Classic Cordage Combinations 1: Introduction

 This blog is mostly here for me. It's a reading journal, more or less. But, I do confess that seeing those vie numbers (assuming any of you are real and not just bots) drop off makes me kind of sad. Around this time every year, I have my students do a project where they set a goal, research it, try to do it, write about it, etc. I do something with them every year, and this morning I decided I wanted to try to relearn some of the knots I used to know as a teenager in the Boy Scouts. My dad did a challenge where we had to tie... some number (it was at least six, but he wasn't sure) of knots in a minute. I poked around a little online and found other knot challenges (as fast as 14 in 1 minute or as slow as 6 in 2), lists of knots everyone should know, etc. and the list he gave me seems fairly representative. So, between now and St. Paddy's day, I'll be practicing six knots, and trying to get to the point where I can tie them all in a row (correctly) in under a minute. The knife posts seemed pretty popular, and this seems kind of along the same vibe.

The six knots are:

1. Square (reef) knot

2. Two half hitches

3. Bowline (THE KING OF KNOTS!)

4. Clove hitch

5. Tuatline hitch

6. Timber hitch

I suspect the sheet bend was on his original list (he was a big fan of it, always used to say the square knot was useless once you learned it), but those are the six he gave me.

This image from Art of Manliness has almost the same list, but with a Figure-Eight added in:

7 knots every (wo)man should know

Today, I looked up and practiced (I hope) correctly tying all of them. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1, I can't tie this thing at all; 5, I can tie this well enough for a speed challenge) I rate them as follows:

Square: 5 

Two half: 2

Bowline: 2

Clove: 3

Tautline: 3

Timber: 1

I'll spend the next couple days talking about each knot, and go from there.