What a Knot Is
Knots and Rope Work 🏆
Course 1 · Chapter 1 · What a Knot Is: Words, Parts and Purpose
A knot is one of the oldest bits of technology people have. Before you learn to tie any, you need the vocabulary: what counts as a knot, how a bend or a hitch differs, and what the parts of a rope are called. Later chapters cover rope itself, then stoppers, loops, bends, hitches, lashings and the knots used at sea, in camp and on rock.
What Counts as a Knot
In everyday speech any tangle of rope is a "knot". Among people who work with rope the word is narrower, and the family of terms is worth learning at the start because instructions use them precisely.
Knot
Rope tied to itself or around itself, such as a stopper at the end of a line.
Bend
A knot that joins two ropes together, such as the sheet bend.
Hitch
A knot that ties a rope to an object, such as a post, ring or spar, and usually depends on that object to hold.
Splice
A join made by weaving the strands of rope into each other rather than tying them.
| Term | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stopper | Stops a rope running through a hole or block | Figure-eight knot |
| Loop | Makes a fixed or sliding eye in a rope | Bowline |
| Bend | Joins two ropes | Sheet bend |
| Hitch | Fastens a rope to an object | Clove hitch |
| Lashing | Binds poles or spars together | Square lashing |
| Splice | Permanent join or eye by weaving strands | Eye splice |
The Parts of a Rope
Three words are used in almost every knot instruction. Learn them now and the later chapters read easily.
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Standing part | The long, inactive part of the rope, usually the part under load or leading away from the knot |
| Working end | The end you are using to tie the knot (also called the running end) |
| Bight | A U-shaped curve in the rope where the rope does not cross itself |
| Loop | A curve where the rope crosses itself |
| Turn | The rope passed once around an object or itself |
| Round turn | The rope passed twice around an object |
| Elbow | Two crossings of the rope, like a twisted loop |
Why Knots Matter
A good knot does three things: it is quick to tie, it holds under the load it was chosen for, and you can untie it afterwards. No knot is best at all three, so choosing one is always a trade-off. Every knot also weakens a rope at the bend: the commonly quoted idea is that a knotted rope breaks at the knot, at a fraction of its unknotted strength, with the exact fraction depending on the knot and the rope (check).
| Quality | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Security | Will it stay tied when the load changes or the rope is shaken? |
| Strength | How much of the rope's strength is lost at the knot? |
| Ease of tying | Can I tie it quickly, even in the dark or with cold hands? |
| Ease of untying | Can I undo it after it has been loaded? |
A Short History
Rope and knots are very old, but the evidence is thin because rope rots. Cordage is often said to be many tens of thousands of years old, known mostly from impressions of twisted fibre in clay and other indirect traces (check). Knots appear in the art and records of many cultures, and sailors in particular developed a large body of them because ships needed rigging that could be tied, adjusted and untied under strain. The study of knots also became a branch of mathematics, knot theory, in the 19th century (check).
| Group | Why knots mattered to them |
|---|---|
| Sailors | Rigging, sails, mooring and cargo |
| Climbers | Safety systems, anchors and joining ropes |
| Campers and scouts | Shelter, tents, lashings and camp gear |
| Farmers and carters | Tying loads, tethering animals |
| Fishers | Joining line, tying hooks and nets |
Not Yet Verified, and Sources
- Source. This chapter is written from general knowledge of rope work and the standard terms; I did not read a specific source while writing it. Nothing here comes from a quoted text.
- Marked (check). Inconsistent family names, the strength lost at a knot, the age of cordage, and the date knot theory began. Look these up before relying on them.
- Illustrations. The 1000-unit and 60% figures are invented to show the idea.
Exercises
Name the family (knot, bend, hitch, splice or lashing) for each job: joining two ropes, tying a rope to a post, binding two poles at a right angle, and weaving a permanent eye into a rope end.
With a piece of cord, make a bight, then a loop, then a turn and then a round turn around a chair leg. Write one sentence for each saying how you could tell it from the one before.
A rope is rated at 800 units. If a knot leaves 65% of its strength, what load will the knotted rope fail at? Then name which of the four qualities (security, strength, ease of tying, ease of untying) matters most for a washing line, and explain why.
Quick Reference
- Knot · bend · hitch · splice: tied to itself · joins two ropes · fastens to an object · woven join
- Standing part: the long inactive part
- Working end: the end you tie with
- Bight · loop · turn · round turn: U-curve · crossing curve · once around · twice around
- Judge a knot by: security, strength, ease of tying and untying
- Check: family names, strength loss, history dates