Dangerous, Daring People: Knots

[holdouttrout]

Our adventure through the Dangerous, Daring world of both boys and girls continues this week with a brief-- but absolutely essential-- lesson in knots. You can follow Sam Gamgee's advice and pack all the rope you want before setting out on an adventure, but if you don't know how to tie anything but a granny knot, you're in trouble. The last thing you want when scaling a cliff is for your knot to slip, causing you to plummet to an early and painful death.

The Dangerous Book for Boys has five essential knots, four of which are located on this page: the square knot, the sheet bend, the bowline, and the clove hitch. The last knot is the figure eight knot.

(By the way, Knotting and Knots is the main page for the site. It looks like a great resource for knotting, with animated examples for a lot more knots than I mentioned here.)

I did manage to make all of them, though I definitely need to get actual ropes to try these out again--or maybe I can dig up some of my old shoelaces?

My challenge to you is to learn at least one of these knots and then find something to try it out on. Hitch a horse. Hang something up you've always wanted out of the way. Tie up a coworker (with their consent, people!). Then report back. And if you have other knots that someone absolutely must know, you should say so in the comments.

Comments

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

I used to be really good with knots, but really haven't had the occasion lately, unless you count tying helium balloons to my mother's cats.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

...I don't know if I should want to hear more about that, but it sounds entertaining. *grins*

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

Oh, he likes it. He brings us the balloons and demands to have them attached. Then he gets the other cats to chase him. It's why the party store is part of the grocery shopping. *eyeroll*

[beanpot.livejournal.com]

Sounds like business as usual at the trampoline sex factory of the stargate world...

[beanpot.livejournal.com]

Tie up a coworker (with their consent, people!)

I um - meant to include the above in the above...

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I was going to make a joke about it, and then thought better of it. Too bad.