In our previous two knots in our Knot of the Week series, we showed you how to tie a Diamond Hitch and Artilleryman’s Loop. Today we’re going to show you how to combine these two knots for use as a tie down in a truck bed.
There were some comments in our Diamond Hitch article asking for a method to be able to use it with only four lashing points rather than the six our article required. Utilizing the Artilleryman’s Loop and some extra paracord, we’ll show you how to make this happen! [Read More…]
In our latest installment of the Knot of the Week, we’ll teach you how to tie the Diamond Hitch and explain what benefits it offers over traditional methods of securing a load.
What’s truly versatile about the Diamond Hitch is that once tied, it creates a diamond pattern in the center which not only is where its namesake comes from, but is what gives it the ability to compensate for the load shifting.
Whether being used to secure a load to a roof rack, truck bed or even a pack animal, the Diamond Hitch is definitely one to put into your knot tying toolbox. [Read More…]
On this week’s Knot of the Week, we’re going to look at an interesting knot called the Poldo Tackle. Using two simple fixed loops, the Poldo Tackle affords you multiple options for anything that requires a tensioning device.
The most applicable use we’ve considered is in a rescue situation, where you might need the mechanical advantage to lift a buddy to safety. There are far better methods to lower someone in a rescue situation, but the Poldo Tackle would work well to aid in lifting. Just remember that it’s not the same type of application for lifting that pulleys would provide.
You could also use this knot for a clothesline, guyline or anywhere you may need to release or provide tension periodically to a line under load. [Read More…]
A bottle sling? What, you’ve never heard of a bottle sling before? We’ll admit we’ve seen them before but never give them much thought to include in the Knot of the Week until we tied one and realized how versatile of a knot it is!
From what we can tell, the bottle sling was first used by ancient greeks to not only carry jugs and bottles, but to also use as a surgical sling and as a traction device for dislocated joints. [Read More…]
Today we’ll wrap up the last part in our Knot of the Week mini-series on rigging a tarp shelter.
I left off in part 2 with explaining how the tarp is attached to the trunk line with Prusik Loops and Prusik Knots, and introduced the guy-line system. We’ll get more in-depth into that system as well as demonstrating the Alpine Butterfly Loop and the Taut-Line Hitch.
To create the guy-line system you’ll need at least five attachment points on each side of the tarp and quite a bit of paracord. As mentioned previously you’ll also need four stakes, but those can be made with a knife and some sticks you can typically find wherever you’re setting up at.
I’d like to introduce a small mini-series on our Knot of the Week, where I’ll be running through the steps of rigging a tarp shelter using a few knots.
In this first part, I’ll demonstrate using a Slipped Half-Hitch and a Power Cinch Knot to tie a trunk line between two trees, which will form the backbone of the shelter system.
The trunk line provides a tight line to tie in your tarp and create the shelter. What’s great about the entire way we’ll show to rig this tarp shelter, is that using our knot techniques the entire system will have a “quick-disconnect” like feature, yet remain incredibly strong.
A trunk line can also be used to hang clothes to dry, or really anything that you’d like to drape over it. [Read More…]
Our Knot of the Week series continues today with an interesting binding knot called the Miller’s Knot.
There are quite a few different names for this knot, including the Sack Knot and the Bag Knot, but we’ve chosen the terminology that the Ashley Book of Knots uses to describe this knot.
The Miller’s Knot was originally used as a binding knot by Millers to tie up the necks of flour and grain sacks, but it can also be used as a temporary seizing for whipping the end of a rope.
For this week’s Knot of the Week we’ll be going back to our fishing knots with the Palomar Knot.
The Palomar Knot is one more fishing knot for the toolbox, or tackle box, that can come in handy while fishing or in a survival situation.
Used to secure most any kind of fishing line to a swivel or hook, including traditional monofilament, the Palomar Knot is nearly impervious to being pulled out.
Your fishing line has a greater chance of breaking before this knot goes anywhere. If your line does break, you’re likely to find your Palomar Knot still tied to the hook (if you even find the hook…)
Our Knot of the Week series picks up today with the Knute Hitch.
The Knute Hitch is a simple knot that can be used to attach a lanyard to a tool, or dummy cord any gear with a lanyard hole.
We’ll show the Knute Hitch tied in the lanyard hole of an SOG SEAL Pup Knife, but again, anything with a lanyard hole can be used.
It’s suggested that the lanyard hole be twice the diameter of the cord used, but as you’ll see in the video and photos, if you can squeeze the bight through, then that’s all you’ll need. [Read More…]
Our Knot of the Week series continues this week with a new twist.
For the next few weeks we’ll be showing a few fishing knots that we feel are important to learn for survival purposes.
It’s never a bad thing to know fishing knots, just in case you’re ever in the situation where you have to use them in order to gather food. [Read More…]
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