Page 271 - Randy Penn Everything Knots Book

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THE EVER YTHING KNOTS BOOK

how familiar you are with a knot, there are probably more ways
to consider its construction than what you already know. After you
have tied a knot, many concepts can be learned from watching it
in the process of being taken apart. You may see a way to make
the knot different, or notice similarities between it and other knots.
Perhaps the most productive use of this technique is that you will
learn different ways that the knot may be tied.

ESSENTIAL

Another approach to take with trying new knots is changing
the tying procedure. Look at the setup in your hands, and
maybe twist a loop a different way before completing, or
maybe change the order of the tucks. This technique alone
can lead in many directions with a wide variety of results.

Start from Scratch
Most of the techniques mentioned so far involve making a knot
that you already know, and then changing it. You can also explore
from scratch, using a string with no knot or even curve. This can
be a lot of fun, and if you like mathematics you can even come up
with a number system to keep track of all the combinations you try.
However, there are a couple of points you should keep in mind if
you do this. One is that modern mathematics is not up to the task
of telling even simple knots apart, which means that even though
you will find new knots with this method, you will not find all of
the possibilities. The second is that you will miss whole categories
of useful and decorative knots, working your way through thousands
of combinations without some whole categories ever being tried.
One way to use mathematics is to help you keep track of what
you have tried. It will also help prevent you from missing a possi-
bility. One example of this is with the Overhand Bends of Chapter
5. The four bends (Ashley’s Bend, Hunter’s Bend, Zeppelin Bend,

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