[swalberg]

Know knots or tie lots!

Knowing a few different knots for a variety of situations comes in handy. The right knot holds properly and can usually be undone when needed without having to cut it out.

If you're starting out then the square knot, two half hitches, taught line hitch, clove hitch, and bowline cover most use cases. And, yes, those are among the basic ones taught to Scouts.

[Ishmaeli]

The Klutz Book of Knots was one of my favorites as a kid, and cited Ashley throughout. Here's what it had to say about the square knot:

"But Which Knot Is Really The Best Knot?

A true landlubber's question, but one that is inevitably raised. The correct answer should be the responsible—albeit boring—"It depends." Are you knotting together sheets for an open-air exit from a burning hotel? Or are you tying up your hair?

But let's say you've really only got room for two or three knots in your long-term memory files. If such were the case, I could be forced to recommend the bowline, the sheet bend, and the clove hitch. The three of them are the class of the three primary knot categories—loop knots, rope-to-rope knots (bends), and rope-to-something-else knots (hitches). Between them, they should get you into most binds.

Incidentally, the opposite question, "Which is really the worst knot?" is far simpler to answer. As disillusioning as this sounds, it's the square knot, the most over-hyped, under-strength knot in creation. Clifford Ashley, the author of the definitive encylopedia on the subject of knotting, states that the square knot "...has probably been responsible for more deaths and injuries than all other knots combined."

The reason is that the square knot capsizes, i.e. it unties itself. A couple of quick tugs on the rope, or an inadvertant bump, and the honest square knot turns into thin air, an unhappy result that demonstrates the difference between a "strong" knot, one that weakens the rope least, and a "secure" knot, one that resists unraveling."

This was disillusioning when I first read it as an avid Boy Scout. Now I can't think of a more apt symbol for the Scouting program.

[triyambakam]

I have heard that the clove hitch isn't very good, either. That it easily comes undone with wiggling

[alex-robbins]

See my other comment on this post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37685921

[foundart]

A “round turn and two half hitches” (ABOK #1720) is what I’ve been told is a better alternative for tying fenders to a boat that will be left unattended

[quaddo]

Some knots are only useful under tension; absent that, they can get sloppy without too much effort. I'd say the clove hitch is one such example.

[AndyKluger]

But it can be fixed in that regard by turning it into a constrictor knot instead, IIUC.

[dates]

if the clove hitch is tied near the end of the rope, you can take the tail and tie an overhand knot with it around the standing line to back it up

[eternityforest]

My personal list is the uni-knot, sheet bend(Along with the slipped and double versions), tautline hitch, alpine butterfly loop, highwayman's hitch, and clove hitch.

And of course the double slipped square knot. I always have trouble with it, the right over left and left over right steps slow me down trying to make sure I don't accidentally tie a granny. But once it's done it's really obvious to anyone how to untie it since it's a standard shoelace bow.

I think one of the coolest things is that most knots have a really obvious slipped version, once you know the base knot you can make sure it never binds on you.

I always hear the clove hitch is not the greatest though, so I'm never sure what to do. Gliepnir is my favorite replacement, but it's not easy to remember.

[alex-robbins]

> the clove hitch is not the greatest though, so I'm never sure what to do

The rolling hitch [1] is a slight variation that works great as a drop-in replacement. For attaching a rope to a pole, I go as far down this list as is feasible and/or necessary:

- two half hitches [2] (this is actually just a clove-hitch around the standing end)

- round turn and two half hitches [3] (like the above, but a little more secure and it takes the load while you tie it)

- anchor hitch [4] (even more secure, but harder to tie under load)

[1]: https://www.animatedknots.com/rolling-hitch-knot

[2]: https://www.animatedknots.com/two-half-hitches-knot

[3]: https://www.animatedknots.com/round-turn-two-half-hitches-kn...

[4]: https://www.animatedknots.com/anchor-hitch-knot

[guntherhermann]

My go to is the 'midshipmans hitch' with an extra half-turn at the end, dead easy and secure whenever I've used it https://www.animatedknots.com/midshipmans-hitch-knot

[eternityforest]

For some reason the idea of using an friction hitch as just a regular hitch when you don't specifically need adjustability never occurred to me.... I might just start doing this although I don't know the Midshipman's, just the Tautline.

I like how it doesn't wrap tightly around the thing, giving you some slack when you need to untie it, and a sudden load while tying won't make it constrict around an object, making it less likely to take an errant finger with it.

[eternityforest]

Thanks, that's really neat!

Round turn and two half hitches is really interesting because you don't have to relearn anything.

It seems to be "nooslike" similar to the uni-knot, which makes me wonder if just a slipped uni-knot (Maybe with a round turn?) Could also work?

[pclmulqdq]

I would suggest adding the sheet bend (ABOK #1) to that list: if you ever end up not having enough rope, you will want to be able to join multiple sections together.

[swalberg]

Yea, another good Scout knot. While a square knot can do the same it can capsize under tension!

[eternityforest]

Pretty sure Ashley himself says the square knot should never be used as a bend, and that doing so has probably killed more people than any other knot failure.

[pclmulqdq]

Square knots used as bends have a tendency to loosen over time when used with rope that is not exactly equal in characteristics, especially when they are not under tension (or the line alternates between slack and taut).

I believe the US Navy recommends 2 bowlines over a square knot, but the sheet bend is still the gold standard.

[123pie123]

a very simple knot that has been very useful to me and yet simple to learn is the - round turn and two half hitches knot. for tying a line or rope under tension

[loloquwowndueo]

*taut line hitch.

[hooverd]

Don't forget the Sommerville bowline. Easy to tie and won't collapse under tension.