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Dry sun, and dry winde;
Time to reap, and time to Bind.

Old Weather Adage

Binding Knots are of two sorts. The first sort passes around an object or objects one or more times and the two ends are snugly tied together; the second passes around an object or objects two or more times and the ends are stuck under the turns.

The knots serve two purposes. Either they confine and constrict a single object, or else they hold two or more objects snugly together. The whippings and seizings, shown � ����� 40, serve much the same purpose as Binding Knots, but they contain too many turns to be considered as knots, being more akin to lashings.

On the other hand, the Turk's-Head is a legitimate Binder Knot of the second variety, but the family is so large, and has so many ramifications, that it is given a whole chapter to itself.

The last page of the present chapter deals with the Roband Hitch, the knot that bends a square sail to its yard or to a backstay. It is a subject of considerable historical interest, particularly for ship-model builders; many of its forms are applicable to present-day needs.

At a time when all sail was bent directly to the yards, the Roband Hitch was seldom a recognizable knot; it was more apt to be a seizing or a lashing of small stuff. But by 1840 a knot was the common means of bending sail. With the advent of the clipper ship, however, in the 1850s, seizings of marline became the standard, perhaps due to lighter cotton canvas, and after 1860 the Roband Hitch was seldom seen except in the Navy and on school ships, where bending and unbending sail was a part of the regular drill.

I have never seen a complete contemporary illustration of any Roband Hitch. The knots shown here are reconstructed from contemporary descriptions, and from incomplete and often faulty contemporary illustrations. Some are reconstructed from a combination of several different descriptions. The only complete and satisfactory description is by Lever of Knot #1267.

The first six Robands shown are very simple and probably are correct, since there was little chance to go wrong.

Number 1270 is the Roband Hitch of our sailing Navy, which was adequately recorded, in most of the contemporary seamanship books, except for the one detail of finishing off at the top of the yard with a final Reef Knot. This was omitted in both description and illustration by all authorities until mentioned by Taunt in 1883.

. The Half Knot, sometimes called Single Knot, is the first movement for the class of Binder Knots that pass around an object but once. Both Brady and Dana in 1841, and Luce, in 1862, use the name Half Knot, the name Single Knot being a needlework term.

The Half Knot is tied around an object with two rope ends. It is generally a part of a more elaborate knot but it also has several solo uses. It is tied singly in rope yarn knots, and in finishing off grommets, cringles, Long and Backhanded Splices, Artificial Eyes and West Country Whippings. The Right-Handed Half Knot is a Two-Strand Right-Handed Crown.

. The Left-Handed Half Knot is a Two-Strand Left-Handed Crown.

. The Reef Knot or Square Knot consists of two Half Knots, one left and one right, one being tied on top of the other, and either being tied first.

Captain John Smith gives the name Reef Knot in 1627. Dana gives the name Square Knot in 1841. Few sailors speak of Square Knot except in contradistinction to Granny Knot but it is the common shore name for the knot and is in good repute among sailors. Other names for it are True, Hard, Flat, Common, Regular, Ordinary.

When adding the second Half Knot to the first, the latter is often held in place by a thumb, a finger or by another person, until the second Half Knot has been drawn up.

The Reef Knot is unique in that it may be tied and tightened with both ends. It is universally used for parcels, rolls and bundles. At sea it is always employed in reefing and furling sails and stopping clothes for drying. But under no circumstances should it ever be tied as a bend, for if tied with two ends of unequal size, or if one end is stiffer or smoother than the other, the knot is almost bound to spill. Except for its true purpose of binding it is a knot to be shunned.

. One of the distinguishing features of the Square Knot and the one which gives it its chief value as a Reef Knot is the ease with which it may be untied. Jerk one end in a direction away from its own standing part (that is, toward the other end) and the knot capsizes; all the turns are left in one end and these are easily stripped from the other end with a sweep of the hand.

. The Granny Knot is also called the False, Lubber's, Calf and Booby Knot. Patterson's Nautical Encyclopedia calls it �Old Granny Knot� and Sir Edwin Arnold calls it the �Common or Garden Knot�. The name Granny is given in Vocabidary of Sea Phrases (Anonymous, 1799) and Roding pictures the knot in 1795.

The Granny consists of two identical Half Knots, one tied on top of the other. It has but one practical purpose that I know of and that is to serve as a Surgeon's Knot (see Chapter 2). Formerly it was employed for tying up parcels in five-and-ten-cent stores, but the practice was given up and paper bags substituted as they were found to be simpler.

. The Thief or Bag Knot is also called Bread Bag Knot. It appears very like the Reef Knot, but there is one real and scarcely evident difference. It does not consist of two Half Knots. There is a legend that sailors tie clothesbags, and bread bags with this knot and that thieves always retie them with Reef Knots and so are inevitably detected. It is a pleasing story that should encourage honesty. However, if I have ever met this knot in practical use, I have neither recognized it nor paid penalty for my failure, to do so.

. The Whatnot. This is the same knot formation as the Granny Knot, but the ends are diagonally opposite each other. It is hardly a practical knot. But with the ends seized it is called the Reeving Line Bend (#1459), and it also serves as an interesting trick (#2579).

. The Ligature Knot is commonly called by laymen the Surgeon's Knot. But surgeons do not speak of the �Surgeon's Knot� any more than a sailor would speak of a �Sailor's Knot�.

. A knot that is used by shoemakers, harness makers and sail-makers for tying up parcels. The thread is led twice around the parcel. A Half Knot is tied in which one end is led under both parts before the final Half Knot is added.

. The Half or Single Bowknot, called, in Emerson's Dictionary of 1794, Drawknot. It is called the Slipped Reef Knot by yachtsmen and small boatmen. It is much used in parcel tying.

. The Bowknot or Double Bowknot is closely related to the Reef Knot, the difference being in the second Half Knot, which is tied with two bights instead of two ends. It is often tied in ribbons and tape. Its practical importance lies in the ease with which it may be untied, by pulling at one or both of the ends.

. With additional bows worked into circular form the Bow-knot is sometimes termed a Rosette or a Rosette Knot.

. The Bowknot is the universal means of fastening shoestrings together.

. The Shoe Clerk's Knot is the Bowknot with the addition of an opposing Half Knot tied in the two loops.

. This pictures the Double Shoestring Knot as tied by Mrs. Charles S. Knowles. After a Bowknot has been loosely tied, the right forefinger, or the right middle finger, pushes the left loop through the knot a second time, from the back forward as shown by the arrow in the left drawing.

. A Square Shoestring Knot is tied with two bights. This holds well and is untied by spilling in the manner described for the Reef Knot (#1206).

. A Square Knot for shoestrings is tied with one end and one bight.

. The Double Slip Knot is also applied to shoestrings. Each of the two loops in the second knot is tucked once after they have been crossed, as in the left diagram.

. A Shoestring or Parcel Knot was shown to me bv George H. Taber. Tie a regular Bowknot and stick the right loop through the left loop, then pull the left loop tight around the right loop.

. A Shoestring or Parcel Knot. Tie a Single Bowknot, tuck a bight from the secure end, through the single loop, and draw up the loop tightly around it. Spill the knot by pulling the two ends one after the other.

. The Stationer's Knot came from Havana. A Half Hitch is tied with the �slippery end� around the loop of a Single Bowknot. Hold the loop while drawing up the hitch. This is not a Slip Knot, as the hitch must be removed before the knot can be spilled.

. A Sheet Bend (#1431) used as a decorative Bathrobe Cord Knot. Like the Shoestring Knots on the previous page, these two knots are pictured from the viewpoint of the wearer. The loop at the bottom presumably encircles a waist. Arrange the knot as in the left diagram, tighten as much as desired by pulling the uncomplicated end (indicated by the arrow). Then, before slacking off, pull the other end smartly, which �sets� the knot. Finally arrange the turns so that they are symmetrical.

. A somewhat similar-appearing knot for the same purpose but with the addition of a loop. Half knot the single right cord and the looped left cord together. Thrust a bight from the right cord through the loop of the left cord and draw up the end of the left cord. Arrange the knot so that the parts are symmetrical.

. The Hitched Loop is a secure knot sometimes seen in a chest lashing. A Loop Knot or an Eye Splice is tied in one end, the other end is rove through the eye, and after it has been drawn up to the requisite tautness, a Single Hitch is made with the end around the eye in the manner shown in the illustration. The form is the same as the Becket Hitch.

. A Hitched Loop. This is a more practical Drawknot for heavy parcel tying. Make Loop Knot #1009 or Bowline #1010 in one end. Reeve the free end through the eye or loop and after pulling to the desired tautness add Two Half Hitches. This is not so neat in appearance as the previous knot, but it is easier to draw up and make fast.

. A Parcel Knot based on the Harness Bend (#1474). With one end tie a Crossing Knot around the other. Hold snug and pull the uncomplicated end through to the required tautness. Without slacking or rendering anything that has been gained, add a Half Hitch with the free end. This is a particularly secure knot and, once the technique is mastered, a most practical one.

. A �Jam� Knot. There are several of these to be given. They are akin to Nooses but, once drawn up, they are not intended to render, or else they are supposed to hold temporarily while the end is being made fast. They may be tied in the initial girth of a lashing and do not have to be held in hand while the lashing is completed as the ordinary Noose does. This well-known knot wa? shown in Diderot's Encyclopedia (1762).

. The Buntline Hitch serves well as a Jam Knot. It consists of a Clove Hitch tied around its own standing part in the opposite way to which Two Half Hitches are taken.

. The Magnus or Rolling Hitch may be tied in the way pictured with the round turn outside and the Half Hitch within the encompassing circuit of the knot. This is the reverse of the Midshipman's Hitch. Cotton brokers used to carry their samples in a large roll of paper tied about with either this or a worse knot, this being the best for the purpose.

The knot, having been placed around the roll, was pulled snug and there it stayed until it was time to open, when all that was required to slacken it was to grasp the knot and slide it down the cord. When the package was rewrapped the knot was once more slid into position to tighten it.

. An original knot which answers the same purpose as the former. It is simple to tie and easy to untie.

. Another which belongs in the class with #1228 and #1229 but is not so secure as #1230 and #1231.

Butcher's Knots belong among the knots given here. They have the general characteristics of Knots #1228-#1232. They do not, however, hold fast until the standing part has been half hitched around the end. The method of doing this, and a number of the knots, are to be found among the vocational knots of Chapter 2.

. We have now come to the second variety of Binder Knots in which the rope passes twice or more around an object or objects and the ends are tucked under the turns.

The �Diploma Knot� is tied around an object of cylindrical form, mainly for decorative purposes.

Take three turns around the cylinder, the second and third turns crossing the first in left diagonals.

Lead the working end across the standing end. Tuck to the right under the second and third turns and then to the left under the first turn. The cord is further tucked as shown in the doubled line of the second drawing. As it stands now it is an excellent Binder Knot.

. Continue from #1233 and tuck the ends as indicated by the single line arrows in the second drawing to form the double lines of the third drawing. Then tuck both ends again across the knot as shown by the arrows in the third drawing.

Draw up the knot carefully and tautly. The ends may be left long and knotted or else tasseled, or they may be trimmed flush. If tied in soft wire of gold or platinum a handsome ring is formed.

. The early Binder Knot, that has supplied the name for the knots of this chapter, was made from wisps of the straw that was being bound. A handful was teased out to the required length and rough-twisted to form a strand sufficient for the purpose. The two ends were brought together around the sheaf and were laid up together with a hard twist that was opposite the twist of the strand itself. A bight from the end was tucked back under the binding, in the direction shown.

. The knot tied by a mechanical binder is the Overhand Bend, sometimes called the Thumb Knot. It is quite impractical to tie this by hand for this purpose.

. The Girl Scout Hitch is closely related to the Binder Knot (#1235). The stocking is rolled down, a finger is inserted below the roll and the roll twisted several turns, after which the end is tucked down inside the stocking. It should be tucked �against the twist�.

. The knot shown here has a good grip and is the easiest ligature there is to tighten. If out of position, however, it spills easily. So a Half Knot should be added to make it secure.

A round turn is first taken and a Half Knot is made over this with the two ends.

. The Strangle Knot starts with a round turn and the end is stuck under two parts. It may be used to tie up a roll. If required, a loop may be stuck instead of the end, which makes a Slipped Knot that is one of the best for tying up sacks and meal bags.

. With one or two additional turns the Strangle Knot makes an excellent temporary whipping for the end of a rope. The drawing shows the knot tied with turns the reverse of #1239.

. The Miller's Knot (1) is a fairly good Binding Knot that is often given in farm bulletins. Any of the Miller's Knots may employ a bight or loop for the final tuck instead of an end. This makes Slip Knots of them and saves the bag from being injured when the cord is being cut.

. Miller's Knot (2). This is the first move for a Three-Lead, Two-Bight Turk's-Head. It is a fairly good knot for a bag, being simple to tie, but it sometimes capsizes.

. The Sack Knot is of the same formation as the Fisherman's Ground Line Hitch, and also the Artilleryman's Picket-Line Hitch. Moreover it is the start of the Three-Lead, Four-Bight Turk's-Head. Added to these uses, it serves very well around the neck of a sack.

. The Bag Knot constricts better than most of the knots so far given and makes a very practical Miller's Knot.

. The Clove Hitch, although an excellent Crossing Knot, is not a good binder, although often used for the purpose.

. A Net Line Hitch from Looe. This holds together two lines of opposite lay at the head of a seine.

. A Net Line Hitch from Clovelly which serves the same purpose as the last.

. The Eskimo Spear Lashing is a strong and decorative binder that is closely related to the Strangle Knot (#1239).

. The Constrictor Knot. At the time when the sinnets of Chapter 39 were being made there was no knot that would hold

secure the large number of strands that were required for some of them. For a while seizings were employed, which served the purpose well but took too much time to tie. Then the knot shown here was evolved, which proved in every way adequate. So long as the Con-microR is tied over a convex surface it will not slip. It draws up easily, has a ratchetlike grip and is the most secure of all Binding Knots.

In the twenty-five years and more that have elapsed since I first tied the knot, I have shown it to many people, and a number of fishermen sailing out of New Bedford now use it for whippings and stoppings. It is also used for the same purpose in several chandleries.

I have found it convenient for tying any kind of a roll, for hanging Christmas stockings to a crane, and for seizing garden hose and atomizer bulbs.

. The Constrictor may be slipped, which greatly simplifies untying, and, so made, it is one of the best of Miller's Knots.

. To tie the Constrictor in the bight, over the end of a mailing tube or other roll, or over a stake: Make a round turn, pull out a bight and bring it over the end as pictured.

. An extra turn may be taken in the Constrictor to provide a wide permanent whipping.

. Another knot that will serve well as a whipping. To tie, follow the right-hand diagram.

. A Binding Knot of three turns that was made to hold a lanyard in place in the eye of a pricker.

. The Transom Knot (see also #1182) was originally made to hold together the two cross sticks of my daughter's kite. It will also serve well in rope but does not untie easily. If more strength is required another knot of the same kind may be tied on the back at right angles to the first.

. A rubber band is an excellent binder for small objects. It may be wound until it is tight.

. Two rubber bands may be doubled together as shown.

. A tourniquet is ordinarily made of a piece of cloth; a pad should be added where the twist pinches. Its purpose is to stop bleeding, so it should be placed either above an artery or below a vein. An Overhand Knot may be placed where the pressure is wanted.

. Another way of tying a tourniquet is shown. This same method is applied to tightening rope lashings for heavy logs.

. Nippers or twisters are twisted around a prisoner's wrist, and the handles are held in the grasp of the policeman's hand.

. A nose twitch, used by farriers and veterinaries, is generally made of a wagon spoke and a piece of small sash cord. It is passed around a horse's upper lip below the nostrils and is twisted sufficiently to hold the horse steady. Sometimes it is put around the ear but this is not good practice. It is required when teeth are to be filed, or eye drops are to be given.

To tie: Hang the rope loop around the left wrist, seize the upper lip with the left hand, hold tightly and with the right hand slip the loop over the left hand and into place. Still holding the lip with the left hand, twist the spoke with the right hand.

. (Circa 1600.) The earliest hanks and mast hoops were grommets, and from the evidence of early prints it seems probable that grommets were used on yards for bending square sails. The early grommet was a short rope with the ends short spliced together.

. (Circa 1625.) The earliest authorities agree that �robins are small lines rove through the eyelet holes of the sayles and made fast on the top of the yeards�.

. (Circa 1650.) A print of this period appears to show robins with a seizing above the head rope.

. (Circa 1750.) Falconer says of robins: �Small rope or braided cordage�of sufficient length to pass two or three times around the yard�.

. (Circa 1775-) Du Clairbois says that �robands may have either one or two legs�.

. (Circa 1800.) Steel (1794) and Lever (1808) describe robins of two legs, which are put through the eyelet hole as shown. A round turn is taken with the long end, the short end is brought up abaft and the- two ends are reef knotted on top of the yard. Steel gives sinnet robands and Lever illustrates rope ones.

. (Circa 1805.) The first intimation of the evolution of the Roband Hitch from a lashing into a knot was given by Mason (1806). A turn was made with each of two legs and together these formed a Clove Hitch.

. (Circa 1845.) Young (1847) says: �Rope-bands are small pieces of 2 yarn foxes plaited, or of sinnet or spun yarn, they are not used with jackstays, a number of turns of a single rope yarn being sufficient�.

Biddlecomb (1848) says: �Knittles are to bend the squaresails to the jackstays in lieu of ropebands�.

. (Anno i860.) The remaining knots on this page were bent to jackstays. This is the standard Roband Hitch of both the American and the British Navies. Admiral Nares asks the following question: �How are all sails bent to the jackstays?� Answer: �With a Roband Hitch�. To tie the knot: Make two round turns around the jackstay and through the eyelet hole, and clove hitch the long end around the j ackstay over the turns already made.

. (Anno 1866.) Make a Back-Handed Hitch to the eyelet hole with a short end and with the long end make two turns around the j ackstay and through the eyelet hole. Put a Clove Hitch around the jackstay over the first two turns.

. (Circa 1880.) Similar to #1271 but has one less turn around the stay and through the eye.

. (Circa 1880.) Middle a roband and tie a Back-Handed Hitch. Make a round turn with one end and with the second end tie a Clove Hitch over the first end.

. (Circa 1880.) This is the handsomest and most shipshape of all the Roband Hitches. Follow the numbers in regular sequence.

. (Circa 1880.) Make fast a Short Running Eye to the eyelet hole, take a round turn around the j ackstay and through the eyelet Tie a Clove Hitch over the turns and add a Single Hitch.

. (Anno 1891.) A roband with a single leg is secured with a running eye to the eyelet hole of the sail and finished off with a Clove Hitch to the jackstay.

. (Anno 1860.) Alston gives this method for topgallant and Royal sails. The robands are bent to the sail with running eyes �the two nearest robands being knotted together�.

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Source: http://ttconf.kirovreg.ru/others/sea/knots-a/ch16.htm

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