Page 44 - The Pocket Guide to Outdoor Knots

(bend) two ropes’ ends together are called bends. Attaching a line to a ring, rail,
spar, post, stanchion or other fixed anchorage point is done with a hitch. Handier

than hitches, and often used instead of them, are fixed single, double or multiple
loops, while sliding loops are known as nooses. To prevent a line pulling free

from a block, fairlead, hole or slot in some hardware fixture or accessory, a
stopper knot is used. Knots for packages, bandages, or to tie off the neck of

sacks are binding knots. Groups less often used include shortenings.
In manipulating any rope or cord to tie a knot, and especially when

describing the process to another knot tyer, the active end of the line is referred
to as the working end. The opposite and inert end is the standing end and

everything in between is the standing part. Any section of line that is bent into
a U-shape is a bight. Where one rope part overlaps another a crossing point

occurs; and, when a bight incurs a crossing point, it becomes a loop. When the
working end is not pulled completely through the knot, a draw-loop is formed,

which, when tugged, acts as a quick-release device to untie the knot. The double
reef bow (used to tie shoe laces) has twin draw-loops, while the highwayman’s

hitch (pages 114–115) is entirely made up of one draw-loop after another. Many
other knots may be usefully modified with a draw-loop. That part of a knot

where the friction is concentrated is known as the nip.

A BEND is used to join the ends of two ropes, generally of similar thickness, together.