ABOK a day

#8, the simple noose! This is much easier to tie with two hands, haha. Notice that if you pull the standing (long) end the rest of the way through, you'll end up with an overhand knot. I think that's the easiest way to tie this one - start like you're tying an overhand knot, but then just pull through a bight instead of the whole standing part. This is more properly explained at #1114, which I'll get to in a few years at this rate.

The full entry for the marlingspike hitch is #2030. The multitool pictured above is an inexpensive rigger’s knife.

#6 The sheepshank knot is used to shorten a rope or work around a damaged section. But it has a couple of important downsides: it’s not great with modern synthetic rope, and it can easily slip or capsize if not under constant load. For me, I think its most useful feature is adding a couple of loops to the middle of a rope.

The cow hitch, as we’ll see later, is a very ancient knot, often tied with a bight when using a closed loop (like a rubber band).

#4 The Overhand Knot, or Simple Knot.

#3 The Granny Knot. The Reef Knot is preferred over the Granny as a binding knot (one tied around an object), and neither should ever be used as a bend (to join two ropes together).

#2 The Weaver's Knot is "structurally identical" to #1, the sheet bend, but the method is not. Ashley points out that while the sailor's sheet bend is ideal in most circumstances for its economy and simplicity, the weaver's knot is often preferred with small thread and yarn. If you try them both out, I think you'll see what he means.

"A different way either of tying or of applying a form generally constitutes a second knot."

Clifford Warren Ashley (1881-1947), The Ashley Book of Knots, page 8.