The Knot Handbook

Book excerpt: It’s the most complete handbook on tying knots ever published! Whipping and coiling, loops and binding, hitches, bends, plaits, sennits, and lashings: to most of us the word "knot” means a frustrating tangle in a piece of string or the tie in our shoelaces. But there are many different types, and each one serves a different and useful purpose. Stopper knots prevent the ends of a rope from fraying, while shortening knots form a noose or shorten the cord with no need for cutting. And, no matter which one you need to tie, it’s all in here, beautifully shown in color close-up, how-to photographs, along with information on types of rope, rope making, maintenance, and terminology.