If you own a flashlight, you should learn this simple knot

Guitar Guy

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
590
Location
West Virginia
The Marlinspike Hitch, also called "Marlingspike Hitch".

It seems there is often a need to quickly form a T-handle to help pull on a rope, and to keep it from digging into one's hand. Maybe starting a lawn mower with a missing t-handle, dragging a deer, forming a makeshift handle for a dog leash, pulling a tree while cutting it, and many more situations where there is a need to pull a rope tight.

If you have a flashlight, stick, wrench, or tool nearby, you can have this knot together in about 3 seconds. And when you're done, it easily falls apart, with no jammed up granny knots to untie. If you tie it backwards or pull the wrong direction, it falls apart.

It is also the knot used to form a makeshift ladder if you have two ropes and some sticks for rungs. I've shown this in the pic with the pencils.

Looking online and in books, I've seen about 4 ways to form this knot, and came up with another way on my own after I understood how it works. For me, actually memorizing a knot to the point where I can tie it "in the field" without a book or internet is the most important part of learning a knot.

The method I'm picturing is a quick easy way to form the knot, and is fairly easy to memorize. After I learned it, I got to where I can skip straight to step 5 and form that whole loop in one motion with two fingers of my right hand ... catch the standing end with index finger ... slide the light in from the left, and have the whole thing formed in a few seconds in one motion. Even doing the steps one at a time still only takes a few seconds.

Here are the steps. I hope this helps some folks with their next rope yanking situation. Please post if you are able to put it to use.


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novice

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 19, 2006
Messages
1,033
I'm fascinated by knots, even though I'm not very good at them. This one is easy, and useful. I think that even I can memorize it with a little practice. Thank you for taking the time to do this, Guitar Guy.
 

eh4

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
1,999
Also, that marlinspike hitch is a slipknot being used in a different way, try tying a slipknot to make it.
Similarly, you can use a slipknot to make a bowline, a left handed bowline, or a sheet bend...
Tie the slipknot very loosely and pull the knot inside out after putting the other piece of cord through the loop...
-in the case of the marlin spike knot you're using a rod instead of cord.
- in the case of a sheet bend use the working end of the second cord.
- in the cases of the bowling and the left handed bowline, the working end of the cord goes back through the loop.

When you put the working end back through the loop you'll get the bowline when you put it through "the right way" and the left handed bowline when putting it through "the wrong way" and both are legit knots, but only make the sheet bend "the right way", left handed sheet bend is an unreliable knot that'll fail you.
 
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KITROBASKIN

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
5,413
Location
New Mexico, USA
As eh4 mentioned, this makes a good slip knot when the part where the flashlight was, becomes a captured loop; Simple to loosen.
Good to learn about the T-handle function. Thanks!
 
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