Page 9 - Jim Whippy "Reeds Knot Handbook"

IntroductIon

s soon as man started to make weapons for hunting
and to adorn his body with clothes, he needed to
A find ways of securing items and for this he used plant
fibres and, a little later, catgut. Fibres were used in early crafts
such as basketmaking and weaving, and man discovered
that by tying knots the fibres could be held together more
securely.
Man quickly progressed, using knots to build bridges and
make shelters and he quickly found more and more uses for
knots, until they became a vital component of everyday life.
Sailors, too, quickly learned the value of various knots
to secure their rigging, sails and fishing nets. During long
journeys at sea, sailors would spend much of their spare
time developing new knots and some of the original names
used by these men are still in use today.
The majority of the knots in this handbook are intended
for nautical or fishing use and for that reason we have used
the traditional sailing terms for tying knots:
• the working end – the piece of rope currently being
worked.
• in the bight – the middle portion of the rope that
you are working on.
• the standing part – the piece of rope that is not
currently being worked.
• the end – the part of the rope that is liable to fray if
not whipped.
• to dress – to neaten the separate parallel strands,
making sure they are free of kinks and twists.

Most of the knots are tied in rope, cord, twine, yarn or thread,
depending on their intended purpose.
This book is divided into six categories – Overhand
Knots and Hitches, Figure-of-Eight Knots, Bowlines and Bends,

8

Rev_Reeds_Knots_inside pages.indd 8 16/07/2012 23:31