Lots of Knots

The other day I had to teach a young man a few knots that are used to secure things to a truck. He'd never been a Boy Scout, so his knowledge of rope and knots were limited to tying his shoes and a basic square knot, and since we work with a lot of loose items and flatbed trucks/trailers, knowing how to keep them from falling off is a good thing. Having to load up supplies and transport them is one of the steps to bugging out, so I thought our readers might like a few more knots to learn.

We've written about knots and rope before' just enter "knots" in the search bar on the upper left-hand corner to find the articles, but it's been a while. Finding a good book that teaches knots is the best (I have a couple in my library) because books are more portable and permanent than anything online, but for quick lessons or review the Internet has you covered. Waiting for a phone call and have nothing else to do? Grab a couple of short pieces of rope, twine, or thread and practice a few knots. Repetition will eventually make them something you can do without thinking. Practice makes permanent.

Learning to tie knots isn't hard, but visualizing them or articulating the process requires pictures or actual rope that you can work with. This is one of those skills that can't be easily taught through text alone. Having worked blue-collar jobs most of my life, I've only had to wear a tie for formal functions, funerals and weddings mostly. Years ago I found a website that has helped me relearn how to tie a proper tie, so I started looking for something a bit more broad in scope. The best I've found is called "Animated knots", great for short lessons on over a hundred different knots. Select a knot from the pictures or by category and the site will take you to a very simple (simple is good) page that shows a step-by-step animation of the knot, as well as a short video clip of it being tied. 

No ads or pop-ups asking for your email address, clean and simple format, and good information. This is one to add to your bookmarks list and use to learn or teach knots.