Further on the clove hitch, one of my favorite, um, knots — ok, hitches. When I’m using it for anything that will have much movement, or I want to leave for a long time, I back it up with a half hitch, or usually two half hitches, thrown around standing side.

In mountaineering, rock climbing, high-angle rescue, etc. you always want to back up a knot with a second knot.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,217079,00.html

However remember this: many knots are only meant for vertical load, not “side load.” An example is if you tie a square knot and then pull it sideways, it will form two half hitches. This isn’t neccesarily a capital mistake, but it does tend to loosen the knot.
Also, ropes are rated for a certain breaking strength determined by the manufactuer. Tying knots in the rope reduces this rated strength by different percentiles.
A few examples are:
Bowline: reduces the strength by 40%
Sheet Bend: reduces the strength by 50%
Square Knot: reduces the strength by 55%
Clove Hitch: reduces the strength by 25%

Have a safe day!
–Hivolt

A couple other things mentioned above, lashing and splicing, are also a pretty wide departure from the topic of a few good knots. They should be in any competent knot-tier’s bag of tricks. But we’ve already moved quite beyond the topic of this article – seven basic knots.

Some terminology first:

A bight, or half turn is when you have a fold in your line, so to speak. It is U shaped.

A turn, or full turn is when your line wraps around an object once, and continues in the same direction (ie: from left to right).

A round turn is when you take the full turn and add an extra half turn so your line wraps back so your standing end and working end both come out the same side (ie: to the left of the object).

Round turns are typically used on lines where there is a lot of movement on your standing end (Such as tying a small boat to a dock ring). It allows the rope to roll on the ring as opposed to rub the object and wear out the line quicker.

As for the two half hitches, it is better to tie the two half hitches in the same direction so it resembles a clove hitch. usually the separating factor between a clove hitch and two half hitches, is that you leave some room between your hitches when it comes to two half hitches. In fact, in many books, the working end of a round turn two half hitches, will have a stop applied to the working end, so that it is lashed to the standing end.this keeps the half hitches from slipping, and it allows more line to let your object roll.

Regarding the taut line knot – it is essentially a rolling hitch tied to the standing end of a line. A rolling hitch is a clove hitch’s cousin. Whereas on a clove hitch the pull should be perpendicular to the object you have tied to, a rolling hitch is designed to be pulled in a SPECIFIC direction.

To tie a rolling hitch:
1. Wrap your line in a full turn around your spar. IMPORTANT: Make sure you wrap the line towards the direction the line will be pulled.
2. Go around for a second full turn. This is the major difference from a clove hitch.
3. Cross your working end across all of your turns, and complete another turn. Ensure the line is wrapped on the opposite side of your standing part. As you complete the turn, tuck your working end straight under the “crossover” portion, just as you would in a clove hitch.

I think I should explain that the term “slippery,” which I used in my first post, refers to a knot that is made so that it is easy to untie. Your shoelace tie is done so that the last half of the square knot can be undone simply by pulling the ends. A proper slippery knot is not more inclined to actually slip, meaning coming loose under tension, than its standard brother.

BTW a simple square knot also works great on shoelaces, and is actually superior on quality leather boot laces. By pulling one of the lace ends over to the opposite side of the knot, the knot can be made to “flip,” turning the square knot into a (improperly-tied) double half hitch, which then easily slides off the side that you pulled. I use this technique on my heavy work boots. It eliminates the loops, which catch on brush, and lead to a serious face-plant. Been there-done that, too.

I believe the best way to tie two half hitches (I originally learned it, over 50 years ago, as a double half hitch) is to continue around the rope the same direction, rather than reversing direction after the first half hitch. Then you would have basically tied a clove hitch around the standing rope. Theoretically, this should be a little stronger, and a little less prone to slipping. But doing it the way shown works, too.

Stephen B, whoever told you that about the square knot and the granny is trying to kill you. Just the opposite is true. A granny is much more prone to slipping, and it’s much more prone to jamming (meaning that you can’t untie it without damaging the rope. Strange combination, huh?). Here’s something to check, or try: When you tie your shoes, do the loops end up running side-to-side, or up and down? A proper shoelace tie is actually a slippery square knot. If the loops end up running parallel with your leg & foot, then you have tied a granny. You will be having to re-tie your shoelaces several times during the day. If, on the other hand, you have tied a proper slippery square knot, you may have to adjust things as your foot shrinks and swells during the day, but it won’t come untied.

What Craig said about the sheet bend, both times. The bight in the larger rope has a tendency to straighten out, which allows the smaller rope to slip off. Going around the bend twice greatly reduces this tendency. Here’s another suggestion — Rather than just making a bend in the larger rope, make it a secured loop, as with a figure-8, before executing the sheet bend. That way the bend can’t flip out.

When the sheet bend is tied on big ships’ hawsers, it is also common to “seize” the bend, basically tying the bend shut, with light line around the end and the standing line. This accomplishes the same thing as the figure-8, which works fine on smaller lines.

The figure-8 has just about completely replaced the bowline in mountain climbing. It’s about as strong as the bowline, almost as versatile, and is much harder to tie improperly.

For a stopper knot, I prefer the “stevedore knot.” When you’re tying the figure-8, just go around the standing side one more time.

Bowline is pronounced bow-linn, not bow-line. Other than that, a wonderful tutorial.