Page 278 - J. C. Turner "History and Science of Knots"

On Theories of Knots 269

(1) Hitch-A knot which secures a rope to an object (such as a spar,
post or ring bolt) or to the standing part of another rope.

(2) Bend-A knot which joins two ropes together, end to end, and typi-
cally in line.

(3) Knot-A method of interweaving used to form a knob or a stopper
in a rope; or to enclose an object; or to form a noose.

Although there is general acceptance of these terms, it is recognised that they
leave much to be desired when attempting to sort knots into classes. Discussion
on this may be found in [2], [4].
There is no universally agreed system for naming knots; this also leaves
much scope for confusion in the literature. Warner [27] gives the following
example of this: `What I call the Fishermans Knot is also known, somewhere
or other, as the Anglers Knot, English Knot, Englishmens Knot or Bend,
Halibut Knot, Leader Knot, True Lovers Knot or Bend, Water Knot or Bend,
or Watermans Knot.' A little further on, Warner says: `These confusions in
the naming of Knots raise few problems with localised groups of people in the
one trade or craft, who are mostly very comfortable with their own traditional
names, but they do make difficulties for anyone interested in knots in general.'
A handful of people, in this century, have tried to overcome problems of
defining and classifying of knots by producing encyclopedias in which they have
gathered together large numbers of drawings or photographs of knots, placed
them in some kind of logical order, and given them numbers and names. Their
collective work has been of immense value to those who study and practice
knot-tying. Perhaps we might reasonably compare their labours with those of
the great collectors and cataloguers in the Biological Sciences-an outstanding
18th century example in Botany being Carl Linnaeus (1707-78).
An example of a classifying study of knots is one by Dr. J. Lehmann,
published in German [10] in 1907. It is hardly encyclopedic; but by means of
166 Figures, 3 Tables and accompanying text it catalogues a large number of
knots, nets, basket weaves, etc. from many countries of the world. Its examples
are drawn from museum specimens; and various systematic classifications are
made, by numbers, letters and names. It is a notable attempt to describe
knots with reference to their uses and geographical distribution.
A second example is the important and widely-quoted work of Cyrus L.
Day, entitled The Art of Knotting and Splicing [2]. It was first published in
1947 by Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., New York; and it appeared in a
second, expanded edition in 1955, under the imprint of The United States
Naval Institutes, Annapolis, Maryland. Cyrus Day gathered much historical
information about knots. He presents this in the Introduction to the book,
and then discusses characteristics of rope, basic knot terminology, and strength