Ask Lemmy

animatedknots.com - amazing step by step on how to properly tie things. The downside is that there are a lot of knots that are either hyper specific or more decorative than anything. I climb and sail - both are knot-heavy. 95%of the time I use one of five or six knots/hitches. I'd focus on the utilitarian knots personally. These are the knots that can accomplish real stuff - but if you get them wrong, could be fatal in the wrong circumstances.

• Simple overhand - great for keeping a loose end from flopping around, connecting two ropes (need long tails or a secondary knot to keep it from moving), or joining webbing (known as a water knot in this context)
• bowline - great for tying around things like if you want to anchor something to a tree
• figure 8 - the go-to for tying yourself into a rope when climbing. I rarely use it anywhere else as it's bulky and difficult to untie if loaded hard. A bowline can be used in its place for tying in, but the big advantage of the 8 is that it's easy to visually check. Every few years a miss-tied bowline kills a climber.
• clove hitch - this one is super underrated. It looks like you just wrapped a rope around something but it self tightens thanks to the way the strands lie over each other. It's also super easy to adjust.
• trucker hitch - it's really just a couple of overhand knots, but this one is my default for lashing down loads because you can get the rope super tight. This is how I tie my canoe down to the roof of the car.
• fisherman knots - killer for connecting ropes - or making non-load-bearing adjustable loops (bracelets, necklaces), or tidying up loose ends.

Bonus knots *alpine butterfly - gives you a load bearing loop in the middle of a rope without requiring access to the ends. An overhand on a bight also gives a loop, but the overhand can move when loaded. Alpine butterfly stays where you put it, looks cool, and is fun and easy to tie. *prussic - this hitch can slide along a rope when unloaded and then locks when you apply weight. This let's you move up or down a fixed line. A Texas Prussic involves one prussic attached to your harness and one free but with a foot loop. Hang on the harness prussic, slide the unloaded foot one up the rope. Stand up on the foot one (locks in place) and slide the unweighted harness loop up the rope, sit back down in your harness. Congrats, you just ascended 100mm up a rope. Rinse and repeat until you get to the top or reverse the process to go back down.