Knots and Pioneering

Richard Francis “John” Thurman (4 April 1911 – April 1985) was Camp Chief of Gilwell Park from 1943 to 1969. In 1943, he introduced the Gilwell woggle awarded on the completion of basic training, and the Gilwell scarf and the Wood Badge beads were awarded on the completion of Advanced Training. Thurman wrote a number of instructional booklets, many on Scout pioneering. The folks at The Dump have scanned many of Thurman’s works and created free PDF versions of them....

I’ve watched Scouts who struggle with the traditional square lashing (especially getting it tight enough) learn the Japanese square lashing quickly and go on to actually building stuff rather than fiddling with lashings. The Japanese Square Lashing is a vast improvement over the traditional square lashing Scouts normally use that involves tying clove hitches. It’s simpler and faster to tie and can be drawn up much tighter. There are three versions of the Japanese square lashing, my favorite is the ‘Mark II’ pictured below:...

A minor miracle in the world of knots the icicle hitch won’t slip on a smooth and/or tapered surface (like an icicle). When tied and arranged carefully the icicle hitch is surprisingly slip-free when pulled parallel to the stave or pole or icicle it is tied on. I first learned the icicle hitch years ago in Geoffrey Budworth’s The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots and Ropework available on Amazon. Budworth’s encyclopedia illustrates 200 different knots with excellent photographs and clear directions....

The trucker’s hitch is a compound knot that functions as a kind of pulley affording a 3-1 mechanical advantage effectively tripling the amount of pull on the working end. I use the trucker’s hitch when tightening up tarp lines, securing loads or making bundles. See my tarp knots infographic for more tarp knots The hitch begins by forming a loop using a marlin-spike hitch (alternatively you can use an alpine butterfly or just about any loop knot)....

For some reason the amazingly useful zeppelin knot has been forgotten. Like many knots, it is stronger than a square knot, but it is unique in that it can always be untied easily, even after it has been loaded heavily. In other words, it will not “jam”. It is also easy to tie and easy to verify. Supposedly it is called the Rosendahl or “Zeppelin” knot because American airship commander Charles Rosendahl insisted on its use in mooring lines....

Rigging a tarp or dining fly provides shelter from the wind and rain and shade from the sun. I often use a tarp rather than a tent because there’s plenty of room to spread out and they can be rigged in many different configurations. My favorite tarps are tundra tarps manufactured from lightweight, strong siliconized nylon by Cooke’s Custom Sewing. I use brightly colored paracord, it’s terrifically strong, lightweight and highly visible....

This fanciful chain reaction pioneering project was found at the Ropes and Poles Blog Rain falls during the night and runs down the trough into the billy-can, thereby upsetting the balance of the guillotine and bringing the razor-sharp knife into operation… A signaling device and an ‘ingratiator’ at one go? – not bad eh?.

Mike Malone asks; … we’ve been informed that, for safety reasons, Scouts are now not allowed to be on any handmade structure more than 3-4 feet off the ground. Is that the current rule? I checked the Guide to Safe Scouting and found two statements that may be applicable: An approved climbing helmet must be worn during all BSA climbing/rappelling activities when the participant’s feet are more than shoulder height above ground level....

Learn how to tie the First Class Scout Badge Knot over at the Boy Scout Trail website. Not a particularly useful knot nor extraordinarily decorative but one really ought to know how it is tied. Tie a simple overhand knot in the bight of rope. Leave the knot loose. Put the bight through the ring on which it will hang. Pull the bight through the loose overhand knot. Cinch the knot tight....

The clearly illustrated directions author Gerald Finley ‘s book ‘Rope Works Plus’ explains tying and using knots, splices and lashings, making rope (with plans for a geared rope making machine) This sample page gives you a pretty good idea of the style and layout of the book. A very practical guide. Rope Works Plus on Amazon

Here’s a clear, easy to follow description of rope making using the spinning method in the form of a PDF file made by Troop 228. Surprisingly high-quality rope in a variety of sizes can be quickly and easily made with these simple tools and materials. These tools are not difficult to make nor are the materials expensive or hard to find. Building this style of rope maker and completing one six-foot piece of rope, with whippings, will satisfy Requirement Five of the Pioneering Merit Badge....

Those interested in advanced knotting and rope work do no better than these essential knot books; The Ashley Book of Knots Ashley’s is the standard work on knots, bar none. Any serious knot tyer will have a well worn copy in their library. Clifford W. Ashley describes the history, uses and construction of more than 3,900 different knots–presented through 7,000 carefully hand-drawn illustrations.This invaluable volume is big hardcover book with a quality binding and is well worth the price....

Whether an athletic competition, ritual practice, or casual the tug-of-war tradition is many centuries old. The United States Tug of War Association web page features an interesting history of the sport, an official event in early Olympic Games. We are fortunate to own a 30 foot length of nylon rope that was once used on a tug boat that is three or four inches in diameter. Using anything weaker would increase the danger of the rope breaking....

Every year in the port of Naha, Okinawa Japan, the world’s largest rope is constructed of rice straw for the annual great tug-of-war, or O-tsunahiki. Over 600 feet long and six feet in diameter the rope is central to the main event of a 400 year old tradition at Naha, the world’s largest Tsunahiki festival. The Asian tradition of tsunahiki, or tug of war, dates back more than 2,000 years and is a feature of many festivals....

A tarp creates an dry island of refuge if it is properly rigged; if not it becomes a flapping, dripping, water-catching pain. Here’s an idea from Cliff Jacobsen’s book Camping’s Top Secrets on rigging two tarps to create a chimney to keep a fire going in the rain. Here’s a view showing how the tarps overlap for a foot or two by tying them together at the grommets. The back edge of the top is rigged up to the tree to create the opening that forms a chimney....

A nice setup for cooking at a long term camp the Chippewa Kitchen in this drawing is lashed out of eight foot poles about 1 1/2″ in diameter. Naturally you can scale the kitchen to available materials or conditions as you see fit. Note the pot drying rack and worktop. No sooner had I posted this halfway around the world Peter at Ropes and Poles posted this small camp table.

Christopher Molloy has published an excellent online edition of ten out-of-print Bushcraft Books by Richard Harry Graves: The 10 Bushcraft Books’ are the seminal texts on bushcraft and this on-line edition (based on the first edition of the book set) has been released to share this unique source of knowledge. Originally written as wartime information for conducting rescue missions, the notes were later revised and prepared for a School of Bushcraft which was conducted for nearly 20 years....

The Ropes and Poles Blog features a friction lock table design that I am anxious to try: “Friction locks the whole table together. There is one rope stopping the entire thing from spreading out and falling apart, running across the table (from left to right,under the table top). No lashings are used at all in this construction.” I have seen friction bridges but adapting the concept to build a table is a new one on me....

I put this pioneering book together for our scouts when we were working on pioneering merit badge. Knots, lashings and methods that were absent from or poorly explained in the official merit badge book are included. The average merit badge book is rather dismal; hopefully this one is a little more engaging. The booklet includes the revised requirements as of 1/06 The PDF is set to print the booklet on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, two sides, folded in half and stapled on the spine....

Towers are tired, bridges are boring, camp gadgets are colorless, tripods are trite. Here is something new in improbable pioneering design. Please send me pictures of your completed structure.