Not as good as videos, but this site has some great animations of knot-tying: [www.animatedknots.com]

PhilHut

This is actually a really helpful video! Most of the time, I find that watching someone tying a knot rarely translates into tying it myself. The angle at which I see it is different, and the process gets screwed up. The metaphor is awesome, though, and makes figuring out how to do it a lot easier! Just did it myself. Now to figure out how to tie a tie correctly...

davep3355

Oh wow, I love knots. The taut line has been so very useful, more so than the bowline for me. Other knots I love:

Alpine Butterfly
Spanish Bowline
2 half hitches
Zeppelin Knot
Fisherman's Knot
Racking Knot
Seizing Knot
Double Bowline
Bowline on a Bight

All very useful knots. If you want to learn the bowline, make sure you also look up the double bowline. It's basically the exact same knot, but a small modification makes it 100x more useful for saving people.

FreeChaos

Wow. just seeing the video makes this 100 percent clearer. If this is what Web 2.0 is all about, I am all for it. I think I could learn how to tie knots this way, with or without metaphors.

DangerousLiberal

Bowlines were taught to me as 'rescue knots' back in the days of scouting, since you can tie one and pull someone up by the loop without it cinching across their waist and squeezing them in half. If you're the one being rescued, it's fairly simple to tie the knot one handed if the other end is kept somewhat taut.

Personall, the two half-hitch and the taut line have been more useful for me. And, in some cases, the clove hitch. Figure 8 on a bight is useful for rock climbing/rappelling.

Reilaos: Reading Comprehension is your friend!

That bunny metaphor just makes it more confusing for me. It looks to me like the bunny starts tunneling underground rather than goin' 'round the tree. Maybe he was chasing a gopher.

equazcion

ala Stephen Colbert

"Lifehacker presents the first in our 100 part series -- 'Better Know A DIY Skill'"

jupiterthunder

Love the bunny metaphor.. out of the hole, round a tree.. back into the hole.. sadly.. I'll remember that.. .. ha ha

lencurrie

For once, my years in Boy Scouts and expertise in knots can come in handy. The bowline IS an important knot but this is only one way to tie it. Personally, I prefer the one-handed bowline (which I can tie in under 2 seconds while blindfolded, seriously). And another little tidbit fact, if you want to tie up a tire swing or anything that can't strangle to death, use the two-half hitches. Much better.

haydenphb

Clove hitch
taut line hitch
half hitch
sheep shank

Former Boy Scout
Former sailor

metrophage

I learned this because I do sail, but I've used it in so many places outside of that. The bowline is perfect for towing cars (because the knot will not tighten excessively with the pressure) and for providing a good loop which will not tighten when providing guidance to livestock (in a very outdoorsy moment, I used a loop made from a bowline to guide, but but not pull - someone else was pushing, a cow which was stuck in mud).

The rabbit coming out of its hole, going around the tree and back into its hole is the metaphor which I *still* use when tying this knot 20 years after learning it! :)

milylasouris

The one I like I can't find the name of but I use it when I have to tie something that's going to be used as a necklace or something. Best I can describe it is it's a square knot but for the second part instead of going "around the tree" once, you do it twice. In doing so you lock the knot so it doesn't come loose. Maybe someone else knows the name of it.

vrillusions

@vrillusions: Sounds like two half hitches, to me.

Three half hitches works really well for tents & the taught lines you need for the rain fly. If it gets really windy over night, 2 half hitches won't hold. 3 will.

Sion28

I am both a sailor and an Eagle Scout, and let me tell you - this knot is handy!

You can also tie it one-handed around your waist which is useful every time you fall down a canyon and break your other arm and need to tie it around yourself so rescuers can haul you up. Not that that has ever happened to me but still...

marksman7328

I think all the ex- scouts (well some say you're never really an ex-) here would also second this notion:

One of _the_ best books to have around and learn from is the Scout handbook. Anyone can buy one at their local Scout HQ. It's completely full of useful information on knots, lashing things together, first aid, camping, orienteering (navigating by compass and map), hiking, and the like.

Sadly due to moves and teenage ennui I never made it past tenderfoot days but I still kept the handbook.

Older ones might even be better, I remember my Dad's having even more interesting information; I think they removed the "dangerous" stuff sometime in the 60s.

Maybe this could engender a new topic: most useful books to have around?

TimHare

100 knot club eagle scout here representing. I find it hard to believe folks are actually using a sheepshank as an everyday knot. Anyway, knots that are very very helpful also include:
Fishermans/Double Fisherman's
Prussik (tension two lines together without actually binding the rope? Hell yes!...or for ascension.)
clove hitch (because again, friction w/o binding is the best.)
timber hitch (see clove hitch reason)
Any of the stopper knots (see Stevedore)
A real slip knot, especially daisy chained.

I would also recommend learning to tie any knot on a bight, so that it can be easily released w/o untying but will allow tension from the right direction.

AnotherSadLoveSong

@vrillusions: That would either be the fishermans knot, the double fishermans knot, or the modified stevedore or the stevedore on a bight.

I'm going to assume it's a double fishermans, generally used with ropes that don't necessarily have enough friction for a regular fisherman's to work. Or, you just want a bigger knot...used a lot on hemp and small leather cord.

AnotherSadLoveSong

@PhilHut: +1 A superb site.

pdok

@jupiterthunder: Knowing how to tie a bowline knot is very useful in the War on Bears.

seancron

Ooh, knots. From personal experience, the easiest place to screw up the bowline is the orientation of that first silly loop. ~_~;

katscanne

The figure 8 knot seems like a better choice to learn than a bowline, simple and you know at a glance if it was done right.

But maybe that's because I'm a climber and the 8 is used more than any other knot.

Justice

For those wondering why the bowline is more special than any knot that makes a loop of rope, it's because the bowline won't slip -- once tied, the loop won't tighten under load.

I used it most recently to tie a handhold at the end of a rope for towing.

TickleMeElmo

Absolutely the best, most useful knot on the planet.

foxtrot3

I remember this rabbit knot from my scouting days :D

ErikWestrup

Oh! Cooking is also a really good skill-set.

DanYHKim

I second the Prusik loop. I have never had to do a Jumar up a rope on my shoelaces, like James Bond, but a Prusik is the only good way I know to put tension on a rope tie-down. It's also good for tying clothesline on a rack, since you can then re-tension the line after it stretches.

With the Bowline, Alpine Butterfly, Prusik and Miller's Knot, I can almost impersonate a Boy Scout (never been one). I like knowledge bases such as useful knots, wrapping with a Furoshiki and Origami. These techniques let you take a pretty basic object (cloth, paper, rope) and make many very useful things on the fly.

DanYHKim

Another Eagle Scout here! Was in the 100 knot club, though I've forgotten almost all of them.

My favorite way of doing this is the one-handed, around yourself method. It's very fast, and a simple memorized motion for when YOU'RE the one needing saving.

I find that I'm most glad to have remembered the lashes, more so than the knots. Being able to hold two (or more) poles in place relative to each other is a valuable skill sometimes.

Also, I totally agree with the Scout Handbook comments, although with today's book being parsed down, I would recommend the Field Guide, which has a lot more survival information. Come the Zombieacolypse, that's the book you'll be wanting.

djsack

Most people don't think about how cool knot are. There are so many useful them, depending on your purpose. My problem is remembering them because of irregular usage. I looked at a few books about knots and settled on All The Knots You Need by R.S. Lee. For practicing, it even came with two short lengths of rope and a fastening ring. When a need for a crafty knot arises, I just reach for my book to see what's recommended.

cheesebubble

It also is the best way to tie two pieces of rope end-to-end.

penguiniator

@ everybody who likes books about knots: If you really dig knots, you have to go back to the Grandaddy of all knot books, The Ashley Book of Knots.

How many knots does it have? ALL of them. Seriously. Lots of other really interesting info, too.

FredicvsMaximvs

I use the bowline in everyday life - I build scenery for a theatre in everyday life, and a lot of that involves rigging. I also use the clove hitch a lot, plus a few others.

In addition to tying these knots, a useful skill is knowing how to properly coil and store ropes and cables. It hurts me every time I watch someone winding an extension cord around their elbow. ;)

@Justice: It's pretty easy to tell whether a bowline has been tied properly too.

FredicvsMaximvs

@TimHare: Right on. That book is awesome to have around, especially if you do outdoorsy things.

marksman7328

@TimHare: You should also keep the "Fieldbook" as a companion volume. I still have both of mine from the early '70s - as well as my merit badge pamphlets. I also have Ormond's "Complete book of outdoor lore" to round out the set.

/Outdoorsy geek

CountSmackula

@dchall8: Oh I forgot. I have several knot books but the one I like best is the Klutz Book of Knots. It comes with a two ropes (red and blue) and holes in the book to practice with. I even learned a better way to tie my shoes with that book.

dchall8

When I went to work in the moving industry I had to learn a trucker's hitch ([en.wikipedia.org]). This is a system of hitches that use the rope itself to create a 3:1 pulley system. By pulling only 33 pounds on the end even a small person can create 100 pounds of tension. With a slipped half hitch to cinch it, you can easily release the tension and collapse the entire system.

When I learned to sail I had to learn some more knots. The cleat hitch ([www.animatedknots.com]), bowline, and figure 8 are the mainstays of sailing simply because they do not slip and can be untied no matter how long they have been tied and held under tension - even underwater. One application on my boat requires as much tension as I can get (about 600 pounds). With a cleat and a bowline I can get that. Every loose line on the boat has an 8 on the end as a stopper. I also use a double half hitch to tie off a line when I don't want a bowline loop dangling around. Choosing the right knots makes it pretty easy to rig and derig the boat.

More recently I have learned and used the constrictor knot (a modified clove hitch [en.wikipedia.org]) and the Miller's knot (modified constrictor) as further modified by Ashley ([en.wikipedia.org] number 1244 at the bottom). These hitches are hard to untie and become much harder to untie with more tension. If you want something more permanent, consider those. They are great for lashing poles together.

dchall8

best knot for camping!

VestedFox

Reminds me of scout days... First knot I learned to tie.

Boba.Fett

@TickleMeElmo: Glad I searched before I replied, but yes, Elmo's 100% correct. The loop in this knot simply WILL NOT MOVE; neither bigger nor smaller.

Useful in many situations.

Michael Campbell

The bowline is my knot of choice for tying in when rock climbing, although with additional steps at the end to make it safer. The end result looks similar to a double bowline. Another knot commonly used to tye in is the figure eight follow through.

Also interesting is the running bowline, quick can be tied in a couple seconds (even while running).

cryptomega

@Justice: Just because you see more of them doesn't mean it is a better knot. The bowline has a breaking strength of 63%--versus 69% for the figure 8--but doesn't bind so it is a lot easier to untie (see [www.caves.org]). A figure 8 also only reaches full strength if the cords are parallel all the way through the knot--"a pretty knot is a strong knot." Most of the figure 8s I see aren't pretty. B'sides, it fun to screw with the self-important safety nazis who have no idea what a bowline is.

Still, the ultimate climbing knot test is rapping off on a long tailed single overhand. Has lots of benefits and is supposedly plenty strong. Just never managed to get up the balls to do it myself. I like the solidity of a triple grapevine.

Thud

Hmm, quite embarrasing for an instructionel video, that the instructor does it incorrectly.

In the first demonstration, the "bunny" should go the other way around the "tree".. The snippet should always end up being inside the loop, otherwise it can tighten too much and become impossible to undo.

As a seaman, I've used this knot quite alot, but I certainly wouldn't call it the most useful. A clove hitch or a backhanded knot are ware more useful

eculeus

Thank you boy scouts. Most useful thing I learned.

Daniel

I second clove hitch and raise with a lark's head. Believe it or not, a noose is pretty handy knot to know. Don't have to do the full number of wraps. Just 2 or 3, and a very easy knot to cinch bags closed with, and easy to undo.

Elvisisdead

I find that the figure 8 knot is a handy way to put a "knob" on the end of the drawstring on my Speedo, sweatpants, hoodie, etc.

Ken

Good use in everday life?

My big-ass dog (120 lb ridgeback) wasn't really controllable on a normal leash if he saw one of the many free range cats roaming our neighborhood. Solution? A brass hook on the end of 60 ft of light, stretchy climbing rope. I tied a 15 second one handed bowline around my waist every day when I took him out.

No rope burned hands, no strained shoulders, no 1/2 eaten cats - one VERY surprised dog when he hit the end of the rope at full tilt.

JonathanPeterson

Great video, thanks! The problem with the bunny/hole aide-memoire is that there are eight different combinations of the different ways you can form the hole and pass the bunny out of it, round the tree and down the hole again and only one (or possibly two... hang on... no, just one) of them is correct. If I watch this enough times maybe I'll actually memorise which.

The reason climbers are usually taught the rethreaded figure-8 first is that it's easier to remember how to do it, and easier to spot if you've done it wrong - if it looks wrong, it probably is.

nekomatic

Rescue teams no longer use this knot, the one to know is the figure 8 follow through or the double loop figure 8. These are stronger and are more easily untied.

graysn05

I work for a production company and this is like the only knot anyone uses in stage production. Riggers use it to pull up chain motors and such. Its great because its quick to tie and untie because it doesn't tighten up under heavy loads.

fatcat125

I personally use the bowline almost everyday. I work in a theater and it's wonderful for hauling heavy things up onto our fifth floor.

other knots, clove hitch, figure eight, sheet bend, half hitch.

I'm also an eagle scout and I used to sail, so I know way too many knots.

vikingskibum

I'm a stagehand, and use bowlines just about every day. Generally, on stage you'll see the bowline, clove hitch, highwayman's hitch, the comealong and the sunday.

And actually, I just learned the figure 8...it's very satisfying to tie.

humble.nailbanger