(fid) wrote

I like to tie a lot of the nautical knots and splices in ABOK. I've
been using nylon since this is about all I can get around here. Can
anyone suggest better materials and where to find them?

Also, any ideas on how to display just a few knots (like turk's heads,
etc.) on their own?

I bought some 3/8 and 1/2 inch, three strand manila rope at a farmer's
supply store. The lay of the rope is fairly firm.

When I concentrated on keeping the lay of the rope firm and even as I
tyed a knot, I learned a lot about what happens to a rope as a knot is
tyed. This was not obvious to me when I tyed a knot in 1/4" soft nylon
cord. Very Interesting. Taking turns "with the lay" of the 3-strand
rope, when tying a knot, is easiest and I think that Ashley's
directions and graphics reflect this. (Three strand natural fiber rope
was dominate when Ashley wrote his great book.)

I agree with Dan, "And if you're interested in learning about knots,
you should see how they perform in a variety of materials."

Displaying knots? I always look at knot website for ideas (I'm no
expert). For example, I check out the walls of the "De Hoop IGKT
Meeting" shown by Andre at his site he http://www.dsv.nl/~salmaj/ .

Hope this helps - Brian.