What knots do you use?

[librarian28]

Indeed, yes...an overhand loop - no rabbits, no holes, no trees to think about while your pal is in the middle of a river.

 

As a poster has mentioned, do practice with your eyes shut and with the rope behind your back - you may get to meet new people on the bus in the morning.....

When I woz in the Scouts, the first knot I was shown was a bowline tied round the waist using one hand - no rabbits needed. They said it was a technique used by climbers who, presumably, needed their other hand to hang on with? Can't do it behind my back and never use a bus. (Not very good with mornings either). I reckon it's the 'best' knot to make a loop 'cause it can (always?) be easily undone regardless of the load put on it.

 

The second knot I learned was a clove hitch with two half hitches. Over the years, I came to call it (in my mind) 'a round turn and two half hitches' and it was only very recently when I was rigging some kit for a Gang Show that an Akela told me 'right knot, wrong name'. I think I managed to get some credibility back, but I'm blushing even now as I write.

 

Would anyone like to sign my petition against using tape to finish off any knot?

[twohats]

I had always thought of a round turn and two half hitches rather than a clove hitch as the most suitable knot to tie a hemp rope to a bar. Am I wrong to do that?

[andy_s]

In my view, yes. However, who's to say it's not fit for purpose? I assume you've never had one come undone on you....

[Big Chief Running Brail]

Clove hitch, sheet bend and bowline I consider the essential technical knots, I use figure 8 bends and loops on occasions. I use the 'Artillery' loop for providing a loop when I want to tension a line.

The knot I tie most often is a bow (attaching cloths etc to bars) and amazed at how many people use the 'bunny ears' method of tying bows!

 

 

[Sam Jelfs]

personally, I mainly use...

 

Bowline (and variants - bowline on a bight, rolling bowline, plus make sure you can do a one-hand bowline)

Clove hitch (though never for anything with any real load on it)

Round turn and two half hitches (plus an anchor hitch)

sheet bend

carrick bend

cleat hitch

double fishermans

alpine butterfly

 

I would also say knowing how to do something like a prussik / klemheist is useful, and how to splice an eye...

 

But then most of those I have learnt from sailing rather than rigging...

[OllieDuff]

I got most of my knotwork from sailing, but here are the ones I find most useful in the theatre:

 

Clove hitch: when I use this on hemp sets, I tie a half-hitch once I've finished it for extra security, and clip the line back onto itself if there's a carbine hook.

 

Figure-of-eight on a bight: easy way to make a loop (you can easily judge how big the loop is going to be), can be made in the middle of a rope very easily (unlike a bowline). This is my personal favourite for lifting lanterns - pass the loop through the yoke, then bring the end of the loop up over the hook clamp and pull tight. If you tie it in the middle of the rope, you can have one person on the platform hauling it up, while someone else uses the other end to stop the lantern swinging around and hitting stuff.

 

Round turn and two half hitches: easier to untie under load than a clove hitch; easily modifiable to an anchor bend if you want a very secure knot

 

Sheet bend: much better than a reef knot for securing two lines together, and will cope with two ropes of different thicknesses.

 

Rolling hitch: can be used to haul up scaffold tube, and to attach a rope to an eye screw with adjustable tension. Method for the latter: pass the end of the rope through the eye, and then tie the end onto the standing part (the other bit) using a rolling hitch, so that it locks if it tries to slide towards the eye screw. By grasping both the rope and the standing part, you can slide the knot back and forth to adjust the tension, and when you let it go it's secure. I use this method to attach strainers to cyc backdrops, because you can gradually adjust the tension to that the cloth is flat, but there's less risk of ripping the cloth or breaking the strainer.

 

And of course, learn how to coil a rope properly. The next person to use it will thank you.

[german_ex]

my teacher taught me in my first year:

bowline

figure of eight (loop and as stopper)

clove hitch with two half hitches

rolling hitch with two half hitches

reef knot

highway man hitch (for quick release and simple drop effects)

6 to begin with

 

over the years I have also needed:

alpine butterfly - making a loop for connection in the middle of a line

choke hitch

figure of eight with two loops

true lovers knot

sheet blend - but I tend to forget this easily

prusik knot

..

etc

 

hope this helps :)