If you want to learn more about knotting, you don't necessarily need to consult other references. You may be amazed at what you can do just by tinkering. There are many ways to discover knotting on your own, and this section will cover many of them, getting you started on a journey that can go as far as you want to take it.

Try Making Modifications

When even one thing is changed about a knot, it should be considered a completely different knot, with different properties and uses. The change can be as minor as modifying a crossing or making different use of the leads coming from the knot. There are a variety of approaches to trying different knots, and you will no doubt prefer some to others, and may even devise some of your own.

Try combining concepts you already know. Some of the knots in this book show the last tuck with the bight instead of the running end, making it a slipknot. Try this with any knot. Sometimes it will completely release the knot, and sometimes it won't. You could try making more than just the last tuck with a bight, or even the whole knot that way. It's just one simple concept that can give you a world of things to try. You can also try doubling a component, as in making a crossing turn a double crossing turn, making a tuck through a crossing turn twice instead of once. The possibilities are endless.

Tying “In the Bight”

When a knot is tied with the running end, sometimes the same knot can be tied without it. This is what you do when tying a knot “in the bight.” An example of this is the Clove Hitch. To test a knot for this possibility, tie it the regular way with the running end, then try to untie it without using the running end. If you can untie a knot without using the running end, then you can tie it without the running end. And if you succeeded in untying it without the running end, just watch how it untied, and you will understand how to tie it.

Learn to Tie by Untying

Perhaps the most powerful tool to give you insight into tying methods for knots is to watch knots as they are untied. No matter how familiar you are with a knot, there are probably more ways to consider its construction than what you already know. After you have tied a knot, many concepts can be learned from watching it in the process of being taken apart. You may see a way to make the knot different, or notice similarities between it and other knots. Perhaps the most productive use of this technique is that you will learn different ways that the knot may be tied.

Start from Scratch

Most of the techniques mentioned so far involve making a knot that you already know, and then changing it. You can also explore from scratch, using a string with no knot or even curve. This can be a lot of fun, and if you like mathematics you can even come up with a number system to keep track of all the combinations you try. However, there are a couple of points you should keep in mind if you do this. One is that modern mathematics is not up to the task of telling even simple knots apart, which means that even though you will find new knots with this method, you will not find all of the possibilities. The second is that you will miss whole categories of useful and decorative knots, working your way through thousands of combinations without some whole categories ever being tried.

One way to use mathematics is to help you keep track of what you have tried. It will also help prevent you from missing a possibility. One example of this is with the Overhand Bends of Chapter 5. The four bends (Ashley's Bend, Hunter's Bend, Zeppelin Bend, and the Butterfly Bend) are all made by interlocking two Overhand Knots. There are actually many more ways to interlock two Overhand Bends. Since there are three internal segments that the running end of another rope can pass through and it may be done from the back or the front, you have six different ways of tying this knot. For this type of bend, the running end will pass through twice, and each Overhand Knot can be left- or right-handed. Assigning a number or letter to each segment can help you keep track of which combinations you have tried.

This is just one example of how you can keep track of what you have and have not tried. Like all experimentation, some will make very good bends, while others will be useless. Until you try it, you won't know what you are going to get.

Build on What You've Learned

You can experiment with any of the knots in this book, using all of the techniques discussed so far. The more solid grasp you have of basic knot structures and the principles of what makes a knot a good one, the more fruitful your experiments will be. Looking at this book almost chapter by chapter, here are some considerations and ideas of what to look for.

Unlikely materials can make for unique handmade rope. Use red, white, and green strands to make rope for the Christmas holiday season. You can use it as ribbon for presents, or to make decorations.

Single-strand stopper knots can be simple or very involved, and many of them look like buttons. Even an Overhand Knot takes on many different appearances when the running end or a bight is tucked back into one of its segments. Sometimes this method makes a small matlike knot. The number of multiple-strand stopper knots is legion, and this type of knot is the most symmetrical when all the strands are tucked similarly.

There are lots of ways to make loops, both at the end of a rope and in the bight. Any single-strand stopper knot tied with the end folded over makes a loop knot because the running end makes a loop, and because it is a bight, it doesn't have to be near the end. Multiple loops offer more possibilities, and in some cases, a multiple-loop knot is of the exact same structure as a coil secured with that knot. For example, a coil that is secured at the top with the Bowline is the same as the Portuguese Bowline made with extra loops.

Hitches can be thought of as a slip loop, or as a binding knot with one of the leads acting as a standing part. If it is a complication in rope that attaches it to something, you have a hitch.

Bindings can be changed in all sorts of ways. The crossings of circling knots like the Constrictor Knot can be changed, and different knots for package ties can be combined in many ways. You might even build a Tautline Hitch into a package or bundle tie so that it can be adjusted.

Decorative knots can be changed for different sizes and looks. You can try increasing the number of crossings, doubling or tripling the cords, or even making the cords of different colors. If you get ideas from other references for additional decorative knots, you can still expand on what you find. There is no limit. Some people enjoy the challenge of making decorative knots with especially small or large cordage. Even very involved knots can be made small enough to be earrings. When you are practiced with the Monkey's Fist, you might even try making some small enough for earrings, or large enough for a doorstop. Many knots have an unexpected look when their size is exaggerated or different cordage material is used for them.

Marlinespike seamanship tends to bring out both the artist and the handyman in boaters. Some like to secure a coil rope with the knot of their own choosing, and show off their favorite method of keeping the end of a rope from fraying. Most decorative forms of Coxcombing also serve well as a rope whipping, so you can just pick the pattern you want the end of your ropes to look like.