The InterKnot - International Guild of Knot Tyers

The InterKnot
Newsletter of the International Guild of Knot Tyers
North American Branch
March 2011
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 fiddling 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 worthwhile. A lot of what I read in books I have thought out myself. But most books will have something 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 continuity 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.
Overhand Knot.
Take the cord off your foot and you have an
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.
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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 reshape 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 replace 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.
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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.
Step 1—Sheepshank
Step 2-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.
Constrictor
Transom Knot
From the Constrictor Knot, add another dowel
stick at right angles to the first and you have a
Transom Knot.
or
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.
Two Half Hitches
Buntline Hitch
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.
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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. Currently, 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 instructions on how the kids could make lanyards,
woggles, tent or decorative brushes and a variety 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
Picture: left – Dave Lambert, right- John Staley
word…. PREPARATION. Dave and I premade 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.
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KNOT CANADA eh? (continued)
We invite you to visit our website at http://knotcanada.webs.com/ and to drop us a note at
southern.ontario.knotyers@gmail.com
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 information to alexd_3@juno.com.
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, connect 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 diagrams 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 production 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.”. Fig 1: Pier, New Bedford, Massachusetts‖
It was the beginning of a long and
oil on canvas, 2010
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 website for my rope products and splicing business, and a booth for a trade show, and on and
on.
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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 Bedford 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 illustration 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
Fig 2 -“Illustration for WoodenBoat‖,
with thirty years of experience in the
pencil on vellum
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 Technology Magazine.
The second edition of her book "The Splicing Handbook", published by International Marine, 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.
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The IGKT in Louisville, Kentucky.
I was attending a conference with my wife, Barbara 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.
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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 affecting 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
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Membership Questions should go to IGKT-NAB Membership Secretary, 4417 Academy Street, Dearborn Heights, MI 48125-2205. This is a reminder to update address, telephone numbers and e-mail when making a change or relocating. Send emails to knottyrope@prodigy.net
____________________________________________________________________
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 understand. 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 easily incorporated into the publication. Printed copies will be grayscale pictures to save
cost. Please send submission items to alexd_3@juno.com 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.
InterKnot March 2011 - © 2011 International Guild of Knot Tyers– North American Branch
IGKT-NAB InterKnot
C/O 4417 Academy Street
Dearborn Heights, MI 48125
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