| Tutorials and Instructions in Knotting |
PHOTO TUTORIALS
THE INDIAN "WAMPUM" BELT... A HANDBOOK FROM THE 1920'S! (Aug 2012)
CREATE YOUR OWN SQUARE-KNOT BELT... by Vince Brennan (Jun 2006)
A BELLROPE TUTORIAL.... by Vince Brennan (Dec 2006)
17-STRAND "FRENCH" SENNIT..... by Jack Cross (Nov 2006))
A ROUND-BRAIDED LANYARD... by the late Bud Brewer (Sept 2006)
EXTENDED DIAMOND KNOT.... by the late Bud Brewer (Sept 2006)
THE "OVER-TWO" FENDER HITCH.... by Vince Brennan (Dec 2006 )
SIMPLE COVER GRAFTING..... by Vince Brennan (Dec 2006)
MATTHEW WALKER'S KNOT....by Ed Hatherly Sept 2006)
TOP-BRAIDED COXCOMBING.... by the late Bud Brewer (Sept 2006)
17-STRAND DOUBLE-BRAID SENNIT LANYARD.... by the late Bud Brewer (Oct 2006)
REDUCING THE 17 STRAND DOUBLE BRAID TO 13 STRANDS.... by Don Wright (Nov 2007)
9-STRAND DOUBLE-BRAID LANYARD.... by the late Bud Brewer (Oct 2006)
RAT-TAILING IN POLYESTER LINE... by Todd Bradshaw (Dec 2006)
RINGBOLT HITCHING (or, Spanish Hitching)..... by Vince Brennan (Dec 2006)
OVER-TWO COVERING FOR AN AWL OR SPIKE SHAFT.... by Vince Brennan (Jun 2007)
A 12-POINT STAR KNOT BROOCH OR PIN... by Don Wright (Dec 2007)
A "CROCODILE-BACK" SENNIT... by Don Wright (Dec 2007)
A TURKS-HEAD CROSS ... by Chris Benco (Jul 2008)
THE "LITTLE LUMP-KNOT" ... by Don Wright (Jul 2008)
MAKING A STAR-KNOT PLUG FOR A NEEDLECASE ... by Vince Brennan (Sept. 2008)
MAKING A SEA CHEST BECKET (inspiration and pictures by Karl Bareuther)..... (Oct. 2008)
THE CHESAPEAKE WATERMAN'S BRACELET...... By Vince Brennan (Nov. 2008)
THE STARKNOT LAPEL PIN or CUFFLINK..... by Vince Brennan (Jan. 2009)
THE HOUNDS-TOOTH TURKS-HEAD.... by Eddie Climo (from his forthcoming book!) (Jan. 2009)
(This is a PDF file: you may need to download a PDF reader.)
COXCOMBING.... by Vince Brennan (Sept. 2009) Several types of coxcombs for rails and stanchions.
MAKE A KNOT-WORKING TABLE (in three easy steps and four-part harmony).... by Vince Brennan (REV Dec 2011.
THE SIX-STRAND MATTHEW WALKER KNOT ... by Charles T. Wilson (Sept 2010)
MAKING A BOW-PUDDING (BEARDED) FENDER FOR A TUGBOAT... BY CAP'T BEN GRUDINSKAS (JUNE 2011)
MAKING A BOW FENDER smallboat style......By Scott B Williams (August 2011)
AN APOLOGY:
I HAVE NOT YET HAD A CHANCE TO DO THE "ENDING OFF LANYARDS AND SENNITS" PAGES I HAD PROMISED IN MY BOOKLET.
I WILL GET TO IT A S A P! (10/2012: "We're closing in on the target! Open outer doors!")
TUTORIALS ON OTHER SITES:
Charles Hamel (a.k.a. "Nautile") of France has some most interesting items on HIS SITE... one of which
is making a MOEBIUS STRIP in line. Take some time and poke around there... it's LOTS of fun!
........................................
There's a "new kid" in town whose YouTube tutorials are just outstanding... J.D. Lenzen is his name
and if you go to Youtube and look for "tyingitalltogether", you'll find a couple dozen of his video
tutorials. (I'm not quite up to doing those yet...). He also has a "subscription" on Youtube so that you
get notified of new uploads as they happen, and the little buggar has published a book on knottying
with Barry Mault.
Gawd, I think I hate him!
--------------------------------
A SAD NOTE:
In November, we lost one of the stellar lights of the knotting community, Dan
Callahan of Alaska. We are trying to gather the information on his websites to a
central location so that it will not be lost, and there will either be a central page
here or a link to such a compendium.
Dan was a MAJOR force in the dissemination of our particular silliness and he will
be missed by many more than he could have imagined.
------------------------------
THE INDIAN "WAMPUM" BELT... A HANDBOOK FROM THE 1920'S! (Aug 2012)
CREATE YOUR OWN SQUARE-KNOT BELT... by Vince Brennan (Jun 2006)
A BELLROPE TUTORIAL.... by Vince Brennan (Dec 2006)
17-STRAND "FRENCH" SENNIT..... by Jack Cross (Nov 2006))
A ROUND-BRAIDED LANYARD... by the late Bud Brewer (Sept 2006)
EXTENDED DIAMOND KNOT.... by the late Bud Brewer (Sept 2006)
THE "OVER-TWO" FENDER HITCH.... by Vince Brennan (Dec 2006 )
SIMPLE COVER GRAFTING..... by Vince Brennan (Dec 2006)
MATTHEW WALKER'S KNOT....by Ed Hatherly Sept 2006)
TOP-BRAIDED COXCOMBING.... by the late Bud Brewer (Sept 2006)
17-STRAND DOUBLE-BRAID SENNIT LANYARD.... by the late Bud Brewer (Oct 2006)
REDUCING THE 17 STRAND DOUBLE BRAID TO 13 STRANDS.... by Don Wright (Nov 2007)
9-STRAND DOUBLE-BRAID LANYARD.... by the late Bud Brewer (Oct 2006)
RAT-TAILING IN POLYESTER LINE... by Todd Bradshaw (Dec 2006)
RINGBOLT HITCHING (or, Spanish Hitching)..... by Vince Brennan (Dec 2006)
OVER-TWO COVERING FOR AN AWL OR SPIKE SHAFT.... by Vince Brennan (Jun 2007)
A 12-POINT STAR KNOT BROOCH OR PIN... by Don Wright (Dec 2007)
A "CROCODILE-BACK" SENNIT... by Don Wright (Dec 2007)
A TURKS-HEAD CROSS ... by Chris Benco (Jul 2008)
THE "LITTLE LUMP-KNOT" ... by Don Wright (Jul 2008)
MAKING A STAR-KNOT PLUG FOR A NEEDLECASE ... by Vince Brennan (Sept. 2008)
MAKING A SEA CHEST BECKET (inspiration and pictures by Karl Bareuther)..... (Oct. 2008)
THE CHESAPEAKE WATERMAN'S BRACELET...... By Vince Brennan (Nov. 2008)
THE STARKNOT LAPEL PIN or CUFFLINK..... by Vince Brennan (Jan. 2009)
THE HOUNDS-TOOTH TURKS-HEAD.... by Eddie Climo (from his forthcoming book!) (Jan. 2009)
(This is a PDF file: you may need to download a PDF reader.)
COXCOMBING.... by Vince Brennan (Sept. 2009) Several types of coxcombs for rails and stanchions.
MAKE A KNOT-WORKING TABLE (in three easy steps and four-part harmony).... by Vince Brennan (REV Dec 2011.
THE SIX-STRAND MATTHEW WALKER KNOT ... by Charles T. Wilson (Sept 2010)
MAKING A BOW-PUDDING (BEARDED) FENDER FOR A TUGBOAT... BY CAP'T BEN GRUDINSKAS (JUNE 2011)
MAKING A BOW FENDER smallboat style......By Scott B Williams (August 2011)
AN APOLOGY:
I HAVE NOT YET HAD A CHANCE TO DO THE "ENDING OFF LANYARDS AND SENNITS" PAGES I HAD PROMISED IN MY BOOKLET.
I WILL GET TO IT A S A P! (10/2012: "We're closing in on the target! Open outer doors!")
TUTORIALS ON OTHER SITES:
Charles Hamel (a.k.a. "Nautile") of France has some most interesting items on HIS SITE... one of which
is making a MOEBIUS STRIP in line. Take some time and poke around there... it's LOTS of fun!
........................................
There's a "new kid" in town whose YouTube tutorials are just outstanding... J.D. Lenzen is his name
and if you go to Youtube and look for "tyingitalltogether", you'll find a couple dozen of his video
tutorials. (I'm not quite up to doing those yet...). He also has a "subscription" on Youtube so that you
get notified of new uploads as they happen, and the little buggar has published a book on knottying
with Barry Mault.
Gawd, I think I hate him!
--------------------------------
A SAD NOTE:
In November, we lost one of the stellar lights of the knotting community, Dan
Callahan of Alaska. We are trying to gather the information on his websites to a
central location so that it will not be lost, and there will either be a central page
here or a link to such a compendium.
Dan was a MAJOR force in the dissemination of our particular silliness and he will
be missed by many more than he could have imagined.
------------------------------
KNOTTER TRIBUTE PAGES.........SEA CHESTS AND BECKETS.........SAILMAKING, SEABAGS AND DITTY BAGS ......... PRESENT KNOTTYERS PAGES.........BELLROPES.........PERSONAL FANCYWORK ......... FANCYWORK ABOARD VESSELS ......... U S NAVY / U S COASTGUARD FANCYWORK THINGS.........NAUTICAL ANTIQUES (MOSTLY FANCYWORK) ......... KNIFE AND TOOL EMBELLISHMENTS.........LINKS TO OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL WEBSITES LIBRARY MAIN PAGE FRAYED KNOT MAIN PAGE spamtrap |
When I first started re-discovering my knotting skills a few years ago, I was appalled at just how little information was available
on-line on the subject and how difficult it was to find any suppliers of quality line with which to create these things. Over a few
months, I explored everything and every avenue I could think of and finally decided that I should start a page on "Nautical
Antiques", to assuage not only my curiosity, but that of any like-minded persons: that grew into the LIBRARY section, which
then spawned a tutorial expressly made for KHWW (see below) on the Square Knot Belt, which has now spawned this page: I
hope to put many, many more tutorials up here so that the arts may be preserved and passed along. NONE of these tutorials is
overwhelmingly difficult to do and all will produce items you'll be proud to have/wear/share with others. I wish you all the best
in making them, and you ALWAYS can send an email to me if you run into trouble or get confused. Use any of the "CONTACT
ME" links for this purpose.
BASIC knot-tying is well-covered on the web and a simple search in GOOGLE or clicking the "Other Tutorials" link below will
produce a sufficient number of sites to keep the novice knotter busy for a while learning them... there are also sites which go
into some detail on the more creative aspects of knotting, but the following links and tutorials are rather more specialized.
I would appreciate it if you would let me know should you find any difficulty following the instructions or concepts contained on
this page, and if you have any suggestions for streamlining or making the tutorials easier to use.
If you make something from these tutorials, please take a picture or six of your work and send it to me and I will post it here to
show others that "it CAN be done!" PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFOREHAND!
Thanks very much to all the knotters who took the time to create and contribute their tutorials! If you might be willing
to make one up, please contact me!
Contribtors:
Andre van der Salm, of the Netherlands is a superb knottyer and a generous man, having many tutorials on HIS SITE.
Karl Bareuther of Germany is a past-master of knotting and his chest beckets and canvas work are the "sine qua non" of
the art.
Todd Bradshaw is the owner of "Addiction Sailmakers" in Madison, WI., an author and delightful illustrator and a "maven" in
the art of Canoe Sailing.
C. (Bud) Brewer was a former Navy man and lived in Colorado. He was one of the creators and owners of the Knot Heads
World Wide (KHWW) website and did the most incredible wood and metalwork as well as knot-work. Bud passed from us in
March of 2009 and he will be greatly missed, even by his friends.
Jack Cross is a retired US Navy Boatswain's Mate who lives in Sunny Texas, makes Purple Martin houses and generally
creates as much mayhem as possible.
Ed Hatherly ("The Knotty Man Of Canada") is a motorcycle enthusiast as well as an accomplished knot-tyer and
photographer.
Don Wright of Benton City, Washington is a rope and leather knotter... he is a new contributor (12/2007) and a most welcome
addition to the faculty!
Chris Benco of Florida comes to us by way of the Wooden Boat Forum where he, Hugh Lane and Jamie White are some of
the reigning Monarchs of fancy-work stuff.
SUPPLIES:
While supplies are ALWAYS a problem, getting good line for doing your knotwork is NOT impossible!
A great series of cotton lines are available from MARTY COMBS of North Carolina. His website shows the many different
cordages he has available as well as the extra little things that knottyers love (real brass thimbles!) and need. Marty also has
an extensive collection of books and instructionals available and is a font of knowledge to boot!
...........................................................
For polyester* line, any sort of rope and many of the tools necessary to knottying, you cannot do better than contacting Bob
Dollar or Paul Adam of R & W Rope in New Bedford, Ma. They carry an assortment of polyester double braided line (I use it
exclusively for Boatswain's Lanyards and for most knife pouches) in many colours and sizes and at a very reasonable price.
Bob is the master of Traditional Rigging for R&W and his knowledge in the field is extensive and accessible. Paul is VERY savvy
about fancywork lines and a call or email to either will produce exactly what you want... guaranteed.
...........................................................
(rev Apr '09): Trevor Tutt of Texas came closest to reproducing what P.C. Herwig sold as "Dreadnaught Cord", but
unfortunately has been forced to "cease production" due to the hard financial times. Until (and unless) he starts up again, we
are without a source for very small, hard-laid cotton cord for doing fine and intricate detail knotwork. This is a real blow and I
wish Trevor well in the future. I shall miss working with his fine product.
If anyone DOES have an alternate source for such line, please contact me!
...........................................................
CA Glue is something you can get at your local Home Despot or other stores, but only in teeny tubes and at HUGE expense!
Besides, you want FRESH (best way to get it) glue, not something that's been sitting for a year in a warehouse! Exotic Blanks
(took over from WoodenWonderStix) can supply glue, bottles, applicator tips, debonder and other supplies and all at a VERY
reasonable cost! If you're doing a lot of work, it only makes sense to buy the 16oz bottles. If you're just starting out and are
not sure how much you may need, get a 2oz bottle to start with. ALWAYS order the "5-CPS" (fast setting) glue and fer Pete's
Sake, WORK OVER A DISPOSABLE SURFACE!
...........................................................
Lasse Carenvall is a Swede who does some wonderful knotwork and he has come up with a great little tool he calls the
"Grip-fid". I've bought a set for myself and can vouch for their usefulness AND the quality of their workmanship!
...........................................................
If YOU think your site/business should be listed here, let's talk about it!
* For a long time I have been incorrectly identifying the line I use as "nylon". It is, in fact, a double-braided polyester-covered
nylon-core line used primarily for "mini-window-blinds". It's still great stuff.
on-line on the subject and how difficult it was to find any suppliers of quality line with which to create these things. Over a few
months, I explored everything and every avenue I could think of and finally decided that I should start a page on "Nautical
Antiques", to assuage not only my curiosity, but that of any like-minded persons: that grew into the LIBRARY section, which
then spawned a tutorial expressly made for KHWW (see below) on the Square Knot Belt, which has now spawned this page: I
hope to put many, many more tutorials up here so that the arts may be preserved and passed along. NONE of these tutorials is
overwhelmingly difficult to do and all will produce items you'll be proud to have/wear/share with others. I wish you all the best
in making them, and you ALWAYS can send an email to me if you run into trouble or get confused. Use any of the "CONTACT
ME" links for this purpose.
BASIC knot-tying is well-covered on the web and a simple search in GOOGLE or clicking the "Other Tutorials" link below will
produce a sufficient number of sites to keep the novice knotter busy for a while learning them... there are also sites which go
into some detail on the more creative aspects of knotting, but the following links and tutorials are rather more specialized.
I would appreciate it if you would let me know should you find any difficulty following the instructions or concepts contained on
this page, and if you have any suggestions for streamlining or making the tutorials easier to use.
If you make something from these tutorials, please take a picture or six of your work and send it to me and I will post it here to
show others that "it CAN be done!" PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFOREHAND!
Thanks very much to all the knotters who took the time to create and contribute their tutorials! If you might be willing
to make one up, please contact me!
Contribtors:
Andre van der Salm, of the Netherlands is a superb knottyer and a generous man, having many tutorials on HIS SITE.
Karl Bareuther of Germany is a past-master of knotting and his chest beckets and canvas work are the "sine qua non" of
the art.
Todd Bradshaw is the owner of "Addiction Sailmakers" in Madison, WI., an author and delightful illustrator and a "maven" in
the art of Canoe Sailing.
C. (Bud) Brewer was a former Navy man and lived in Colorado. He was one of the creators and owners of the Knot Heads
World Wide (KHWW) website and did the most incredible wood and metalwork as well as knot-work. Bud passed from us in
March of 2009 and he will be greatly missed, even by his friends.
Jack Cross is a retired US Navy Boatswain's Mate who lives in Sunny Texas, makes Purple Martin houses and generally
creates as much mayhem as possible.
Ed Hatherly ("The Knotty Man Of Canada") is a motorcycle enthusiast as well as an accomplished knot-tyer and
photographer.
Don Wright of Benton City, Washington is a rope and leather knotter... he is a new contributor (12/2007) and a most welcome
addition to the faculty!
Chris Benco of Florida comes to us by way of the Wooden Boat Forum where he, Hugh Lane and Jamie White are some of
the reigning Monarchs of fancy-work stuff.
SUPPLIES:
While supplies are ALWAYS a problem, getting good line for doing your knotwork is NOT impossible!
A great series of cotton lines are available from MARTY COMBS of North Carolina. His website shows the many different
cordages he has available as well as the extra little things that knottyers love (real brass thimbles!) and need. Marty also has
an extensive collection of books and instructionals available and is a font of knowledge to boot!
...........................................................
For polyester* line, any sort of rope and many of the tools necessary to knottying, you cannot do better than contacting Bob
Dollar or Paul Adam of R & W Rope in New Bedford, Ma. They carry an assortment of polyester double braided line (I use it
exclusively for Boatswain's Lanyards and for most knife pouches) in many colours and sizes and at a very reasonable price.
Bob is the master of Traditional Rigging for R&W and his knowledge in the field is extensive and accessible. Paul is VERY savvy
about fancywork lines and a call or email to either will produce exactly what you want... guaranteed.
...........................................................
(rev Apr '09): Trevor Tutt of Texas came closest to reproducing what P.C. Herwig sold as "Dreadnaught Cord", but
unfortunately has been forced to "cease production" due to the hard financial times. Until (and unless) he starts up again, we
are without a source for very small, hard-laid cotton cord for doing fine and intricate detail knotwork. This is a real blow and I
wish Trevor well in the future. I shall miss working with his fine product.
If anyone DOES have an alternate source for such line, please contact me!
...........................................................
CA Glue is something you can get at your local Home Despot or other stores, but only in teeny tubes and at HUGE expense!
Besides, you want FRESH (best way to get it) glue, not something that's been sitting for a year in a warehouse! Exotic Blanks
(took over from WoodenWonderStix) can supply glue, bottles, applicator tips, debonder and other supplies and all at a VERY
reasonable cost! If you're doing a lot of work, it only makes sense to buy the 16oz bottles. If you're just starting out and are
not sure how much you may need, get a 2oz bottle to start with. ALWAYS order the "5-CPS" (fast setting) glue and fer Pete's
Sake, WORK OVER A DISPOSABLE SURFACE!
...........................................................
Lasse Carenvall is a Swede who does some wonderful knotwork and he has come up with a great little tool he calls the
"Grip-fid". I've bought a set for myself and can vouch for their usefulness AND the quality of their workmanship!
...........................................................
If YOU think your site/business should be listed here, let's talk about it!
* For a long time I have been incorrectly identifying the line I use as "nylon". It is, in fact, a double-braided polyester-covered
nylon-core line used primarily for "mini-window-blinds". It's still great stuff.
| LAST UPDATE Dec 20 2011 |
| Presently looking for PHOTO tutorials on the following: Coachwhipping -- Leathering -- Sennits McNamara Lace -- Fender-Making -- ABOK 1290-Herringbone Weave General Fancywork of all sorts |
| NOTE: TO BE NOTIFIED OF NEW ADDITIONS OR CHANGES PLEASE EMAIL ME WITH "Add Me To Tutorials Group" IN THE SUBJECT LINE! |
| "Mackerel Skies and Mare's tails Make tall ships wear short sails!" |