The Bodgery Wiki

Initial article begun 2014-12-06 by Bill Blondeau

A piece of working rope is called a line. When you are talking about knots, you talk in terms of line.

Why do we say “line” instead of “rope”?

• Because knots are tied in string, twine, yarn, thread, cords, cloth or leather strips, etc, and you sound stupid referring to some of those things as “rope”. “Line” is a usefully generic term that covers all of these things impartially.

• Because “rope” has its own set of meanings. “Rope” is used in contexts where you are talking about a particular kind of line: its construction (twisted, braided, plaited, etc) or the material of which it’s made (nylon, hemp, jute, dacron, polypropylene, etc.)

One interesting thing: you do not use “line” to refer to steel cables, because there’s no effective way of knotting metal ropes. Flexible metal lengths have a completely different set of fastening techniques, involving attaching shackles to fixed eyes. Nothing in this article should be taken to apply to metal ropes: working with those is a different discipline.

Whenever you're working with a line, you have two different contexts. Or parts. Or existential natures. Or if you're a math geek, two topological aspects. Or… OK whatever.

• The end, or working end, is probably almost exactly what you think it is.

• The standing part is the rest of the line, stretching off to somewhere that you either don't care about or can't get to.

It's important to know these terms because they show up in almost any discussion of knots.

Interestingly, this is one of the key categorizations of knots. What you're tying it to tends to drive the structural characteristics of the knot, and the methods used to tie it.

Knots can be tied to:

• The line itself, forming a loop or stopknot (aka stopper).

• The other end of the line; this is a binding knot. Binding knots are monstrously convenient because they are usually “snuggable” (you can tighten them up before finishing them), but they are dangerous because it’s tempting to misuse them. We get accustomed to tying binding knots all the time, and then we find ourselves using them without thinking about it.

• Another line: a knot that joins two lines so that they can handle a strain is called a bend. Only certain knots are referred to as “bends”; this is a practice based in the safety implications of using a different knot when a bend is required. If it doesn’t have “bend” in the name, don’t use it as a bend unless you’re damn sure it’s proper to do so. Safety: don’t join two ropes with anything other than a proper bend. Joining two lines with a square knot (which is a binding knot, not a bend at all) has probably killed or injured more people than any other knotwork mistake.

• A post or hook (a rigid structure in which you have the option of passing a bight of line over the end). This kind of knot is called a hitch.

• A spar or ring (a rigid structure in which you do not have access to the end). This is also called a hitch; it just requires different methods of making the hitch.

Everybody has opinions about this. Twelve different people who know something about knots would probably come up with twelve different lists. Some would say 4, some would say 7. Or 13. Or 5. And some people will fly into sputtering indignation becausea knot they can't imagine living without didn't make the cut.

Here's the Bodgerous list of six. It's based on simple day-to-day practicality, including ease of use and safety.

• Bowline: a loop that won’t slip. Pronounced “BO-lun” in case you were wondering.

• Figure Eight: Basic safe stopknot, used in rigging work of any kind. Or to keep the thread from slipping back out of the needle's eye.

• Sheet Bend: the go-to bend for joining two line ends, especially if they are of different size.

• Square (or Reef) Knot: The basic binding knot.

• Round turn and two half hitches: the basic non-slippable hitch.

• Clove Hitch: a slippable hitch on a round spar