# knotts and other skills



## Northfloridaguy

I am currently applying for a position as a groundman, what knots should I be able to tie? And is there any other basic skills I should know? Maybe hand signals? Also I am preparing to take my CDL test for a permit.


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## nolabama

i dont know the name of the knot but its a double choker that you tie to pick up oxy acetalene bottles with - its handy as hell for big wire


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## Big John

Sounds like a double half hitch? That and a bowline are damn near the only knots I use, with the occasional sheet-bend or clove-hitch.

-John


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## nolabama

http://www.cptdave.com/knot-tying.html


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## sbuck22

Clove hitch, bowline, timber and half hitch, are the more common ones I have used. But they will probably ask for sheepshank, short splice, eye splice, catspaw, crown knot. Good luck.


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## oldtimer

Northfloridaguy said:


> I am currently applying for a position as a groundman, what knots should I be able to tie? And is there any other basic skills I should know? Maybe hand signals? Also I am preparing to take my CDL test for a permit.


 
I call my favorite KNOTTS , Don !!!


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## Frasbee

If you can't tie a knot, tie a lot.


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## 480sparky

Knots:










Knotts:


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## retiredsparktech

Frasbee said:


> If you can't tie a knot, tie a lot.


I worked with two electricians that were Navy vets. I used to kid one, said he couldn't keep his shoes tied. The other one could tie a knot that you could haul hundreds of pounds with and not worry about it coming loose. Both good electricians and great guys to work with. :thumbup:


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## eejack

I like this site for knots

http://www.animatedknots.com/


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## chicken steve

Ugly's has all the knots and hand signals in the back , and cpr might be a good thing as well.....~CS~


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## Wirenuting

Learn how to make a Monkeys Fist. 

Always good to be able to heave a line 100+ feet.
I'm about to make a new one. After 5 years the rope finally gave out.


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## TTW

Go to a decent marine store and buy yourself 10 feet of 1/2" double braid nylon.

Learn how to tie a particular knot, one of the absolutely necessary ones is the bowline, for instance. Have someone show you or figure it out from the web or a book, the Boy Scout manual is a great resource.

Then what you do is, whenever you are just sitting on the couch watching TV and doing your best potato imitation, you pick up that hunk of rope, and you tie that bowline, then you untie it, then you tie it again. Over and over and over again until it becomes so automatic you can do it in the dark behind your back in a driving rain storm.

I am not kidding. Thats how I learned knots in the Coast Guard. We would have guys carry around a hunk of line (you really should call it "line", not rope) wherever they went, until they had all of the basic ones down pat. With us, being thrown the end of a line in the dark, in a driving rain storm, in the cold, while trying not to fall overboard, keeping balance on a pitching rolling slippery deck, and having to tie that line off RIGHT NOW, could be a life or death thing.

OK, I am being dramatic, but this thread brought back a memory or two.

Repetition, repetition, repetition!

:thumbup:


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## local134gt

TTW said:


> (you really should call it "line", not rope)


Why? :001_huh:


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## Speedskater

It starts out life as a reel of rope, but when you cut a length off the reel and use it for a dedicated purpose then it becomes a line (dock line, anchor line).


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## B4T

I would start with my shoelaces and wait till I started the job and then find out what they require... good luck.. :thumbsup:


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## John

local134gt said:


> Why? :001_huh:





TTW said:


> (you really should call it "line", not rope)


In my world it's called a sheet not a line or a rope.:whistling2:


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## Speedskater

Our sailboats have lots of lines but only three kinds of sheets (main sheet, jib sheets & spinnaker sheets).


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## ohmontherange

I can't imagine any job, sport, or hobby that would require rope skills.

Seriously - check out the Lineman and Cableman's Handbook - will tell you all you need to know.


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## icefalkon

nolabama said:


> http://www.cptdave.com/knot-tying.html


Very cool. Thanks.


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## dtmartin408

Here are some useful knots that I use in the field.
half hitch, clove hitch, timber hitch, rolling bend, square knot, bowline, bowline on a bite, running bowline, grunts knot, saddle hitch, short splice, eye splice, and of course the him knot. Him tie it, him get it the f**k out.


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## tkb

Every electrician should know how to splice an eye on to the end of a rope.


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## Zog

eejack said:


> I like this site for knots
> 
> http://www.animatedknots.com/


Cool. I have to admit, I cheated my way through "knot of the day" in Navy bootcamp.


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## norite

"Axe knot", you know the kind you have to untie with an axe.  

Seriously, I use the following the most: clove hitch, bowline, trucker hitch, half hitch, eye splice and figure eight stop knot.

Seems you have to teach every apprentice basic knots these days, what happened to all the scouts?


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## Jbird66

There are a couple neat apps for notes also.

I used it to brush up for camping with the Boy Scouts


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## Rockyd

Am I the only one on the forum that uses a Prusik Knot?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik

They're grest for pulls, and better than a bunch of half hitches for pulls where sometimes you only get 20 foot bites (and it slides easy when the pressure is released)


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## Wirenuting

Rockyd said:


> Am I the only one on the forum that uses a Prusik Knot?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik
> 
> They're grest for pulls, and better than a bunch of half hitches for pulls where sometimes you only get 20 foot bites (and it slides easy when the pressure is released)


I use it, but don't remember the name. 

I also like the Thief's knot.


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## ampman

not sure of the name but a bowen or bolin knot is always good


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## LARMGUY

Rockyd said:


> Am I the only one on the forum that uses a Prusik Knot?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik
> 
> They're grest for pulls, and better than a bunch of half hitches for pulls where sometimes you only get 20 foot bites (and it slides easy when the pressure is released)





> Traditional Prusiks will grab when pulled by the tail, either up or down, and will slide either way when pushed by the barrel.
> 
> Although the Prusik Climb technique may be seen as outdated by some, the US Army still includes it in its annual Best Ranger competition. Rangers in the competition routinely make it up a *90 foot rope in under a minute.*


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## chewy

Rockyd said:


> Am I the only one on the forum that uses a Prusik Knot?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik
> 
> They're grest for pulls, and better than a bunch of half hitches for pulls where sometimes you only get 20 foot bites (and it slides easy when the pressure is released)


Probablly, Ive never needed a prussik loop pulling cable myself.


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## TOOL_5150

tkb said:


> Every electrician should know how to splice an eye on to the end of a rope.


I wish i did. But then again, im not an electrician.


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## chewy

TOOL_5150 said:


> I wish i did. But then again, im not an electrician.


Its actually kind of relaxing and just a good skill to have, Im sure there are plenty of tutorials on the interweb.


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## Wirenuting

Zog said:


> Cool. I have to admit, I cheated my way through "knot of the day" in Navy bootcamp.


I'm not surprised. 
Don't need to tie anything up for unrep & you never pulled into port. LoL


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## don_resqcapt19

In the fire service, the bowline has been replaced by the figure eight and the re-traced figure eight for the most part. The figure eight is slightly stronger (the bends in the rope are not as tight and don't reduce the strength of the rope as much as the tighter bends in a bowline, but this is a matter of a couple of percent). I think the real reason is that so many people seem to have trouble learning and remembering how to tie the bowline.


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## Rollie73

The rolling hitch works great too. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_hitch


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## bobelectric

Half hitch or square knot.Lost contact with my Navy buddy that could weave a eye splice for me.


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## denny3992

Rockyd said:


> Am I the only one on the forum that uses a Prusik Knot?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik
> 
> They're grest for pulls, and better than a bunch of half hitches for pulls where sometimes you only get 20 foot bites (and it slides easy when the pressure is released)


Vol ff here.... Rope rescue tech.... Love me some prusiks!


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## denny3992

don_resqcapt19 said:


> In the fire service, the bowline has been replaced by the figure eight and the re-traced figure eight for the most part. The figure eight is slightly stronger (the bends in the rope are not as tight and don't reduce the strength of the rope as much as the tighter bends in a bowline, but this is a matter of a couple of percent). I think the real reason is that so many people seem to have trouble learning and remembering how to tie the bowline.


Im sure a fellow ff can tie it around urself with one hand right?


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## don_resqcapt19

denny3992 said:


> Im sure a fellow ff can tie it around urself with one hand right?


I am no longer active as a FF, and started long before we started using the figure eight. I can tie the bowline one handed easier than the figure eight.


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## triden

Wise person once told me:

If you don't know knots....do lots


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## 8V71

I found out last year that I have been tying my shoes wrong for 50 years.:001_huh: I actually changed to the correct way but the first few months were hell. :laughing:


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## Going_Commando

8V71 said:


> I found out last year that I have been tying my shoes wrong for 50 years.:001_huh: I actually changed to the correct way but the first few months were hell. :laughing:


I just pull the laces tight, wrap them around the top of my boot a few times, and then duct tape them! Works good. :laughing:


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## Wirenuting

Going_Commando said:


> I just pull the laces tight, wrap them around the top of my boot a few times, and then duct tape them! Works good. :laughing:


Duct tape? Man that's sooooo hack. 
You need the original Duck Tape or 33..


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## Wirenuting

Knots 3D is a great app for the IPhone.. 
I'm hooked on it.


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## uconduit

You cannot say that learning knots is not important, but don't spend time learning the wrong types of knots that are not important or your time will be for naught.


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