Page 70 - Peter Randall "The Craft of the Knot.."

Chapter 4

PRACTICAL HITCHES

When you need to attach a rope to an object, the knot for this job is
called a “hitch.” This is a common use for rope and you will find a
variety of hitches in this chapter that will do a good job.

Hitches allow you to secure a rope to rings, rails, posts, hooks, other
ropes, and other objects. Sometimes they are tied by forming the knot
directly around the object, and sometimes by bringing the rope around

the object and tying the running end to the standing part. If the shape of
the object allows it, you can tie the hitch (or a loop) first, and then place
it around the object. Some hitches, like the Rolling Hitch or Icicle Hitch,
provide a friction grip to prevent them from sliding when strain is along
the direction of the pole, rail, or rope.

You may want tension to remain in the rope after the hitch is tied. If
you are frustrated by a little slack going into the rope as the hitch is
tightened, you will find that making an extra wrap around the object,
called “making a round turn,” will help hold tension as the knot is tied.

An example of this is the Round Turn and Two Half Hitches. Another
option is to tie a hitch that allows you to take out slack repeatedly
without untying the hitch itself, as with the Guy Line Hitch. Tying ropes
without slack in them is useful for many applications, like when you
need to secure cargo.

Most hitches are tied by using Half Hitches in various combinations.
When using more than one, Half Hitches can have a left or right
orientation, and many hitches are tied by combining just two Half
Hitches. Some hitches that seem different from each other are in fact
made with the same exact combination of Half Hitches—the only

difference may be that in one case, the hitch is tied directly onto an
object, and in the other, it is tied around the standing part. An example
is the difference between the Clove Hitch and the Round Turn and Two
Half Hitches.