Knot

From MeritBadgeDotOrg

Animated Knots show you how to tie Basic Knots, Fishing Knots, Sailing Knots, Climbing Knots, Forty Knots,
Special Knots, and Advanced Knots, for Wolf, Bear, Webelos, Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class.

Contents Overhand knot Square knot Bowline Sheet bend Slip knot Two half-hitches Taut-line hitch Clove hitch Timber hitch Whipping and Fusing

Here are the basic knots Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts learn. These few knots are the only knots you have to know to go all the way to Eagle. Cross-references are provided to the Wolf, Bear, Webelos, Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class requirements.

Many knots below have very good Lesson Videos. Here is a general one for Scout Knots:

• Video: Scouting Knots

Overhand knot

Shortcut: Overhand knot

The Overhand knot is used in other knots including the Square knot which is two Overhand knots. The overhand knot can be used temporarily but can untie very easily if tied around something. The overhand knot can be used as a stopper knot and can keep a rope from fraying or unraveling but the Figure Eight is a much better stopper knot.

Required for

• Wolf Electives 17a. Learn to tie an overhand knot and a square knot.

Instructions

Make a loop and go through it.

The Overhand knot is one of the Forty Knots.

Square knot

Shortcut: Square knot

“ The square knot is also known as the joining knot because it can join two ropes together and because it is the first knot Scouts learn when they join the BSA. It has many uses-from securing bundles, packages, and the sails of ships to tying the ends of bandages. To tie a square knot, hold one rope end in each hand. Pass the right end over and under the rope in your left hand and pull it snug. Next, pass the rope now in your left hand over and under the one now in your right, and pull it snug. Remember, right over left, left over right. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook p. 8

Note: The Square knot comes untied easily and is not as strong as a Sheet bend.

Required for

• Wolf Electives 17a. Learn to tie an overhand knot and a square knot.
• Bear 22b. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half-hitches, and slip knot. Tell how each knot is used.
• Webelos Outdoorsman #11. ...Show how to tie a square knot and explain how it is used.
• Webelos Arrow of Light #2 Tie the joining knot (square knot).
• Scout #6: Demonstrate tying the square knot (a joining knot).
• Small-Boat Sailing #7a: Square (Reef) knot - Clove hitch - Two half-hitches - Bowline - Cleat hitch - Figure Eight
• Sea Scout Apprentice #5. Square knot - Bowline - Clove hitch - Sheet bend - Two half-hitches - Figure Eight - Cleat hitch

Instructions

Right over left, left over right, makes a knot tidy, and tight.

The Square knot is one of the Forty Knots.

Granny knot

When your shoes keep coming untied, it is because you are tying Granny knots instead of Square knots. The Granny knot is given to show what not to do. The Granny knot will come untied almost immediately and is not used for any Boy Scout application.

Instructions

Right over left, right over left, makes a knot ugly and WRONG.

The Granny knot is one of the Forty Knots.

Lesson Videos

• Video: About the Square Knot - Video: Square Knots - Video: Different Ways to Tie Square Knots - Video: Square Knots

Bowline

Shortcut: Bowline

“ Bowline knot – rescue knot, most useful of knots because it forms a loop that will not slip and is easy to untie. Use it to attach a cord to a pack frame, tie a rope through a grommet of a tent, secure a line to a canoe, and in rescue situations, and in a thousand other ways. Learn to tie the bowline around a post and in the free end of a rope. With practice, you can even tie it with one hand. Make a small overhand loop in the standing part of a rope. Bring the rope end up through the loop, around behind the standing part, and back down into the loop. Tighten the bowline by pulling the standing part away from the loop. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook pp. 148-149

Required for

• Bear 22b. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half-hitches, and slip knot. Tell how each knot is used.
• First Class #8a. Demonstrate tying the bowline knot and describe several ways it can be used.
• Small-Boat Sailing #7a: Square (Reef) knot - Clove hitch - Two half-hitches - Bowline - Cleat hitch - Figure Eight
• Sea Scout Apprentice #5. Square knot - Bowline - Clove hitch - Sheet bend - Two half-hitches - Figure Eight - Cleat hitch

Instructions

Make a loop (top to you). The rabbit goes out of the hole, around the tree, and back into the hole.

The Bowline is one of the Forty Knots.

Lesson Videos

• Grog's Animated Knots: Bowline - Grog's Animated Knots: One Handed Bowline - Video: Bowline Knots - Video: Bowline Bend - Video: Bowline Knots

Sheet bend

Shortcut: Sheet bend

The Sheet bend is a much stronger knot than a Square knot and much more secure.

Required for

• Bear 22b. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half-hitches, and slip knot. Tell how each knot is used.

• Sea Scout Apprentice #5. Square knot - Bowline - Clove hitch - Sheet bend - Two half-hitches - Figure Eight - Cleat hitch

Instructions

Make a loop in one end. The rabbit goes out of the hole, around the tree and back under his path.

The Sheet bend is one of the Forty Knots.

Lesson Videos

• Video: Sheet Bend - Video: Double Sheet Bend - Video: Double Sheet Bend Knots

Slip knot

Shortcut: Slip knot

The Slip knot is also called the Running Hitch.

Required for

• Bear 22b. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half-hitches, and slip knot. Tell how each knot is used.

Instructions

Make a loop. Pull a loop up through the loop. Pull tight.

The Running Hitch is one of the Forty Knots.

Lesson Videos

• Video: Slipknots - Video: Slip Knot & a Slippery Hitch Knot

Two half-hitches

Shortcut: Two half-hitches

“ Use two half-hitches to tie a rope around a post. Pass the end of the rope around the post. Bring the end over and under the body of the rope (known as the standing part),then back through the loop thus formed. That makes a half hitch. Take the end around the standing part a second time and tie another half hitch. Pull it snug. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook p. 36

The Two half-hitches knot is only secure when it is tight against the post.

Required for

• Bear 22b. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half-hitches, and slip knot. Tell how each knot is used.
• Webelos Outdoorsman #11. Demonstrate setting up a tent or dining fly using two half-hitches and a taut-line hitch. Show how to tie a square knot and explain how it is used.
• Tenderfoot #4b. Demonstrate you know how to tie the following knots and tell what their uses are: two half-hitches and the taut-line hitch.
• Small-Boat Sailing #7a: Square (Reef) knot - Clove hitch - Two half-hitches - Bowline - Cleat hitch - Figure Eight
• Sea Scout Apprentice #5. Square knot - Bowline - Clove hitch - Sheet bend - Two half-hitches - Figure Eight - Cleat hitch

Instructions

Loop over the top and pull through the hole to make a Half hitch. Make a second Half hitch on the outside. Pull tight.

The Two half-hitches is one of the Forty Knots.

Lesson Videos

• Video: Two Half Hitches

Taut-line hitch

Shortcut: Taut-line hitch

“ The taut-line hitch is tied to a line that is tight, or taut. Use it to tighten or loosen a tent guyline by pushing the hitch up or down. Here's how: Pass the line around the tent stake. Bring the end under and over the standing part and twice through the loop you have formed. Again bring the pore end under, over, and through the loop, but this time farther up the standing part. Work any slack out of the knot, then slide the hitch to adjust the tension on the line. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook p. 37

Required for

• Webelos Outdoorsman #11. Demonstrate setting up a tent or dining fly using two half-hitches and a taut-line hitch. Show how to tie a square knot and explain how it is used.
• Tenderfoot #4b. Demonstrate you know how to tie the following knots and tell what their uses are: two half hitches and the taut-line hitch.
• Small-Boat Sailing #7a: Square (Reef) knot - Clove hitch - Two half-hitches - Bowline - Cleat hitch - Figure Eight

Instructions

Loop over the top and pull through the hole to make a Half hitch. Loop over the top and through the hole again. One last Half hitch on the outside. Pull tight.

The Taut-Line Hitch is one of the Forty Knots.

Lesson Videos

• Video: Taut Line Hitch - Video: Uses for a Taut Line Hitch

Clove hitch

Shortcut: Clove hitch

“ Clove comes from the word cleave meaning “to split”, clove hitch is split into two parts like the foot of a deer or a sheep – used to end lashings… form the first half hitch of the clove hitch by taking a bight (loop) around the pole and then across itself. Form the second half hitch of the clove hitch by taking the second bight around the pole and tucking the end of the rope under the rope between the two loops. When pulled tight, the clove hitch should look like an X. The difference between a clove hitch and two half-hitches is that a clove hitch is tied around an object and two half-hitches are tied around the rope’s own standing part. An alternative way of tying a clove hitch it to make and overhand loop in the rope. Then make a second overhand loop next to the first loop. Next, without turning over either loop, place the first loop on top of the second loop. Finally, place the two loops over the end of a pole or around the neck of the bear bag and pull tight. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook p. 139

Required for

• First Class #7b. Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch and their use in square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together.

• Small-Boat Sailing #7a: Square (Reef) knot - Clove hitch - Two half-hitches - Bowline - Cleat hitch - Figure Eight
• Sea Scout Apprentice #5. Square knot - Bowline - Clove hitch - Sheet bend - Two half-hitches - Figure Eight - Cleat hitch

Instructions

Loop over the top. Loop around again below. Pull through the hole.

The Clove hitch is one of the Forty Knots.

Lesson Videos

• Grog's Animated Knots: Clove Hitch - Video: Clove Hitch - Video: Various Ways to Tie a Clove Hitch - Video: Clove Hitch Knots

Timber hitch

Shortcut: Timber hitch

“ The timber hitch is the knot to use for dragging a log across the ground. It is also the knot that starts a diagonal lashing. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook p. 138

Required for

• First Class #7b. Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch and their use in square, shear, and diagonal lashings by joining two or more poles or staves together.

Instructions

“ Here's how to tie a timber hitch: Pass the end of the rope around the log. Loop the end around the starting part of the rope, then wrap the end around itself three or more times. Tighten the hitch against the log. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook p. 138

The Timber hitch is one of the Forty Knots.

Lesson Videos

• Video: Timber Hitch - Video: Tying a Timber Hitch

Whipping and Fusing

Whipping

Whipping: If the cut end is left un-whipped, the rope will fray or untwist, and loose strength. Whip the ends of ropes to prevent fraying and prolongs the life of the rope. Instructions Lay twine (or dental floss) on rope to form a loop. Wrap the twine around with neat, tight bindings until the length of whipping is two to three times the diameter of the rope. Pull the working end of twine through the loop. Pull hard on the other end of the twine to draw tight under the wraps. Cut off loose ends and roll the whipping under foot. Fusing: Tape the nylon, polyester, polypropylene rope around the area to be cut. Cut in middle of the tape leaving tape intact on each side. When cutting these fibers with a pocket knife or scissors, the cut ends should be fused with a match or candle flame to prevent untwisting. Natural fiber ropes do not fuse. Required for: Bear 22a. Whip the ends of a rope. Webelos Outdoorsman #10. Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope. Tenderfoot #4a: Demonstrate how to whip and fuse the ends of a rope.

Fusing

External links

• Animated Knots: Basic Scout Knots - Forty Scout knots - Special Knots - Sailing knots - Fishing knots - Folsoms Knots - Animatedknots.com - Great Animations - More Animated Knots - More great Animated Knots - Still more - Knot Videos - Basics Videos - Basics2
• Other Knot Links: Advanced knots - Ropers Knots Page - Climbing Knots - Fishing knots - Knots Index
• Notable knot Index - shows quick method of tying
• Step-By-Step knots : 11 Basic knots fit on the front and back of one page.
• Six Boy Scout knots by John Geffre
• All lower rank knots (2MB PDF)
• When to use knots lashings (152K PDF)
• Ian's Shoelace Site
• The Notable knot Index