When tying a knot, the working end of the rope is the end that is forming the knot. The standing end is the other end of the rope, which is usually stationary during the tying process.

The working end that is left over after a knot has been tied is called the tail. An overly short tail can cause a knot to fail—most knots should have 2-3 inches of tail.

A bight is any U-shaped bend in the rope, especially the bend in the center of a doubled rope.

A twist is a simple loop made by twisting a bight around itself.

The process of pulling a knot tight is referred to as snugging the knot. In some cases, it’s important to snug a knot in a particular way in order to ensure that the final product is stable and secure.

Especially when working with doubled rope, it’s easy to end up with messy knots. The process of neatly laying out a knot is referred to as dressing the knot.

Although a well dressed knot is not necessarily any stronger or more secure than a poorly dressed one, it is easier to inspect.

It’s good form to dress all your knots tidily, to reduce the odds of any serious errors going unnoticed.

A slippery knot has been modified to be faster and easier to untie, and less likely to jam. In many cases, this is done by changing one of its component half hitches. Instead of pulling the whole rope through the half hitch, pull a bight through instead. When it’s time to untie the knot, pulling on the end of the rope will pop the bight free and undo the knot.

Because of its tendency to jam, two half hitches is often tied slippery. The first half hitch is the most likely to jam, so it’s the one that is usually made slippery.

For extra security, certain knots can be locked. To lock a knot that has been tied in a doubled rope, pass the standing end of the rope through the bight. A locked knot is much more secure: no matter what happens, the knot can’t come undone.

We don’t lock some of our knots because the locking process is slow and it also slows down the untying process. You should, however, lock your critical vertical lines.

Geeky detail: close inspection will reveal that locking a knot essentially just places a lark’s head around the existing knot. We prefer locked knots to plain lark’s heads in most cases because of strength: a plain lark’s head weakens the rope more than a knot like two half hitches.

Capsizing

Many knots have a tendency to capsize (i.e., change shape) when loaded in ways they weren’t designed to resist. A capsized knot may jam or even fail catastrophically.

Jamming

In addition to holding securely, it’s important that your knots can be quickly and easily untied. This isn’t just a matter of convenience: in an emergency, you need to be able to quickly free your partner from bondage.

Certain knots are particularly prone to jamming, particularly when subjected to heavy or abrupt loading, or when tied in certain types of rope.

Two half hitches and the figure 8 are two excellent knots that are prone to jamming under certain circumstances. Don’t be afraid to use them, but be aware of their limitations and use them appropriately. The bowline, on the other hand, is almost completely immune to jamming in normal use.

Cinching

Certain knots have a tendency to cinch, or tighten, when placed under load. In some cases, cinching can be beneficial: because it cinches, the lark’s head will tend to stay put instead of sliding. On the other hand, cinching knots should never be tied directly on a person because they can become uncomfortable or even dangerous when they tighten. The basic column tie is specifically designed not to cinch, and is a great choice for tying on people.

The knots in this chapter should cover pretty much any rigging situation you’re likely to encounter. You may, however, want to go further with your study of knots. If so, here are some good starting points:

• Ashley’s Book Of Knots (ABOK) is the definitive reference work. It’s big and expensive and short on instruction, but it’s exhaustive, with several thousand knots. Knots often have many common names, so the ABOK number is a good way to unambiguously identify a knot.
• Des Pawson’s Knots: The Complete Visual Guide is much smaller, but much more useful for the average rigger.
• There are numerous websites dedicated to knots. We particularly like Animated Knots by Grog.