Page 16 - Peter Randall - The Craft of the Knot

The main categories of rope use are joining one rope to another, making a loop,
binding, and tying off to an object. Identifying the function that the knot must serve is
an important step in choosing one. Some knots are like a multitool in that they can
serve a variety of functions, and some are very limited in what they do. A fixed loop
will work in several different capacities (for instance, to moor a boat), but a knot like

the Reef or Square Knot is unreliable when not used as a binding knot. Once you
understand the function of the knot you learn, you will know whether it will work in
any particular application.

When choosing a knot for a given application, ask yourself the following questions:

Will the rope be under steady or changing strain?
Will it need to be untied?

Will it need to be tied or untied quickly?
What knots do I know?
How secure does it need to be?
Will others need to tie or untie it?

Will the tension in the rope need to be adjusted later?
Will others have to use it?
Is damaging the rope a concern?

These and many other questions can come into play when you choose a knot. You
will, of course, need to limit your choices to which knots you know, just as you must

choose from your toolbox only tools that are in it. This leads us to another question you
may have been wondering about: “Which knots should I learn?”

CHOOSING WHICH KNOTS TO LEARN

Many people are quite intimidated by the thought of learning more than just a couple of
knots, or think that it is difficult or time-consuming. So here are some things to ponder

when deciding which ones you want to learn.

The first thing you may wonder about is how many knots you will need to know or
what is the smallest number that you can get by on. The number is up to you and may
vary depending on your needs. Here is a possible progression you might consider: A
loop knot like the Bowline or Overhand Loop can serve a number of different
applications, and thus gets you the most mileage from a single knot. Next you should

consider learning other knots from different categories, like bends, hitches, and binding
knots, so that you can apply them to many situations. It is better still to learn a couple
of knots from each category. You might try experimenting with a number of knots

within a given category, and settle on the ones you want to remember and use.
Many knots are similar in structure, which means that the more different kinds of
knots you learn to make, the easier it’ll be to add new knots to your stock. Because of