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Paracord Knots for Beginners
Aside from decorative and utility uses Paracord is most often used for practical purposes outdoors. To get maximum use from Paracord it is useful to understand how to tie Paracord knots and what knots to use for what situation. We cannot cover the whole range of knots in this article, however we have highlighted a few of the most commonly used.
The Monkey Fist
There will be occasions when you will want to throw your rope across some distance; to get it over the branch of a tree or from your boat to the shore. It will be necessary to weight the end of your Paracord to make it easier to throw longer distances. The monkey fist is the ideal knot for these situations and can be used with a stone at it’s centre to make it even heavier.
The monkey fist is relatively simple to make. Take your Paracord and make three loops round the fingers of your left hand. Now make three loops around the outside of the centre of the first three loops at right angles. Finally make a further three loops passing inside the first set of loops and outside the second set of loops. At this point you can place a small weighted object at the centre of the knot. Now tighten your knot. Use a strand of Paracord to secure the loose end to the main rope.
Simple Fisherman’s Knot
A strand of Paracord makes a pretty good emergency fishing line and is practically invisible in the water. To tie your fishing hook on; pass the end of the strand through the eye of the hook and cross it over the main part of the strand. You want to make a loop about half an inch in diameter, with about half an inch of free strand at the overlap. Holding the loop between thumb and forefinger of one hand, use the other hand to twist the fishing hook through four or five turns in a clockwise direction. Thread the free strand through the gap in the loop closest to the eye of the hook and pull to tighten.
The Reef Knot
The reef knot is part of the family of Binding Knots; typically used for lashing objects together. One of the main advantages of the reef knot, or square knot as it is also known, is that it can be easily released when required. It is one of the simplest knots to tie; holding each end of your Paracord in your left and right hands, loop the left hand end over the right hand end and make an overhand knot. Now loop the right hand end over the left hand end and make an overhand knot. Just remember left over right, right over left. One warning, reef knots are not stable enough for joining two pieces of Paracord together.
The Granny Knot
Everyone knows the granny knot; it’s the one that is really difficult to undo when it has been tightened fully. To make one just follow the instructions for the reef knot above, but do left over right, left over right.
That’s all for now, hopefully this gives you some indication of how useful Paracord knots can be.