Knot - Misplaced Pages

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As a navigational term, knot is a measure of both length and velocity in nautical miles. In former times, ropes used to measure distance had a knot tied in them for each nautical mile. Thus, the number of knots passed in an hour is the equivalent of "nautical miles per hour". Therefore the expression "knots per hour" is redundant or incorrect.

A knot may consist of a length of one or more rope, cord, twine, string, strap or even chain interweaved so as to create in the line the ability to bind to itself or to some other object - the "load". Some knots are well adapted to bind to particular objects such as another rope, cleat, ring, stake or to constrict an object. Decorative knots usually bind to themselves to produce attractive patterns.

Knots have been the subject of interest both for their ancient origins, common use or their mathematical implications, see knot theory.

Knots are essential in many industrial, work, home or recreational activities. Truckers need to tie down a load and will use a Trucker's hitch, gaining a 2-to-1 mechanical advantage. Are you spelunking, having foolishly but voluntarily buried yourself pre-maturely under millions of tons of rock? What ever the activity, on the water sailing or on a cliff-side rock climbing. Learning well tested knots prior to some hazardous activity introduces a critical measure of safety. Even simple activities such as running a load from the hardware store to home can result in disaster if a clumsy twist in a cord passes for a knot.

Besides safety, using the appropriate knot can also save having to cut a line unnecessarily.

The list of knots is extensive but there are some general properties common to the various knot categories. For example, loop knots share the attribute of having some kind of an anchor point tied on the standing end (such as a loop or overhand knot) into which the working end is easily hitched to using a round turn). An example of this is the Bowline Knot. Constricting knots often rely on friction to cinch down tight on loose bundles. An example would be the clove hitch.

Some useful terms pertinent to the making of knots:

standing end -- The end of the rope not involved in making the knot, often shown as unfinished.
standing part -- Section of line between knot and the standing end.
working end -- The active end of a line used in making the knot.
working part -- Section of line between knot and the working end.
bight -- The center part of the rope as opposed to the ends. The definition changes depending on whether the definite or indefinite article is used:
- The bight is the portion of the rope between its two ends.
- A bight is a U-shaped loop used in making a knot. Many knots, such as the bowline can be tied with either the end or the bight.
loop -- A full circle formed by passing the working end over itself.
elbow -- Two crossing points created by an extra twist in a loop.

Knots may span multiple categories:

bend -- a knot uniting two lines, or two parts of the same line
binding
coil
decorative
hitch -- a knot tied to a post, cable, ring, or spar, etc.
lashing
loop
noose -- knot tied with a hitch around one of its parts, contrasted with a loop, which is closed with a bend. A noose can be closed, a loop remains the same size.
plaits
stopper
sennit
whipping

Some knots have multiple names. For example the overhand is also known as the thumb knot. The Constrictor Knot, the Bag Knot, the Miller's Knot are all the same knot.

Alphabetical List of knots (Format of sub-topics, see below.)

The variant knot names should be included in the list with links to the most formal name.

Format for the knot sub-topics.
Canonical Name:
Variant Names:

Category: bend,binding,coil,decorative,hitch,lashing,loop,plaits, stopper, sennit,whipping
Origin: ancient or modern etc.
Similarities: to other knots
Releasing: jamming or non-jamming etc.
Efficiency: 60-75%
Caveat: none, spills, slips, secure if wet, not secure if wet, etc.
Uses: fishing, climbing
Methods: how to tie, picture &/or descriptions or each method
Thanks: http://www.wikipedia.com/user:Satsun

In knot theory, a knot is an embedding of a circle in 3-D space, considered up to deformations (isotopies). This is basically equivalent to a conventional knot with the ends of the string tied together to prevent it from becoming undone. In higher dimensions, circles are unknotted anyways, so one considers embeddings of spheres and hyperspheres.