Week 32: More Knots and Hitches

This page is currently being reviewed; come back next week for a more polished version.

Even if rope can be enjoyed with just a few knots and hitches, it can still be fun to learn a few more to spice things up. To expand the toolbox, you can look at these techniques based on their properties, analyze the different options, and learn what might be useful in your practice.

The goal of this week is to explore the properties of knots and hitches and analyze in which contexts they can be useful when tying someone up.

Activities

Day 218: Attachment Knots

Every tie starts with a first attachment knot. If the single-column tie is the most common way to start a tie, there are many options. Double-column and multi-attachment knots are other options you can look into to start your tie in multiple places at the same time. You might also change which knot you use depending on whether you are tying a person or an object. Let’s take the time to compare the different options to start a tie, and which is the best for each context.

Day 219: Frictions and Inline Cuffs

Many different techniques can be used to tie with the middle of the rope. Frictions are one of the most important types of hitches in bondage, always remaining easy to untie, as it is not fully locked. Many frictions, such as the L, X, and the full moon, have acquired names because they are efficient. Reality is that there is an infinity of possibilities of friction, and you can always create your own. Similarly, some cuff hitches are fast like the half hitch cuff but require tension to stay in place. Other speciality cuff allows to create a stable structure but usually takes longer to tie. Take some time to compare the different techniques, which one is better depending on the context, and how you can improvise a friction. Compare their speed, solidity and aesthetics.

Day 220: More Extension

The family of knots used to extend rope is called bends. Some are easier to tie, some are very sturdy. Compare different methods such as the lark’s head, the square knot, and the sheet bend as they are all common in rope communities..

Day 221: Locks and Belay

Many knots can be used to lock the rope in place. And sometimes we don’t want to completely lock, but add some friction for the rope to slide slowly in a belay. These two are interesting to combine, using a friction hitch such as the Munter Hitch to reduce speed, then adding a half hitch to turn it into a full lock quickly. Another interesting technique is to add a friction before a clove hitch to maintain some space to keep it easy to untie. Of course, many quick release knots can be used as a quick lock, but are also less stable.

Day 222: Loop Knots

Loops can have a lot of fun uses; they can be tied at the end of a rope to make an easy slip knot, or in the middle of the rope to create an attachment point. This is great to create a pulley, to start a chain or a sinnet. You can also use multi-loop knots to create several loops. A common usage of a loop knot is to make one in the rope bight with a doubled rope to make it more solid for stability and pulley effects.

Day 223: Pulley Hitches

By looping rope through, we can create a pulley system that will give us a mechanical advantage when pulling on the rope. This is great to add tension; we can use it to make a hogtie tighter or with our bed frame to spread even more. Compare how adding a carabiner reduces friction and allows for smoother movement.

Day 224: Grippy and Adjustable Hitches

These hitches will tighten to remain in place and are great to create an attachment point on slippery surfaces. It’s fascinating how rope can hold on a slick dance pole with the right hitch. Using these hitches on the body will create a cuff that tightens, this can be fun as long as we are mindful of the safety aspect of it. We should avoid these hitches for safety lines as they can fail catastrophically when tension is removed.

These hitches can slide after having been tied. These are really practical when tying something that is likely to need to be adjusted afterward, when the level of tension needs to be at a great degree of precision, or just to have fun changing things without having to untie and retie.

Review

To complete the overview of knots and hitches, you can look at explorations in previous chapters.

Video References

We compiled a YouTube playlist with various videos on this topic; let us know if you find any others we should add to it. Note that video references may display risky or unstable techniques; viewer discretion is advised. 

View the playlist on YouTube

Inspirations and Resources

Let’s continue with Flow and Handling

Or return to Fall for more options.