Choosing a knot and getting to know it

A bowline on a bight? Or maybe a slip clove hitch, or how about an alpine butterfly?

Fisherman, seamen, cowboys and hunters have devised countless knots over the decades to accomplish specific jobs, and when you're just getting to know the ropes it's hard to know where to start. Choosing to go beyond the "granny knot" can be a little overwhelming, but according to most people there are a few basic knots that will usually suffice.

"The simple ones are the ones I use the most," said Wayne Woods, a Valley hunting guide and lifelong Alaskan. When working with a commercial fisherman, Woods said he learned a lot about knot tying, and he said he still ties some of the more complex knots when they are needed for a specific situation.

"But if you can do a bowline, a clove hitch and some variation of a half hitch, you're in pretty good shape," Woods said.

The clove hitch and the half hitch are used to secure a rope to something like a post or rail, and are useful for securing tent tie-outs for example. The slip clove hitch is a knot that is easy to undo and was often used by cowboys to tie a horse to a post.

The bowline is often described as the "king of knots." It is a relatively simple knot to learn, it is very strong and it is surprisingly easy to undo even after it has been under a great deal of strain.

"It's one of the most important ones you'll ever learn," according to the CD-ROM "Basic Knots."

The bowline is the knot many children learn as a little story about a rabbit hole, a rabbit and a tree.

While these may be some of the most useful knots for general outdoor use, a fly fisher will tell you there are more important knots -- like the blood knot, turtle knot, nail knot or needle knot. Sailors have another range of knots, as do rescue workers. Depending on what you're doing, you can find a host of possibilities in the knot-tying world.

Once you've decided what you're going to use the knots for and which ones to focus your attention on, most people will tell you it's simply a matter of practice. Whether you learn by CD, book, or friend, you must repeat the knot again and again to get the hang of it. Eventually, you'll be able to whip out a knot without recalling each instruction or telling yourself the story about the rabbit and the rabbit hole.

"Repetition definitely makes a difference," Woods said. "Then it becomes muscle memory."