Week 32: More Knots

Day 218: Slip Knots – Slip knots are fast, they tighten and they have multiple fun uses if we take into the fact that they are not stable. The basic slip knot can be used for quick capture, and a noose can create an adjustable loop. Because it’s quite fast to tie, a quick slip knot is a good way to mark the middle of the rope in case you want to use your rope again later.

Day 219: Handcuff Knots – The handcuff knot is a popular type of knots to capture two limbs at once. Since it’s a type of slip knot, it comes with the risk that it may tighten when put directly on the body. The same knot can be used mid-rope to create slipped loops. It’s a popular technique to tie a strappado design called the dragonfly sleeves.

Day 220: 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 221: Stopper Knots – On Day 45 we looked at a few knots to tie at the end of the rope to keep it from fraying. Stopper knots are an entire family of knots and it’s interesting to compare them and see if they fit your needs. In particular, the thistle knot and the Matthew Walker knots are quite popular in bondage because of their compact size. Whipping knots also present a large landscape of variations. Bonus: look at other things you can do with the ends of your rope like splices.

Day 222: More Extensions – In Day 5 we learned the cow hitch and the square knot methods to extend ropes. The family of knots used to extend rope is called bends. Some are easier to tie, some are very sturdy. The sheet bend in particular is very popular in rope bondage, try it out!

Day 223: More Decorative Knots – We learned several decorative knots in Day 18 and we can continue exploring with more of those. In particular, the flower knots are an interesting family that is very important in Chinese culture. The triple crown knot is the basic version of the flower knot, you can use the same principle by adding more leaves for a more complex knot.

Day 224: Exploding Knots – Sometimes we need more than a quick release, we need the knot to disappear completely, without leaving a tangle. This can be for a planned change or safety reasons. There are a few knots with these characteristics, in particular, the lapp knot will allow for the rope to completely detach even if we have continued to tie with the end.