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The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

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Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#41

Post by marai2 »

at_a_remove wrote: post #27
nas wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can make due with only a couple of good knots. Very short list: the reef knot (square knot, avoid the granny version) and the alpine butterfly (don't use reef knot for joining two ropes, i.e. a "bend"). The alpine butterfly is more useful to know than the bowline, IMHO. If you want to expand your list a little, here are some additional useful ones: double fisherman's, adjustable grip hitch, sheet bend, trucker's…

Right, but this isn't a what question, it's a when to do what question. I might know a knot, but I don't know when to use that knot and when it ought to be avoided. That's what I am getting at. Even under the "bend" page in Wikipedia, sometimes the knots are merely described.

Be the change you want to see in the world ;-)

I think a flow chart of when to use a knot is a great idea! Please make it!

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#42

Post by triyambakam »

dougalm wrote: post #31
teeray wrote: post #29

The Marlinspike hitch is my favorite :) If you stick anything functioning as a marlinspike in there (stick, screwdriver, etc.), you get a great handle for pulling in tension. If you put a hook in there, you have a hitch onto the hook that can be released by slipping it off (and the whole knot collapses in on itself). If you stick the tag end one way instead, you end up with a great stopper knot (Oysterman’s Stopper K…

> a great stopper knot (Oysterman’s Stopper Knot) Also known as the Ashley stopper knot! I've started keeping a short length of paracord on my desk to practice knots during video calls. It makes a great fidget toy. The Ashley stopper is what I've been tying this week and it's such a gem (but a little harder to untie than I'd like). ABOK is the classic. But I was surprised to learn recently that it's not the final wor…

> I've started keeping a short length of paracord on my desk to practice knots during video calls

What a great idea. I just started learning knots. What do you use to tie onto? Some knots require something to which to fix.

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#43

Post by triyambakam »

Ishmaeli wrote: post #32
swalberg wrote: post #8

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.

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…

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

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#44

Post by Arrath »

teeray wrote: post #29

The Marlinspike hitch is my favorite :) If you stick anything functioning as a marlinspike in there (stick, screwdriver, etc.), you get a great handle for pulling in tension. If you put a hook in there, you have a hitch onto the hook that can be released by slipping it off (and the whole knot collapses in on itself). If you stick the tag end one way instead, you end up with a great stopper knot (Oysterman’s Stopper K…

And here I thought not many people besides my dad knew what a marlin spike was.

If I had a nickel for each time I got to use the skill of 'how to splice and/or roll eyes in wire rope' he taught me I'd have three nickels. Which isn't a lot but its weird that it happened three times.

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#45

Post by MrVandemar »

dougalm wrote: post #31
teeray wrote: post #29

The Marlinspike hitch is my favorite :) If you stick anything functioning as a marlinspike in there (stick, screwdriver, etc.), you get a great handle for pulling in tension. If you put a hook in there, you have a hitch onto the hook that can be released by slipping it off (and the whole knot collapses in on itself). If you stick the tag end one way instead, you end up with a great stopper knot (Oysterman’s Stopper K…

> a great stopper knot (Oysterman’s Stopper Knot) Also known as the Ashley stopper knot! I've started keeping a short length of paracord on my desk to practice knots during video calls. It makes a great fidget toy. The Ashley stopper is what I've been tying this week and it's such a gem (but a little harder to untie than I'd like). ABOK is the classic. But I was surprised to learn recently that it's not the final wor…

I did this during COVID lockdowns (I never did get locked-down, being medical staff, but I had plenty of boring moments with nothing to do otherwise).

I wound up learning 20, and one of the GPs challenged me to tie them all blind-fold. Which I did, and won a metre of liquorice!

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#46

Post by MrVandemar »

triyambakam wrote: post #42
dougalm wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a great stopper knot (Oysterman’s Stopper Knot) Also known as the Ashley stopper knot! I've started keeping a short length of paracord on my desk to practice knots during video calls. It makes a great fidget toy. The Ashley stopper is what I've been tying this week and it's such a gem (but a little harder to untie than I'd like). ABOK is the classic. But I was surprised to learn recently that it's not the final wor…

> I've started keeping a short length of paracord on my desk to practice knots during video calls What a great idea. I just started learning knots. What do you use to tie onto? Some knots require something to which to fix.

Not the parent, but I cut myself a nice stick, divided it into shortish lengths of three, probably about 20cm, sanded them down. Three sticks lets you practice a number of knots, and I stored them tied with two lengths of rope (the fantastic hitch, forget what it's called, but two of them are brilliant for bundling poles together).

Then I just carried that around in my bag, or in a drawer at work, and when the opportunity presented itself, I practiced.

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#47

Post by cmpalmer52 »

Ishmaeli wrote: post #30

I think this might be my favorite kind of nonfiction book. Truly the Bible of knots. For years I have looked for a list of "Bibles" of their respective subjects, but have never found anything quite right. Chapman's Piloting & Seamanship is another example that comes to mind.

It reminds me of the 501 Mechanical Movements type books, which are endlessly fascinating to me.

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#48

Post by dougalm »

MrVandemar wrote: post #46
triyambakam wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've started keeping a short length of paracord on my desk to practice knots during video calls What a great idea. I just started learning knots. What do you use to tie onto? Some knots require something to which to fix.

Not the parent, but I cut myself a nice stick, divided it into shortish lengths of three, probably about 20cm, sanded them down. Three sticks lets you practice a number of knots, and I stored them tied with two lengths of rope (the fantastic hitch, forget what it's called, but two of them are brilliant for bundling poles together). Then I just carried that around in my bag, or in a drawer at work, and when the opport…

Yeah, I similarly have dowels floating around my desk for tying hitches. But I don't have a good solution for practicing knots that are meant to be tied under tension, like the "trucker's hitch" family. I've been considering getting some small dock cleats and screwing them to my desk.

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#49

Post by davidjade »

brunoqc wrote: post #16
davidjade wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like Grog animated knots: https://www.animatedknots.com/

oh. I said "ABOK" when I meant "Grog". It looks great but it's outdated.

The other decent one (Knot Guide) has now put their knots behind a subscription.

Re: The Ashley Book of Knots (1944)

#50

Post by quaddo »

triyambakam wrote: post #43
Ishmaeli wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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

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.
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