A Progression of Knots

The InterKnot Newsletter of the International Guild of Knot Tyers

North American Branch

March 2011

InterKnot March 2011 - © 2011 International Guild of Knot Tyers– North American Branch Pg 1

A Progression of Knots By IGKT member Richard Wilcox

Graphics by Glenn Dickey

I think it is ridiculous to assume a knot is new or never been tied before. Humans have been fid-

dling with rope, twine, fiber, sinew long before man learned how to make fabric or other necessary

items. It may not be recorded in modern books but it probably existed at one time if it was worth-

while. A lot of what I read in books I have thought out myself. But most books will have some-

thing I have not yet thought about. Hopefully some of you have not thought this through yet and

you’ll find it useful.

I use this series of knots to teach knot tying because most novices do not have the muscle memory

to easily move through the knot tying sequence.

Editor’s note: Richard has the person he is teaching use a separate cord and has them tie it around their shoe. This gives the starting knot for

making the other knots. I’m using the shoe illustration for con-

tinuity in this article.

The Same Knot has several names depending upon its purpose or use!

Put the rope around your shoe and tie it like it’s your shoelaces — only stop with

the first step.

You have tied an Overhand Knot. Take the cord off your foot and you have an

Overhand Knot.

Shape it at the end of the rope and you have an Overhand Stopper Knot.

Leave it around your foot and pull straight up on one of the ends,

(standing Part) shape it around the standing part of the rope and it’s a

Half Hitch.


Now Complete tying your rope like you tie your shoelaces.

If your bow lies across your shoe you have tied a Slippery Square Knot.

(Also known as a Bow Knot.)

If you pull the ends through the knot you have tied a

Square Knot or Reef Knot.

(Also known by the names of Common knot, Flat

knot, Hard knot, Reef knot, Regular knot, String tie

knot, and True knot.)

If you pull straight up on one of the ends (Standing Part) and let the other re-

shape itself around the end your pulling on you have tied Reversed Half Hitches.

If you slide the standing part out while sliding a stick or dowel in to re-

place it you have a Cow Hitch.

(Also known by the names of, Bale sling hitch, Carriage hitch, Cinch

hitch, Cow hitch, Deadeye hitch, Girth hitch, Hoist hitch, Lanyard hitch,

Ring hitch, Running eye, Sling hitch, and Tag loop.)

If your bow lies up and down pointing at your toe and your leg you have tied a

Slippery Granny Knot.

If you pull the ends through the knot you have tied a

Granny Knot.

(Also known by the names of, Calf knot, False knot, Garden

knot, Granary knot, and Lubber's knot.)

From the Granny Knot, pull straight up on one of the ends (Standing Part)

and let the other reshape itself around the end you’re pulling on you have

tied Two Half Hitches.

If you slide the standing part out while sliding a stick or dowel in to replace it

you have a Clove Hitch.

(Also known by the names of Boatman's hitch, Builder's knot,

Double half hitch, Peg knot, and Steamboat hitch.)

Separate the two half hitches and form loops in the center and you have a

Sheepshank.

With the Clove Hitch take the shorter end and

wrap it around the other rope end next to it to

Form a Constrictor Knot.

From the Constrictor Knot, add another dowel or

stick at right angles to the first and you have a

Transom Knot.

Go back to ―b‖ two Half Hitches and reverse the direction of the standing part or straight end of

the rope by pulling it out of the two loops and putting it back in through the other end of the loops

and you have a Buntline Hitch. If this is tied around the neck with a piece of fabric it is called a

Cravat.

This process demonstrates with a little bit of change that many knots can be tied from a basic knot.

All of these knots can be tied using many methods. Each knot has a use, special characteristics,

and usually a story to be told.


Step 1—Sheepshank Step 2-Sheepshank

Constrictor

Buntline Hitch Cravat Two Half Hitches

Transom Knot


KNOT CANADA eh? By IGKT member John Staley

One of the newest additions to the I.G.K.T. is

from Canada. Specifically, we are located in

Hamilton, Ontario. Hamilton is a city of

about 550,000 people and is located about 40

miles west of Toronto. Given the size and

breadth of Canada, we have decided to call

our branch the Southern Ontario Knot Tyers

Guild and are currently associated with the

North American Branch of the IGKT. Cur-

rently, we have an active membership of 2

however, good things often come in small

packages! To this end Dave Lambert and I

have developed a new website and located

some potential new members from our IGKT

membership directory.

On September 25th, Dave and I had a (IGKT) table set up at a Scout leaders resource day. This

event consisted of a number of Scouting workshops. I was asked to do a workshop on advanced

knotting for Scout leaders. My workshop, which was only one hour long, consisted of seven knots

that could be utilized in a number of ways so that Cubs and Scouts could create some interesting

and useful crafts.

The main thrust of my presentation was to

provide knotting activities that would create

an appreciation and interest in knotting for

our youth. Utilizing various jigs, copious

notes and some in-hand work, the attendees

were shown how to tie a constrictor knot,

cow hitch, monkeys fist, Turkshead, carrick

bend & lanyard (diamond ) knot.

Contained within the handouts were instruc-

tions on how the kids could make lanyards,

woggles, tent or decorative brushes and a va-

riety of key fobs. I know that some readers

may be wondering how we managed to pull

off so much information in one hour. In a

word…. PREPARATION. Dave and I pre-

made kits and as said before, copious hand out

notes. All in all, we had a very successful outing and we hope to continue to spread the word

about knotting in our community.

Picture: left – Dave Lambert, right- John Staley


KNOT CANADA eh? (continued)

We invite you to visit our website at http://knotcanada.webs.com/ and to drop us a note at

[email protected]

Editor’s Note: If you teach or use knotting in a Scouting activity I’d like to publish what you’ve been doing. Please send your infor-

mation to [email protected].

A Modern Clifford Ashley: Working with an Artist

By IGKT memberBarbara Merry

Pictures by Ben Martinez

In 1981 I put a note on a bulletin board at a local art school. I was writing a splicing guide, a handbook that encompassed all the necessary information to put an eye, con-nect two ropes together or finish the ends nicely and neatly on all the ropes from all the manufacturing plants that I could get my hands on. I needed dia-grams drawn, lots of them. When Ben Martinez answered the ad and mentioned he was a teacher at the school I quickly told him that I couldn’t afford a teacher, I was actually looking for a student and hoping to save money on produc-tion costs. He said, “No, you don’t understand. I’m starting a graphic design service and you’ll be the first client. We’ll work things out.”. It was the beginning of a long and productive working partnership. Splicing Handbook came out in 1987. Ben and I followed that with an article about the history of rope making for Invention and Technology magazine and then a series of “How To” articles followed for WoodenBoat magazine. The second edition of The Splicing Handbook (published by International Marine) followed soon after. Then there was a web-site for my rope products and splicing business, and a booth for a trade show, and on and on.

Fig 1: Pier, New Bedford, Massachusetts‖

oil on canvas, 2010

http://knotcanada.webs.com/

Ben has a parallel life as a landscape painter in New Bedford Massachusetts, where he lives and keeps his studio. His new works, paintings of the nearby woods and of New Bedford’s working waterfront, are on view in the exhibition “Four Artists – Four Seasons” at the New Bedford Art Museum, until January 16, 2011. (Fig. 1)Like another New Bed-ford artist, Clifford Ashley, the famous author of the “Ashley Book of Knots”, Ben’s love of the water and the weather of the Buzzard’s Bay area has kept him working. For years he kept a little double ender with a lugsail on a mooring in New Bedford harbor and would spend a day every week running up and down the Achushnet River and poking into the coves, piers and anchorages. He calls it “watching the light”. Some things haven’t changed. I still make elaborate knot boards from which Ben will make his equally elaborate drawings in pencil on vellum before scanning and editing in Photoshop. Occasionally he’ll have more room for his own creative ideas, as when we needed a thematic illus-tration for an article about the rope bumpers called dolphins”. (Fig. 2) The strands or art and technology that we’ve been able to weave together would probably have pleased Clifford Ashley, an artist who, back in his day, knew how to “freshen the nip” on a line and how to draw a line when needed.

About the author: Barbara Merry is a marine rope worker with thirty years of experience in the trade. Founder and owner of The Marlinspike Artist in Wakefield, Rhode Island, she has worked on projects for boats of all sizes, from small traditional sailing craft and working schooners to commercial fishing vessels and Coast Guard cutters. She has taught at the WoodenBoat School and The Northeast Maritime Institute, and has written on rope and rope technology for WoodenBoat Magazine and Invention and Tech-nology Magazine. The second edition of her book "The Splicing Handbook", published by International Ma-rine, is available at most marine booksellers. A regular exhibitor at the Portland, Maine Boatbuilders show and the WoodenBoat show, she has also lectured at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island and the Seaman's Church Institute in Newport. She also teaches and consults privately.

InterKnot December 2010 - © 2010 International Guild of Knot Tyers– North American Branch Pg 6

Fig 2 -“Illustration for WoodenBoat‖,

pencil on vellum

InterKnot December 2010 - © 2010 International Guild of Knot Tyers– North American Branch Pg 7

The IGKT in Louisville, Kentucky.

I was attending a conference with my wife, Bar-

bara in Louisville, Kentucky in June of 2010.

While she was at one of her meetings I walked

down to the waterfront. Crewmembers for the

Spirit of Jefferson were having trouble splicing

rope for the gangway. I pitched in to help.

After the splicing was done, I asked, ―What are

you going to do with the old rope?‖ ―Oh,

throw it away.‖, was the answer. Not wishing

to see perfectly good, used rope go to waste,

one crewmember and I made an Ocean Plait

for the captain’s wheelhouse. Shown here is a

crewmember with the newly made plait.

=================================================

=================================================

Meeting notice from IGKT member Bonita L. Carter:

I'm giving a talk to Scientech Club June 6 on the Physics of Sailing, showing photos

of my Atlantic crossings on the Royal Clipper and discussing the principles affect-

ing hull, sails, air, water, etc. See scientechclub.org for more info. Meetings open to

public, no charge. This group has met every Monday since 1918. Call me for more

info if needed- 317-769-5034


IGKT-NAB InterKnot C/O 4417 Academy Street Dearborn Heights, MI 48125

Membership Questions should go to IGKT-NAB Membership Secretary, 4417 Acad-emy Street, Dearborn Heights, MI 48125-2205. This is a reminder to update ad-dress, telephone numbers and e-mail when making a change or relocating. Send e-mails to [email protected]

____________________________________________________________________

SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES & PICTURES FOR THE “InterKnot”

Please submit written articles in MS Word Document or convertible document. (I can also

accept MS-Publisher documents.) If sending instructions for tying a knot please include

black & white sketches or electronic drawings . Motion arrows would be easier to under-

stand. Pictures are welcome but try to make sure they are high-contrast photographs in

jpeg format. You may be asked to send the pictures separately so they can be more eas-

ily incorporated into the publication. Printed copies will be grayscale pictures to save

cost. Please send submission items to [email protected] Include “IGKT article” on

address line. ____________________________________________________________________

Membership Dues

IGKT-NAB membership dues are $45 for an individual per year. ____________________________________________________________________

Please Note Your Membership Expiration Date is shown on the “InterKnot” next to each member’s name. E-mail will be in cover letter.

Documents

A Progression of Knots