...meaning the basic knots you need to know in order to have
a reasonable ability to choose the right knot in most situations.
How many are the “Essential Knots”? Five or six? Ten? Twenty? Thirty?
I'd say, rather than "
right knot in most situations",
"
to meet most functions for knotting"--since "right knot" gets too focused on
"best" rather than adequacy. A smaller set results from just the latter standard.
For those not including the SquaREef Knot & Overhand, how do you propose
to tie you shoelaces (Velcro is it?!) or a plastic produce or trash bag (metal
twisty things?)?! --pretty regular (daily) knotting in those tasks.
The Overhand, if taken broadly, can do a lot: stopper (and only one able to be
formed snug to its resistance), loopknot (doublling rope then tying Overhand
begets the eye-knot; by deduction, this arguably can lead to the Ring Bend),
and guard to many other knots likely to be insecure w/o--Clove Hitch, Sheet
Bend(s), Tautline(Rolling) Hitch, et al..
I concur in favor for the Bowline.
Two Half-hitches? --well, that's a Clove noose, and number might be more
than two, or else that Overhand stopper comes in handy. (So, here we see
that I'm playing a little loose with "knot", in expecting some simple structures
to be able to be combined to benefit.) A combination of Tautline Hitches can
work on slipperier materials, usually.
Maybe a mutliple overhand knot to secure the slicker stuff, backing up some
other primary knot (thinking of a dog leash of polypropylene, e.g.).
For those admonishing against the SquaREef qua
bend, I wonder how many
have actual experiences of its supposed failure, vs. just echoing the admonitions
of books (which might be traceable to some few ancient admonition(s))? There
are certainly better bends, but ... . The Sheet Bend & Dbl. Sheet bend, FYI,
have been shown to be insecure at substantial loads in nylon kernmantle
ropes; Jimbo in fact reported these usually coming undone in whatever
stressful loading he has done with them (presumably not losing life or much
of matter--or I hope not!).
The Triple Lapp Bend might be a good one, as it's easily tied (more so than
Sheet or Square), and somewhat forcibly untiable (pull apart bight legs to
prise free some hitching SPart). --not that I've seen this knot mentioned anywhere,
and the (single) Lapp Bend is a bit demanding of careful dressing & setting!
The Overhand knot also works qua mid-line loopknot, and in this way can
support a Trucker's hitch, half-hitches to finish (or Rolling H.).
--works for tape, too.
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As for Roy's Sheepshanks, holy smokes, that's a good one! I've realized that
one can sometimes make a more comfortable shoulder strap, as it were, with
a Sheepshank trebling the material at that point--but one needs to anticipate
that need with sufficient rope (e.g., some things with a lanyard set for carrying
won't have the surplus material). I suppose one can even use the knot as a
kind of ratcheting tightener, though such tightening comes w/o any advantage,
and there's a risk of capsizing one side if 2-handing the opposite.
I, like Lasse_C, am curious about this. --good puzzle, eh?
--dl*
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