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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. |