Page 175 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

A History of Life Support Knots 165

p. 331 (Fig. 25) is less common; I have seen the Tucked Girth Hitch (Fig. 26)
only in a French caving book [14, p. 651; it was used instead of an end loop to
attach a rope to a karabiner fastened to a climbing harness.

Fig. 22. Double Bowline Fig. 23. Secured Reef
and Overhand

Fig. 24. Tucked Bowline Fig. 25. Tucked Figure Fig. 26. Tucked Girth Hitch
Eight Loop
Fishermans Knots and Loops
Many of the early mountaineers were 'gentlemen' who would have been familiar
with the sport of fishing or angling and its traditional ltnots. Is this the reason
for the popular adaptation of the Fishermans Knot (Fig. 3) and Fishermans
Loop Knot (Fig. 4) to climbing ropes instead of fishing lines right from the
start of the sport? Or were they in contact with some other group who were
already using these knots in substantial rope? Nearly all general knotting
books list these ltnots for line only, and it is puzzling why they were used in
climbing ropes right from the beginning; attempts to introduce bends other
than the Fishermans Knot were uniformly unsuccessful.

Fig. 27. Double Fig. 28. Triple Fig. 29. Swami Loop
Fishermans Knot Fishermans Knot

When nylon rope was introduced, the Single Fishermans Knot was largely
dropped, and the Double Fishermans Knot (Fig. 27) became the bend of choice
for life-support ropes. The Triple Fishermans Knot (Fig. 28) has also been
recommended [21, p. 481. Some people secure the ends with Overhand Knots.