This Is Knot A Joke

Episode 1 - Introduction to knots, cordwork, ropework, knotology, and why should I get tied up in all of this?

By Bryce M. Liwosz - 05-14-2025

Several years ago, I got obsessed with ropes, cords, lines, and knotwork. It began because I wanted to climb a tree with minimalist gear. I attained my goal, and felt accomplished, but I am sad to say that I quickly moved on to other hobbies. However, I learned a lot that year. I’m not trying to teach you how to make a bunch of knots today. What I want to convey here is that there’s a knot for every need, just like different screwdriver bits for construction versus eyeglass repair, and just like different seasonings for various dishes. Sure, you can get away with a basic overhand knot or just make stuff up sometimes, but when it comes down to it, there are knots that will work far better and suit some very particular needs. 

This article isn’t all about how to make knots, but rather, it is meant to spark your fascination with them. It is meant to provide a deeper appreciation.

Knotwork and cord making have been used by humans since deep into prehistory. I rank them right up there with fire and cutting tools when it comes to primitive technology. The Incan civilization even used cords and knots in objects and records called quipu to hold detailed numerical data, sacred knowledge, and possibly even narrative, information. There are very few people who can still interpret them though. This amazing way of record keeping is still not fully understood, at least not by me.

I want to tell you about some of the knots that I’ve found to be the most important in my life, provide you with some terminology, and to spread these knots into categories based on their purpose. This is, of course, not an exhaustive list.

We’re starting with some terminology, and a familiar knot. I bet that anybody reading this knows how to tie their shoes, except maybe Agador in The Birdcage. The first step to tie a shoe is an overhand knot (sometimes called a half knot). It’s very basic, and we use it all the time. When we tie the loops, or bunny ears, during the second step, that’s also an overhand knot, we are just using loops instead of simple lines.

Technically speaking, this second step creates 2 “slipped knots”, which allow us to “slip” the knot loose when we want to take off our shoes. Both steps are overhand knots, one on top of the other. The second step is altered using a slipped technique. My point is that the same knot can have variations for different purposes. This will come up a lot.

An overhand knot is in a category called a “stopper” knot. It’s meant to hold the end of a cord together, to prevent it from slipping through a hole such as a shoe eyelet. But, we will discover that many knots can fall into multiple categories depending on how they are used. In some of the images below, you may notice that I’ve “stopped” the ends of my paracord using overhand knots to keep them from fraying.

Square Knot

This is a perfect segue for the “bend”. In the case of tying shoes, we did not use the overhand to prevent it from slipping through the holes used to lace your shoes, though you certainly can do that if you want to. We used it to tie 2 ends of 2 cords together, combining them. Sure, they are part of the same cord in the shoelace knot example, but we are tying up what are basically 2 separate cords in practice once the shoe has been laced. This makes it a bend. Bends are often used to tie cords together to make a longer cord.

On to the next knot, often called the square knot, which is in the bend category. You won’t often hear it called a square bend, though that is perfectly acceptable if you want to be precise. The overhand knot used to tie our shoes only works because we use 2 of them, one simple, and one with loops to form slipped knots. If we only used one simple overhand knot, it would not serve as a bend and it would come apart right away. The shoelace knot is technically a square knot in the shoelace, one overhand knot with another overhand knot that is built using loops. It has that added feature of being “slipped” in the second stage.

The Boy Scout saying that I remember to create a square knot is “right over left, then left over right”. If you’re holding the end of a cord in each hand, just follow this rule when you create your 2 overhands, and you’ve got a square knot. The shoelace model can be considered a slipped square knot. Now, if you end up going right over left and the right over left again, it becomes harder to untie, and it’s not considered a square knot. It is discouraged unless you really want to work hard when you untie that knot later. We used to call it a granny knot. Maybe it still is. I don’t know. All I know is that there are a lot of ladies who take their knitting and crochet pretty seriously. So, I probably wouldn’t call it a granny knot in front of dear old granny.

Slip Knot

The next category are the hitches.  A hitch is used to tie a cord to another object, not another cord like a bend. Think about riding up to the saloon on your horse at high noon and hitching it off to a post before going inside. You can form a very basic hitch called a slip knot (not slipped knot). This basic slip knot is actually a basic “slipped” knot, but the purpose it not to help untie it later. The purpose is to pull on it to close a loop, tighter and tighter. Just like the overhand stopper knot, we are altering it’s purpose, turning it into a hitch.

The loop isn’t meant to come all the way through and untie the whole thing. Take a pencil and pretend it is a hitching post for your horse. Slide it into the loop in your shoelace and then pull to release the shoelace knot. The pencil will stop it from coming through, thereby hitching the pencil to your shoelace. 

Clove Hitch

Realistically, this is not a very good hitch. It comes loose far to easily. We can go into more detail on hitches for specific purposes later, such as the double half hitch (very common and easy) and the clove hitch. We also have descriptive words for certain hitches, such as a friction hitch. There are many types of friction hitches and these are used to attach very firmly if the end of your cord is put under pressure. However, if you release this pressure, or if you pull from the bulk of the knot instead of the end of the cord, they will then slide up and down the object you have hitched the cord to. They’re often used in tree climbing, camping (guylines), rope rescue, and rappelling. 

Alpine Butterfly Loop

A related knot is a lashing. A lashing is like a hitch, but it is used to tie 2 or more objects together. Think about a raft made from several logs all “lashed” together. It will start with a basic hitch, and it often ends with a basic hitch. All the weaving in-between logs is the lashing part.

Loops are kind of self explanatory. We’ve already used them in the slipped feature and in the slip knot. There will be times when you want a loop that does not slip. You want it to remain in the exact shape you set it up in. Imagine trying to rescue someone who has fallen down a glacier crevasse and trying to lift them up with a loop around their torso. You really don’t want that loop to close up and crush their ribs as you pull. It needs to remain solid and open. That’s a time you might want to consider the bowline knot.

Bowline

You can use loops in fishing, climbing, guiding cut tree limbs as they fall, and more. You can add them to the end of a cord or set up a loop in the middle of a cord, even when the ends are already in use. Believe me, there’s a knot for every purpose and these variations of loops all have unique uses and properties.

We’re closing out briefly with 2 more, the whipping and the splice. A whipping is used to close off the end of another cord, like ropes on a sailing ship. As these ropes start to fray at the end, you can use a whipping made of much smaller cord to stop them from fraying further. A splice is used to tie smaller cord or fibers together to create a larger cord or rope. Think of a splice like a very intricate hair braid. If you have 2 cords that are both frayed at the ends, you may be able to splice them together, acting kind of like a bend. The final result will not be as strong as the original, but it might just do the trick.

This is knot the end of the line, and I hope that you’re hitched along for the ride. We’ll bend into another article after whipping up the next episode.