A couple years ago I tied a knot that I can't find in any of my books. If anyone has tied it before, or recognizes it at all, please let me know.
It uses the same principles as the Highwayman's hitch, but employs them in loop form. Has anyone ever seen it? I've just been calling it the Wave Loop. Your input would be appreciated. Thanks!
-Wave
Hi Waveling,
I don't know if you realise it, but I think you have shared something quite important here !!
Apologies for taking so long to get back on this knot. I had not seen this method of construction before (with or without the Highwayman's finish) and whenever I come across a 'new knot' I like to live with it for a while in order to get the feel of its performance and utility. One of the things I find important in a knot is how it develops itself as it is pulled up and if it has any configurations which lead to the knot failing. Then after this, I like to consider how the forces propagate into the knot and if the knot exhibits strong or weak structural (geometric) characteristics.
The more I used and studied your knot the more I felt that it had good security attributes, and moderate strength characteristics. But by far the most attractive attribute is its ease of construction. Although I like the potential quick release feature, I generally prefer a knot without the auto destruct button, so mostly I tied The Wave with a single strand instead of the final bight.
Nearly always (it has two versions dependant upon where the gooseneck is formed), it would settle down into its nice 'butterfly loop type structure and repeatedly I would be reminded that I had seen that similar structure before in another knot. It's at times like these that I really wish the Geometric Identification System, championed by Dan and Frank was a working part of our toolbox. Then as I was working on preparing the Overs Index Example No. 2, I remembered where I had seen that structure.
When I make the Wave Loop without the quick release bight, the knot looks like this with the loop between D and the lower red strand :-
Anybody recognise it?
I quickly tied the knot that also had the double loop 'wings' - (I got it wrong first time, but then I usually do with that knot). Second attempt and bingo, the 'wings' looked identical from the front. I turned them both over to see how they differed on the other side, and double bingo - they were the same knot.
Anyone guessed yet what the Wave Loop is?
Well here it is :-
Yep, that’s it, the Carrick tied as a loop. Now, if I was right and the Carrick transmutes into The Wave when tied as the loop, then The Wave must be able to be transmuted back into the Carrick. So, just to prove it, I took the Wave loop tied with its Hangman's bight and transmuted it back to this:-
So, end of mystery - The Wave Loop is the Carrick Loop, and the Wave loop with quick release is the Carrick loop with quick release.
But just a moment.
The Wave is a method of tying this loop knot {OI-10:15} - moreover, it ties the knot directly and in the most efficient manner I have ever seen it tied.
The Carrick is another method of tying this loop knot, except it does not tie the knot directly, is clumsy and prone to being tied 'wrong' (at least by me). In order to create this loop knot from the carrick starting point, it is necessary to transmute the carrick into this final knot form.
In reality, the Carrick {OI-8:16}is little more than a a plait, an ornament with no functional knot structures within it.
If we make a comparison with the Bk,Blt zero knot discussed in the first Overs Index example, then the zero (and un-named knot) can be tied and used in a number of ways - tied as a bend it is known as the Sheetbend. Tied as a loop it is known as the Bowline (et. al.) and tied onto a standing line it is known as the T-bend. Why then should we not have the same convention with the Carrick as the zero knot, and the Wave Loop as its loop knot and other names for the bend and the T-bend versions.
The Bk,Blt family of knots all LOOK like the Bk,Blt but are called names dependant upon their use. Why then should we not call the Carrick family of knots by function specific names - after all, they don't even have remotely the same geometry as the Carrick once they have been formed which is even more reason why they should have their own names.
For me, The Wave is the Knot Master method of tying all of the knots, which used to be derived from the pretty but clumsy Carrick, so in recognition of this elegant method of tying, lets christen the loop, the Wave Loop and the T-bend, the Wave T-bend. Oh, and if you want a nice quick firm bend then you couldn't go far wrong with the Wave Bend.
So, thank you Waveling, this is I believe an important discovery. I will certainly use this knot more often now I can create it with this elegant method. Hopefully, the editor of K.M. will consider an article in the next issue. Cool methods like this one deserve promotion.
