About the Book
A simple rope can be a lifesaver in a survival situation. Knowing how to use a rope and make effective knots will help you in an amazing variety of ways – from constructing shelters and creating weapons, to fishing and hunting. Most important, ropes and knots act as lifelines in dangerous environments, such as when crossing a fast-flowing river or scaling a mountainside. Elite Forces Guide to Using Ropes and Knots draws on the skills of the world’s best soldiers to teach you how to use these essential tools in the wilderness. Tried and tested techniques used by the world’s special forces give you expert advice on issues such as: how to take care of ropes, the most useful knots to use in a survival situation, how to make your own ropes out of animal tendons or plants, how to use your rope effectively when climbing, how to lash together a log raft or a shelter.
Including more than 300 black-and-white specially-commissioned illustrations, Elite Forces Guide to Using Ropes and Knots is easy to understand, packed with expert advice and essential for anyone who wants to know the difference between and how to make a simple reef knot or complex slip knot, a clove hitch, an alpine butterfly knot and many more.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
1. The Basics of Ropecraft
What rope is made from and the best type of rope to use, rope terminology, choosing the right knot, hitches for every occasion, lashings
Types of Rope:
Materials: Cotton, manila, sisal, hemp, jute, synthetic polymer rope/polyamide (nylon), yarn, codline, coir (coconut), flax, horse and camel hair, date palms, reeds, esparto grass, wool and silk, polyester, polypropylene and polyethylene.
Construction: Laid, braided, plaited, sheath-and-core
Manufacturing processes/tools: Netting needle, gripfid, hollow fid, wire loop, jeweller's pliers, round-billed pliers, marlinespike
Choosing the right knot: Select for security, stability and strength
Stopper knots for prevention of fraying; handholds or footholds; decoration
Bends for joining two pieces of rope or string together
Binding knots for binding together poles, logs, spars and so on
Hitches for attaching a rope to a whole range of objects, including hooks, karabiners, rings, posts and so on
Loop knots for creating a single or double loops at the end of a line
2. Using Ropes in the Mountains
Making an improvised seat harness, the use of belaying, procedure for belaying, the importance of rappelling, rappelling techniques, anchoring climbing ropes
Knots for use in mountains or for climbing:
Overhand bend
Figure of eight (double or triple)
Clove hitch
Fisherman's knot
Double fisherman's knot
Triple fisherman's knot
Water knot
Prusik knot
Double Prusik knot
Bachman knot
Kleinheist knot
Italian hitch
Alpine butterfly bend
Bowline
Bowline with stopper
Bowline with two turns
Figure-of-eight loop
Threaded figure-of-eight loop
Bowline on the bight
Portuguese bowline
Common whipping
Flemish bend
Adjustable bend
One-way sheet bend
Heaving line bend
Mariner's knot
Peuberthy knot
Munter friction hitch
Double Munter friction hitch
Double Munter mule
Heddon knot
Double Heddon knot
Release hitch, top loaded
Release hitch, bottom loaded
Extended French Prusick knot
Ch-Fi knot
Wrapped and Reef Knotted Coil
Alpine coil
Figure-of-eight coil
Fireman's coil
Figure-of-eight loop
Alpine butterfly
Three-quarters figure of eight loop
Frost knot
Double Frost knot
Triple bowline
Adjustable loop
3. Using Ropes to Build Rafts
How to make a brush raft, vegetation raft and log rafts
4. Using Ropes to Build Shelters
Polar regions, A-frame shelter, pole preparation, lean-to shelter, willow frame shelter, sheltering in desert regions, challenge of the tropics.
Knots for rafts and shelters:
Marline hitch
Oklahoma hitch
Transom knot
Packer's knot
Square lashing
Sheer lashing
Diagonal lashing
Pole lashing
Double constrictor knot
5. Using Ropes at Sea
The skills, terminology, and uses of ropes (known as lines) in a maritime environment. Tips and skills from naval and marine soldiers.
Maritime knots:
Overhand knot
Slipped Overhand knot
Double Overhand knot
Figure-of-eight
Slipped Figure-of-Eight
Stopper knot
Sink stopper
Stevedore knot
Monkey's fist
Crown knot
Wall knot
Matthew Walker Knot
Manrope knot
Diamond knot
Double diamond knot
Sailor's cross
Reef knot
Slipped Reef knot
Surgeon's knot
Clove hitch
Clove hitch tied in a bight
Clove hitch tied with a working end
Constrictor knot
Double constrictor knot
Sheet bend
Double sheet bend
One-way sheet bend
Carrick bend
Hunter's bend
Ashley's bend
Fisherman's knot
Double Fisherman's knot
Water knot
Rolling hitch
Round turn and two half hitches
Buntline hitch
Three-way sheep bend
Poldo tackle
Versatackle
Braid knot
Fisherman's bend
Cow hitch with toggle
Sheepshank
Sheepshank man o'war
Marlinespike hitch
Highwayman's hitch
Waggoner's hitch
Sheer lashing
Prusik knot
Alpine butterfly
Bowline
Figure-of-eight loop
Bowline on the bight
Portuguese bowline
Spanish bowline
Angler's loop
Jury Mast knot
Back splice
Eye splice
Short splice
Long splice
Common whipping
French whipping
Sailmaker's whipping
Palm and needle whipping
West Country whipping
Flemish bend
Zeppelin bend
Heaving line bend
Racking bend
Seizing bend
Bowline bend
Twin bowline bend
Pedigree cow hitch
Cow hitch variant
Ground line hitch
Ossel hitch
Ossel knot
Gaff topsail halyard
Snuggle hitch bend
Boom hitch
Timber hitch
Lighterman's hitch
Icicle hitch
Bale sling hitch
Anchor bend
Halter hitch
Mooring hitch
Chi-Fi knot
Knife lanyard knot
Wrapped and reef knotted coil
Alpine coil
Figure-of-eight coil
Fireman's coil
Constrictor knot tied with an end/tied with a bight
Eskimo bowline
Double bowline
Water bowline
Brummycham bowline
Midshipman's hitch
Directory of Knots
A comprehensive directory of all of the most useful knots, from the half hitch and reef knot to complex slip knots and unusual splices
Stopper knots
Overhand knot
Slipped overhand knot
Multiple overhand knot
Oysterman's knot
Stevedore's knot
Figure-of-eight knot
Heaving line knot
Monkey's fist
Wall knot
Crown knot
Matthew Walker knot
Diamond knot
Manrope knot
Bends
Double grinner knot
Sheet bend
Fisherman's knot
Double Fisherman's knot
Figure-of-eight bend
Carrick bend
Ashley's bend
Hunter's bend
Harness bend
Blood knot
Water knot
Nail knot
Needle knot
Racking bend
Bowline bend
Flemish bend
Zeppelin bend
Adjustable bend
Surgeon's knot
Strop bend
Heaving line bend
Albright special
Simple Simon Over
Simple Simon Under
Shake Hands
Tumbling Thief knot
Alpine butterfly bend
Hitches
Half hitch
Timber hitch
Cow hitch (ring hitch, Lark's head, girth knot)
Ring hitch
Cat's Paw
Clove hitch
Round turn and two half hitches
Fisherman's bend
Rolling hitch
Hatter hitch
Highwayman's hitch
Mooring hitch
Barrel hitch
Bachmann knot
Prusik knot
Italian hitch
Barrel sling
Waggoner's hitch
Tucked half blood knot
Grinner knot
Turle knot
Figure-of-eight hitch
Buntline hitch
Ground line hitch
Ossel hitch
Gaff Topsail Halyard Bend
Snuggle Hitch
Boom hitch
Lighterman's hitch
Pile hitch
Icicle hitch
Bale sling hitch
Ring hitch
Anchor bend
Half blood knot
Palomar knot
Jansik special
Turle knot
True lover's knot
Binding knots
Reef knot
Surgeon's knot
Constrictor knot
Marline hitch
Oklahoma hitch
Transom hitch
Packer's knot
Square lashings
Sheer lashing
Diagonal lashing
Common whipping
French whipping
West Country whipping
Sailmaker's whipping
Seizing
Loop knots
Angler's loop
Figure-of-eight loop
Bowline
Eskimo bowline
Water bowline
Blood loop dropper knot
Farmer's loop
Manharness knot
Alpine butterfly
Three-quarter figure-of-eight loop
Frost knot
Spanish bowline
Brummycham Bowline
Triple figure-of-eight
Triple bowline
Bowstring knot
Midshipman's hitch
Tarbuck knot
Adjustable loop
Hangman's noose
Arbor knot
Bimini twist
Portuguese bowline
Tom Fool's knot
Handcuff knot
Fireman's chair knot
Glossary
Equipment Requirements
Useful Websites
Index
About the Author :
Alexander Stilwell has written and edited numerous books on sports and outdoor pursuits. He previously spent five years in the English Army, where he gained invaluable training in survival skills, first-aid procedures, and escape and evasion techniques. In his spare time, he enjoys cross-country and marathon running.
