathematicians, and whether some
| facility for topological knot-thinking might be very handy in
| some kind of physics or engineering.
| Tao3300 wrote:
| I love the idea of technologically superior aliens showing up
| and kicking themselves for never having discovered rope. Here,
| have the ftl drive, we need this rope. Maybe their native
| habitat didn't have fibrous plants.
| XorNot wrote:
| I love this idea by the way.
| cton wrote:
| I must have saved upwards of 10 minutes so far by tying my laces
| with the Ian Knot [1]. If anyone knows of a faster knot I'm all
| ears, otherwise, cheers to Ian and his innovation in the shoe
| lace knot space.
|
| [1] https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm
| jimbob45 wrote:
| How do you keep the tension when tying that? With a regular
| shoelace knot, I have a spare thumb to place on the base knot
| so that it maintains the tension I initially selected with the
| base knot. With the Ian knot, it feels like I just get whatever
| it feels like giving me.
| pbhjpbhj wrote:
| In case you don't realise, you're tying a regular shoe-lace
| knot, a square knot, it's just a different technique.
| aftoprokrustes wrote:
| Not just time saving, but since I use it I did not have to re-
| tie my laces during the day, it looks very symmetrical, and I
| regularly have the silly but satisfying experience of people
| seeing me tie my shoes and say "how did you do that?". This is
| the knot I am teaching my kids (my wife can take care of the
| "standard" one).
| josenyc wrote:
| Was expecting fluid animations. These are animated stills, not
| hating though.
| noufalibrahim wrote:
| This is a beautifully done website. I found a book on knots at a
| used bookstore and bought it. I got a few lengths of paracord and
| tried them all out. It's a great way to spend an evening. Quite
| relaxing and doing something physical with my hands was a great
| stress buster too.
| DoingSomeThings wrote:
| Any specific suggestions for rope to buy? I love the idea of
| practicing at home in my living room.
| mthoms wrote:
| You can buy kits from proknot.com The one I have comes with
| two small lengths of cord and two small carabiners (I'm a
| climber).
|
| My only complaint is that the cord tends to be a bit stiff
| but that's unavoidable if you're using real cord.
|
| https://proknot.com/products/pro-knot-knot-tying-kit
| dahart wrote:
| Get a variety! At least if you hope to use knots away from
| home, like boating, climbing or camping. I've definitely
| found it useful to practice knots on different sizes,
| materials, tensions, etc., just because the ropes I get in
| the wild vary... for camping you might be using 1/4 inch or
| smaller, for a small sailboat maybe 1/2 or 3/4-inch, when I
| go on a houseboat every once in a while, it's like maybe 1.5
| or 2-inches diameter, sometimes old and fraying, sometimes
| nylon and relatively slippery, or sometimes a natural fiber
| rope that's much grabbier especially when wet...
|
| Knots really seem to behave differently on different sizes &
| kinds of ropes, and it can be hard to remember (for me at
| least) how to tie a knot you learned with twine on a bigger
| boat line. How easily they bind, how well they hold, and how
| easily they release also starts to get way more important
| when you're outside and depending on the lines.
| klausjensen wrote:
| I am not interested in knots. Yet, I just spent 20 minutes
| watching these animations and being fascinated. Good work.
| mclanett wrote:
| This has been the best app for years.
| samjohnation111 wrote:
| [flagged]
| drewchew wrote:
| The one app I've ever bought besides games.
| fragmede wrote:
| Despite the claim of "knots of any kind" the shibari category of
| knots is missing.
| KomoD wrote:
| It's like Ian's shoelace site but for knots :D
| DarkSucker wrote:
| While neither animated nor as large as animatedknots, the Notable
| Knot Index
|
| https://notableknotindex.webs.com/
|
| contains a short list of knots along with insightful comments on
| their use. Some, like the Slipped Buntline Hitch, show
| alternative forms to alleviate deficiencies (jamming in this
| case) or for different use cases. One of my favorites is the
| Versatacle, which provides a pulley like mechanical advantage.
| It's been my go-to tensioning knot since learning about it.
| Animated Knots is great for understanding the form of knots like
| the Zepplin Bend, and I use both sites when learning a new knot
| or brushing up on an old one.
| blacksmith_tb wrote:
| Notable Knot Index is interesting, a short list, but a good
| one! The Buntline Hitch is a personal favorite of mine, and
| though I am often fine with it jamming (for things I don't want
| to untie any time soon), I will have to tie a few slipped to
| get a feel for it.
| drewchew wrote:
| "Eighteen inches of paracord is an infinitely better object to
| fidget with than any 10$ trinket you'll ever get at a store..."
| the old man shouted, angrily shaking his fist at modernity in
| general.
| wiz21c wrote:
| I thought for a second that I'd see 3D animation of knots and
| thought "that'd be a cool math program to do: one that can
| animate a knot construction"...
| stbtrax wrote:
| I personally found the low frame rate stop motion-esque
| animations on this hard to follow when learning knots a few
| months back. Simple close-up videos on YouTube served me better.
| Raed667 wrote:
| Something about knots makes me feel stupid/slow. That's a shame
| for someone who does climbing and boating...
|
| Now I just rely on muscle memory, as trying to "understand" knots
| always leaves me frustrated...
| sails wrote:
| Great resource, especially that they take a stance on versions []
| and include some history
|
| [] https://www.animatedknots.com/midshipmans-hitch-knot
| andrewl wrote:
| This looks quite useful! I've also gotten good information from
| Ian's Shoelace Site:
|
| https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/
| MostlyStable wrote:
| This app is one of the first I always install on a new phone.
| Perennially useful.
| laserlight wrote:
| First Class Amateur [0] is a great YouTube channel demonstrating
| how to solve real-world problems using knots.
|
| [0] https://www.youtube.com/@First_Class_Amateur
| taosx wrote:
| Most adblocker lists I have have permanently blocked this domain.
| xulres wrote:
| It's been a decade or more but every time someone posts this
| website I swear to learn to make some basic knots and I never do.
| I should buy some rope.
| nidnogg wrote:
| This was quite helpful during my early climbing days. It's a
| shame that sometimes you just can't beat a YouTube video with
| someone tying the knot you're trying to learn.
| jrh3 wrote:
| Great site. The goto place for learning or studying a knot.
|
| Place where I first heard about the Ashley Book of Knots (ABOK).
| The book is a historical gem, as well as the official reference
| for knots. Great stories about knots.
|
| Trucker's Knot, with cool reference to Ylvis, of What Did the Fox
| Say? https://www.animatedknots.com/truckers-hitch-knot
| algas wrote:
| I love this resource. So many useful knots. Particularly I like
| the lanyard / friendship knot [1] and the midshipman's hitch
| (adjustable slip hitch) [2], the latter of which is probably
| about 90% of the knots that I tie. Honorable mention to the
| constrictor knot for attaching to large cylinders [3].
|
| [1] https://www.animatedknots.com/lanyard-knot
|
| [2] https://www.animatedknots.com/midshipmans-hitch-knot
|
| [3] https://www.animatedknots.com/constrictor-knot-twisting-
| meth...
| lqr wrote:
| Midshipman hitch is great, I used it to reinforce my tomato
| cages with some tension members.
| atourgates wrote:
| Well, you used it incorrectly. It's clearly for a very
| specific set of circumstances:
|
| > The Midshipman's Hitch Knot is promoted by Ashley (ABOK #
| 1993, p 325) as the only knot to tie in the following
| unlikely but critical circumstance: you fall overboard and
| catch hold of the line which you have prudently left trailing
| astern and find yourself hanging on with difficulty. Before
| you tire, you manage to bring the bitter end of the rope
| around your back. You then have to tie a suitable knot to
| make a loop around you. A bowline cannot be tied under load.
| Two Half Hitches will slide and constrict you. The Rolling
| Hitch is the answer. Even as the second turn is tucked "up"
| into the correct place, the major strain is taken and the
| final Half Hitch can be tied with less urgency.
| TOMDM wrote:
| Your quote only states what the knot is suitable for, not
| what it isn't suitable for.
| samcheng wrote:
| Nope, that knot is useful surprisingly often! It's the only
| applicable knot in that contrived single-handed-sailing-
| overboard situation, but it's also an effective knot when
| pitching a tent or tarp, or when hanging a clothesline, or
| when securing e.g. a canopy against the wind.
|
| I learned it as the "Taut Line Hitch."
| EL_Loco wrote:
| Taut Line Hitch is a little different from Midshipman's
| Hitch. Midshipman's grips a little better and is
| recommended. However, Like the other reply to your
| answer, for me the best of them is the Adjustable Grip
| Hitch. I teach knots to boy scouts, and know lots of
| them. After using the Adjustable, I don't use the Taut
| Line or Midshipman's anymore.
| fenomas wrote:
| Yes, it's a great default adjustable knot! The other one
| I think is worth knowing is the "adjustable grip hitch",
| which is like the midshipman's but the half-hitch goes on
| the other side of the turns. This latter one seems to
| hold a lot tighter once dressed, even in relatively
| slippy rope, but unlike the midshipman's it can't easily
| be tied under load.
|
| https://www.animatedknots.com/adjustable-grip-hitch-knot
| javier_e06 wrote:
| This is a great website. I think it would be a great idea to
| extend it to "knots in action" with a video showing how the
| forces (expected magnitude and direction) act upon each given
| knot. Specially the climbing ones. I few months ago I learned the
| knot that ties my shoes for good :
| https://youtu.be/aQ66r5vMqo8?feature=shared The problem with
| teaching knots is the hand action. Making a good knot involves
| good hand action. Surgeons spend months practicing sutures. There
| was an episode of the crime tv series Columbo where finds out it
| was not a suicide because the dead guys shoes where knotted
| backwards as someone else knotted the shoes when the guy was
| already dead (backwards). Very interesting.
| etra0 wrote:
| The YouTube channel HowNOT2 [1] has a great collection of
| videos testing various ropes (mostly for climbing). Among these
| videos, there are a couple that test specific knots (like [2]).
| It's overall a very fun channel, even though I don't even do
| any sort of climbing.
|
| [1] https://www.youtube.com/@HowNOT2
|
| [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dagg2-If4h8
| chadd wrote:
| One of the things I've learned from teaching knots to Boy & Girl
| Scouts in the BSA is that you must constantly re-learn them or
| your skills will founder. It's not like riding a bike for me.
| That could be a visual-spacial memory thing, but many of my co-
| knot-tieing scouting teachers seem to have the same experience...
| so this site is perennially useful.
|
| Favorite knot (involving a Rabbit going "through the hole, around
| the tree, and back down the hole"): Bowline Knot
| sublinear wrote:
| Oh I'm pretty sure most people know plenty of knots but don't
| even think about it. Many knots are useful, but a list off the
| top of my head in order of how often they come up for me is:
| overhand knot, clove hitch, butterfly bend, figure eight knot,
| cleat hitch, slip knot, bowline knot, and trucker's hitch.
|
| I'm certain I skipped many but those are the ones I feel are
| most common to doing anything useful with a rope. The trucker's
| hitch and bowline are the ones that can save your life, but the
| rest are everyday knots that you might already know except for
| their names. For example, I don't even know what the shoe tying
| knots are named but everyone knows those.
| drewchew wrote:
| Midshipman's hitch is under-appreciated - my 2 cents!
| jweir wrote:
| The bowline, because of the rabbit, is one of the only knots I
| have not forgotten from my scouting days.
| eternityforest wrote:
| My memory of them often vanishes within hours or days...
|
| Except for tying shoes (A doubly slipped reef knot, where a
| reef knot is left over right and right over left which makes a
| knot tidy and tight)
|
| And the Uni-knot, even though I've never fished:
|
| A jester offends the king and fears he will executed, and so
| decides to kill an evil beholder, also called an eye-tyrant, to
| win back favor.
|
| He charges into the cave and stabs it through the eye, but gets
| scared and runs away. Coming out he remembers if he doesn't do
| something, he's dead anyway. Going back, he finds it dead, and
| he has time to take a long and winding road back, going around
| his journeys on the inside of his mind.
|
| Having learned from this he decides neither the rashness that
| got him in the mess nor the cowardice that made him run was any
| way to live, and this is why the uni-knot can use its power
| wisely and will not cut itself when tied in Spectra.
|
| And the highwayman's hitch which tells the story of two outlaws
| and a failed robbery. They're going to tunnel under the bank
| wall, but they see a hole in the plan. One(Representing one
| side of the rope) sticks his head up and he had an idea to fix
| it. The other one sees yet another flaw, and sticks _his_ head
| in.
|
| Unfortunately, they overlooked one small thing, the cops are
| waiting, and all it takes is one pull to unravel this
| complicated scheme and they go to jail.
|
| It takes a long time to find the story hidden in the knots, but
| once you do, you are relying a lot less on spatial intelligence
| or muscle memory, and it becomes something you can actually
| learn and teach without needing access to an entirely new mode
| of thought and learning that doesn't make any sense to people
| who don't really have it and probably takes a long time to
| develop before you can even start learning the knots
| themselves.
| innocentoldguy wrote:
| I used to use the bowline knot all the time, but have switched
| to the Perfection Loop Knot, since it doesn't put right-angle
| tension on the rope and leave the end of the rope in the loop.
| https://www.animatedknots.com/perfection-loop-knot
|
| I'm just sharing a useful knot and not trying to get into a Vim
| vs. Emacs type argument or anything.
| kuhewa wrote:
| Does it bind under lots of tension though
| jeffrallen wrote:
| Yeah it looks like it's got the skeleton of an overhand
| knot in there. I would not trust it.
| darkclouds wrote:
| >One of the things I've learned from teaching knots to Boy &
| Girl Scouts in the BSA is that you must constantly re-learn
| them or your skills will founder.
|
| I dont know, the 3 different ways to tie a clove hitch is
| documented on here, which is good start, but the one that was
| engrained in me was clove hitch loops, although their animation
| makes it even harder to understand.
|
| They should have some hands holding the rope showing the 1st
| and 3rd person perspective position of the rope in the hands
| and the position of the hands when tying some knots. So much
| easier to understand.
|
| I really do wonder about the standard of teaching sometimes.
|
| Probably fastest most reliable knot to have that can be slung
| over a spar end in a hurry.
|
| That bowline knot story was taught in cubs, perhaps useful for
| young minds, but does it get forgotten in adulthood as a
| result? I certainly had forgotten that story until you reminded
| me.
|
| I'll also credit the Red Cross at being best at teaching me
| knots and lashings.
| msrenee wrote:
| I've been using this website for at least a decade, so maybe
| I'm just used to it, but the clove hitch formed with loops is
| very easy to follow for me. All the animations are super
| clear, which is why I use the site. It's consistently easier
| to follow than most YouTube videos.
| darkclouds wrote:
| I'm not sayings hard to follow, but when you have been
| shown a very easy way to do a clove hitch, the key being
| how to hold the rope and your hands, ie the limited
| movements you have to go through to do a clove hitch, you
| can do them in your sleep.
|
| We used them as the starter knot before lashing someone
| down on a stretcher before carrying them out of a disaster
| zone. It was quite fun, putting the stretcher up on its end
| or turning it upside down to demonstrate how well protected
| someone is once lashed to a stretcher.
|
| I like the effort and organisation of the website though,
| so I'm not knocking it, just pointing out it could be
| improved with video's that show 1st and 3rd person
| perspective of hands tying knots. That way, when abseiling,
| rock climbing or doing other Fred Dibnah style activities,
| you know if your knots have been tied properly or not.
|
| So much trust is placed on people who run these activities,
| its nice to have piece of mind, but its probably one of the
| reasons why the carabiner was invented.
| Yodel0914 wrote:
| A number of years back I decided I needed to learn to tie more
| than just an overhand knot. Of the handful I learnt, the
| bowline (along with the clove hitch) is by far the most used.
| It's amazing how much easier life can be knowing a couple of
| basic knots.
| moduspol wrote:
| I'd be thrilled if I could just remember the names of the knots
| that suit various common use cases. Then I'd at least be able
| to google them to find out how to tie them.
|
| Now I'll find myself in a position where I know there's a knot
| that solves the problem I have, but don't know how to describe
| it well enough to even search.
| jeffrallen wrote:
| A solution would be to dramatically reduce the number you try
| to keep in mind. Bowline, two half hitches and trucker's
| hitch might be enough, if all you're doing is tying stuff
| into a trailer or a car.
| bmelton wrote:
| Good list. As someone who sails, I'd add either a Magnus
| hitch or a rolling hitch to that list (preference, really
| -- both will get you there, but a Magnus is easier
| depending on where the load is how breakable you want the
| knot to be) and call it a day.
| joelcollinsdc wrote:
| There is an app called grog knots which I think is made by the
| same people. Best few bucks I've ever spent for an app. Love
| having a bunch of knot diagrams handy when I'm out trying to do
| something.
| atourgates wrote:
| I came here to recommend this. Absolutely worth the 1-time
| $4.99-no-subscription-or-account-or-any-BS payment.
|
| They made a cool thing. It is valuable to me. I paid for it,
| and we're done.
|
| The app downloads once and doesn't need an internet connection.
| If you drew a Venn diagram of "Times I want to Know How to Tie
| a Specific Type of Knot" and "Times When I Am Out of Cellphone
| Range", there would be significant overlap between the two
| circles.
|
| I'm not a particularly good follower of technical diagrams, but
| I find the instructions to be very clear and easy to follow.
| It's rare that I don't get a knot right the first time.
|
| I've secured tarps, tents, clothes lines, gear onto vehicles
| and (most recently) a mountain bike that was missing its rear
| suspension, all thanks to this app.
|
| Here's the link to the app available for various devices:
| https://www.animatedknots.com/shop
|
| EDIT: I forgot about the fishing knots. No matter how good the
| app is as a resource, I always get confused and frustrated by
| fishing knots. But I also get confused and frustrated by
| fishing, so I can't really blame the app for this.
| msrenee wrote:
| It says it's not available for my device. I've got a 3 year
| old android phone. Has it maybe not been updated recently
| enough? I used to have the app when it was free way back
| when. On an Ipod touch because I didn't have a smartphone
| back then.
| dumbfounder wrote:
| From the animatedknots.com website on their apps page:
|
| "Do you love advertising?
|
| We need to apologize in advance, because our apps are nothing
| but knots. We are sure that there are other apps that will
| suit your needs."
| AlbertCory wrote:
| There are several apps for your phone that teach knots.
| DanAtC wrote:
| Web > proprietary apps
| AlbertCory wrote:
| Silly comment. They both have their uses.
| master-lincoln wrote:
| why do you think it's silly? The offline functionality
| could have been implemented with the website too. I don't
| see any benefit in this use case for an app. But it has the
| downside that an app has possibilities to screw my system
| or track me unnoticed. So if you do not need special native
| features and you are not a computationally expensive
| product, please built a good offline capable website and
| not an app.
|
| Please tell me where the app has "it's uses" here?
| AlbertCory wrote:
| Why is it silly? Because knot tying is about as harmless
| as it gets. This isn't the Twitter or LinkedIn app. From
| my memory of when I had one of these apps, it didn't even
| ask for my name.
|
| People like making apps, and users seem to like them,
| too. Grow up.
| KomoD wrote:
| > But it has the downside that an app has possibilities
| to screw my system or track me unnoticed
|
| How is it going to screw your system? And just disallow
| running in background, disallow internet access if you
| are on mobile. I don't want to fiddle around with my
| browser when I can install a light-weight app.
|
| Not everyone is a "wow all apps very scary" person
| AlbertCory wrote:
| and note the comment above by someone else about camping
| without Internet access.
|
| If I were installing a knot app and it required enrolling
| me in their Knot Tying Social Network, I'd uninstall. In
| fact, if it couldn't run in Airplane Mode, I'd uninstall
| it.
| zefhous wrote:
| In this case, a web app is hardly going to help me when I'm
| camping with no internet connection. But a native app with
| good offline support is exactly what I would want.
|
| And while web apps have plenty of practical benefits, those
| are mostly from the perspective of the developer. As a user,
| once an app is downloaded, good native apps are preferable
| just about every time.
| AlbertCory wrote:
| Thanks, camping is the killer use case. And the one I used
| to have didn't even ask for my name.
| fragmede wrote:
| The linked website is creator of one of those apps,
| specifically https://apps.apple.com/us/app/animated-knots-by-
| grog/id37630...
| kelahcim wrote:
| +100 for neckties :)
| gabereiser wrote:
| I learned to sail thanks to this resource.
| Throw10987 wrote:
| I am chartering a yacht in two weeks and have been busy re-
| learning how to tie a core set of knots. This is easily the
| best resource that I have been using with the rest of the
| crew(aka family)!
| koolba wrote:
| The animations are nice, but I don't know if I can trust a site
| that lost fishing knots that does not include a Palomar:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palomar_knot
| mattmoose21 wrote:
| https://www.animatedknots.com/palomar-knot
| kuhewa wrote:
| Unless it was added in the past 9 minutes, you may simply not
| have scanned long enough.
| jmuguy wrote:
| Seems to be missing the most animated knott.
|
| https://www.animatedknots.com/?s=don
| mikekorostelev wrote:
| It's how I hung my hammock
| ChuckMcM wrote:
| My favorite animated knot video is the Ylvis one on the Trucker's
| Hitch[1] but for the iPhone, Grogg Knots is my go to app if I
| forget a knot. Of course I find out this web site is the "web"
| version of that App :-)
|
| [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUHgGK-tImY
| echelon wrote:
| Are these the _" What Does the Fox Say?"_ folks?
|
| That song both slaps and subverts all expectations. I had
| always assumed they were a one-hit wonder and simply
| disappeared. Very creative bunch.
|
| Now I can't get it out of my head.
| bjornasm wrote:
| Its the same people. They have quite a few videos in the same
| genre, if you like the humour: https://youtube.com/playlist?l
| ist=PLfNe3nGQENtP3VCn1t1pybju9...
| jillesvangurp wrote:
| Cool website. When I was a teenager, I spent a week every summer
| learning to sail at a sailing course. So, I learned quite a few
| of those knots. This brings back good memories. As, I'm Dutch,
| the names for these knots in English are a bit challenging for
| me. And honestly, after 35 years, I struggle to name a lot of
| these knots in Dutch now. But I still know and use a few
| occasionally. A lot of that becomes muscle memory. If you do use
| them often enough, it kind of sticks. They are like nice little
| 3D puzzles and there's something satisfying when you figure out
| how they work. It can be fun to figure a few out while fiddling
| with a bit of rope.
|
| The practicality of knots and their traits is what drives their
| use. When you deal with boats, you need these knots to perform
| and not come undone when you are not expecting them to (which
| could be dangerous). And you also need them come apart when you
| need them to.
|
| Properties like that are what makes a lot of these knots so
| useful. Technically, you can get by with knowing only a handful.
| But there are a lot of specialized one with niche usages.
| BoxOfRain wrote:
| > This brings back good memories. As, I'm Dutch, the names for
| these knots in English are a bit challenging for me.
|
| I finally got around to doing my day skipper last year and on
| the course was a Russian who spoke English perfectly fluently
| but struggled with the technical terms that the rest of us took
| for granted. It probably doesn't help that sailing is one of
| those sports where the difference in terminology between
| British and American English is sometimes significant, for
| example I don't think the term 'kicking strap' is used in the
| US.
|
| The knots I use most often even outside of sailing are the
| bowline and the round turn and two half hitches.
| TheCondor wrote:
| I love the site, it is great.
|
| As a fly angler, in addition to the practicality of a given
| knots purpose and use is the practicality of implementing it in
| different conditions. There is often a lot of additional
| "tribal knowledge" on some of these knots, like the clinch knot
| is great but tying it with some hemostats speeds the process up
| and is easier when standing in a river. There is a great trick
| for tying a blood knot which makes it easy whereas doing it
| from the website would be nearly impossible outside in the
| weather.
| JKCalhoun wrote:
| As a younger I became obsessed with trying to make a Monkey's
| Fist from having heard about one from a _Leave it to Beaver_
| episode (a rerun on TV, please, I 'm not _that_ old). I had to
| figure it out myself though.
|
| There is a very nice animation on the site for the Monkey's
| Fist (where I just now learned the finishing touch to deal with
| the loose end of the line).
|
| https://www.animatedknots.com/monkeys-fist-knot
| karaterobot wrote:
| I probably check this site every couple weeks, it's the best knot
| website out there. I tie knots while watching movies. I used to
| pick locks. Maybe knitting eventually.
| thrownaway561 wrote:
| we all know what category they are missing ;)
| psychoslave wrote:
| From the elusive message, I guess you mean BDSM or something
| like that. Are they really specific knots used by people that
| like to tie each other though?
| hooverd wrote:
| Your basic single and double column ties, stuff like the
| Burlington bowline, aside from that no, not really.
| msrenee wrote:
| There's a guy who does youtube videos on Paracord braids and
| the like. Excellent instructions, but I got kind of a sexual
| vibe off of it between the music and the way he handled the
| paracord. All the videos show are his hands and the cord,
| nothing weird at all. Always thought something was off about it
| and then found out he's big into restraint or whatever you call
| the bdsm stuff where people get tied up. Made a lot of sense
| after that. Still love his videos.
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