Category Archives: Knots

Clove Hitch

1 Reply

The clove hitch is a type of knot. Along with the bowline and the sheet bend, it is often considered one of the most important knots and is commonly referred to as a Double Hitch. A clove hitch is two successive half-hitches around an object. It is most effectively used as a crossing knot. It can be used as a binding knot, but is not particularly secure in that role. A clove hitch made around the rope’s own standing part is known as either two half-hitches or buntline hitch, depending on whether the turns of the clove hitch progress away from or towards the hitched object.

French Whipping Knot

2 Replies

How to tie the French Whipping Knot. French Whipping is very similar to Common Whipping but it differs in that each wrap around the rope is done with a half hitch instead of simply wrapping around the rope. This results in both a more secure whipping and an attractive spiral design of the half hitch knots within the whipping. The French Whipping should be constructed to be between one and one and a half times the diameter of the rope being whipped. Also see: Common Whipping

FRENCH WHIPPING Knot Tying Instructions

  • Near the end of the rope, tie a simple overhand knot leaving a short tag end and a long working end. Lay the tag end on top of the rope and begin making half hitches over the tag end and around the rope end being whipped.
  • Continue this same process of tying half hitches around the rope and burying the tag end in the new wraps. Pull each half hitch very tight.
  • Once you have wrapped past the tag and and approximately one to one and a half times the diameter of the rope being whipped, you will now secure the knot by making two loose wraps around the rope and inserting the working end through both loops. You can repeat this a second time if desired. Note that the animated French Whipping below shows the knot finishing with two loosely tied half hitches with the working end being fed through both loops and pulled tight. This is an acceptable alternative that might be a bit more secure but is not as tidy if using small diameter cordage as opposed to twine.
  • Pull the working end very tight and trim close to the wraps.

Common Whipping Knot

3 Replies

Common Whipping

How to tie the Common Whipping Knot. The Common Whipping is a knot tied at the end of a rope to keep the end from unraveling. The benefit of the Common Whipping knot is that it is quite easy to tie and no tools are required. However, the knot is more appropriate for temporary use or on decorative ropes as it is known to slip off the rope easily. It is best used on a natural fiber rope and tied with natural twine, both of which afford the maximum friction for the knot to hold its position at the end of the rope. When dealing with synthetic ropes, it is best to wrap with tape and then heat the ends to the melting point to fuse the strands. Also see: French Whipping

Sheet Bend

Leave a reply

To create a sheet bend, bend the thicker or more slippery rope into a “J” shape (like a fish hook). Then pass the other rope through the hook shape from behind, wrap it around the entire fishhook once and then tuck the smaller line between itself and the other rope. If the ropes are the same diameter and texture, the sheet bend actually resembles a square knot. To tie a sheet bend with fabric or a tarp, collect, squeeze, and shape the material into a “J” shape, and then run your rope through and around the “J.”