Know your Knots

Bowline

For some Animated Knots, Try these two sites

Animated knots for Scouts and Guides

Common Uses of Knots

Square knot: This is a good first aid knot. It is good for tying slings, and can even be tied with one hand if you can't use the other. This knot is good for joining two ropes temporarily if they do not need to be secure.

Clove Hitch: This is a good knot to tie anything to a post. You can tie logs together with this knot (which is very helpful with wilderness survival).

Bowline: This is a good knot to hang things from a horizontal post. If you have heavy rope like materials (cables) you could tie two interlocking bowlines to join them. This is a very strong knot so you can trust it. Most important, the loop won't close, so it's the right thing to use as a rescue knot if you have to hoist someone up or pull him in the water.

Two Half Hitches: This is a good knot to tie around something that is not round. This is an all purpose hitch. It could be very hard to untie if pulled very tight.

Sheet Bend: This is a better knot to join two ropes. You can use it if you do not have enough rope to tie something down or to reach something, especially if you want it to be secure.

Timber Hitch: This is a good rope to drag things with that have a rough surface (a log). It is tight if one end is always pulled.

Tautline Hitch: This is a good knot to use at the end of a clothes line or tent guys because it will not sag.