Knot info

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Graham_S

Squirrely!
Feb 27, 2005
4,041
65
50
Saudi Arabia
were they using the knot to climb, or just tieing it one handed?
if it was a loop in the rope tied one handed it could have been an alpine butterfly
 

scanker

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 15, 2005
2,326
24
52
Cardiff, South Wales
I can tie a single-handed bowline. The falconer's knot is tied one handed but I wouldn't have thought that used for climbing. I tie an alpine butterfly by looping rope around the fingers of one hand and pulling one of the loops under the others.....I guess that might be able to be adapted to one-handed, I've never tried.
 

led

Settler
Aug 24, 2004
544
5
uk
scanker said:
I tie an alpine butterfly by looping rope around the fingers of one hand and pulling one of the loops under the others.....I guess that might be able to be adapted to one-handed, I've never tried.

That's how I do it too. The other way involves twisting loops into a bight, but it would be very awkward indeed without two hands.

The only other climbing knot that I can think of that would be tied one-handed would be the clove hitch. It all depends on context as Graham says. Tying in, then it's likely to be a bowline, setting up a belay then a clove hitch.
 

gregorach

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 15, 2005
3,723
28
50
Edinburgh
The climber's favourite knot is the figure-eight, and it can be tied one-handed with a little practice. Bowlines are not commonly used to tie in, at least not by anybody I ever met.

People talk about the apline butterfly a lot, but in my climbing days I don't think I ever saw it used...
 

Robbo

Nomad
Aug 22, 2005
258
0
Darkest Scotland,
led said:
http://www.animatedknots.com/bowlineonehand/ ]Single handed bowline[/url] is more than likely what you saw. I'd really like to see someone do an alpine butterfly one-handed!

I can do both, one handed.

Not too difficult either. Learned how when I joined the Coastguard, the alpine butterflys a handy knot when attaching a stretcher to a rope when you on the end of it :) .

If I get a chance I'll work it out and try to write it down how its down.

But basically you wrap the rope round your hand three times, bring the strand nearest your thumb over the other two, then take the next strand nearest your thumb (the one that was in the middle) over the two other strands and underneath them, flick your wrist and the knot comes off tied. You need nimble fingers though ;)

Andy
 

led

Settler
Aug 24, 2004
544
5
uk
Andy -

Thanks for the description, I'd not thought of trying it like that. As you say, it sounds like you need to be rather dextourous (and not have cold hands!). Guess what I'm going to be doing during my breaks today :rolleyes:



Robbo said:
I can do both, one handed.

...

But basically you wrap the rope round your hand three times, bring the strand nearest your thumb over the other two, then take the next strand nearest your thumb (the one that was in the middle) over the two other strands and underneath them, flick your wrist and the knot comes off tied. You need nimble fingers though
 

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