My latest face palm moment

[wysper]

Do you ever have one of those moments that you wonder how you couldn't have known that.

I can only take some slight solace in the knowledge that I learned my one new thing today but unfortunately it made me feel pretty stupid.

I was thinking about making a post on what knots where in your 'knotting toolbox' and how often a new one actually got added.
I will still make this post but got badly derailed while compiling my list.

I was looking at other peoples essential knots and came across a board discussing the scouts 6 knots.

Well, anyway there got to be a quite involved discussion about the reef knot and whether it should be taught or not, and what practical use it actually was etc. I was thinking to myself, yes I know it but I don't use it all that often myself and I can see why you might not want it on your list.

When I read a bit from a nurse who was describing how it lay flat, was easy to tie, easy to see if you had it right and was easy to unite, but just pulling on one end back towards the knot, spilling it and sliding it open.
Well - there came my facepalm. I never realised that about undoing it, all of a sudden I saw why it was used on sails etc, why you would use it in that medical use, and why it actually could be quite a bit more handy than i realised.

I really did feel stupid. But also loved the fact that even in something so mundane and simple as a reef knot, you can learn something that makes you go wow. Now I don't suspect anyone else would go wow about that, and I think I might have just dropped below noob level here. Or if you watch Kung Fu Panda, I have reached level 0, of which there never was one before.

If anyone feels like sharing a similar face palm moment that may help in my recovery.

Happy knotting

Greg

[Dan_Lehman]

Well, anyway there got to be a quite involved discussion about the reef knot
and whether it should be taught or not,
and what practical use it actually was etc..

When I read a bit from a nurse who was describing how it lay flat,
was easy to tie, easy to see if you had it right and was easy to unite,
but just pulling on one end back towards the knot, spilling it and sliding it open.

I have moments --one just recently-- where I realize that
once upon a time I KNEW that (i.p., I'd discovered the "new knot"
that currently impresses me as the cat's meow) !  It is understandable
to forget unremarkable knots, when one is finding soooo many; but
of a couple of BWLs that I --on 2nd discovery-- thought/think to be
really good solutions to BWL loosening problem ... ,
it's harder to figure why I'd not thought so long ago.

Re the square/reef, I expressly gave it some firm usage today,
tying ends of a rougly half-inch wide solid PP tape together
to make a round sling to stand in when doing some bouncing
on a rope w/some knots in, checking them.  The reef doesn't
always come open as you advertise!

It is the briefest of ends joints, and despite the parroting of
Ashley's words against it, can serve well enough, with care.
Heck, I recently found that the thief could hold seemingly
well enough in some quite compressible and frictive rope
(and showed its failings in firmer, rounder stuff, quickly)!


--dl*
====

[wysper]

 I expressly gave it some firm usage today,
tying ends of a rougly half-inch wide solid PP tape together
to make a round sling to stand in when doing some bouncing
on a rope w/some knots in, checking them.  The reef doesn't
always come open as you advertise!

I played around with it a bit too. I did notice that if you didn't pull the end on the side of knot with the 'collar' on top it doesn't tend to pop open.
I have been using 6mm rope to tie it in.

It doesn't come undone like an exploding hitch would but definitely - more often than not - comes apart enough to untie easily.

May be different in different ropes etc.

[KC]

To me minimalist Square family, and even name(rather than Reef) flood with simple, uncluttered lessons that then carry on all thru knotting; so are good starting lessons, especially if exploited to the target of knowing all knots; not just it's single usage.
Support structures need to be SQUARE to purpose, coming out of square can create faults.
Thief, Granny, Grief give lessons in how can come out of square.
And how even tho 'squared' and maintained the structure needs to be for radial binding, not bend.
>>specifically needs the radial deformity span inherited from host thru the whole locking mechanism of the binding knot
>>can have other straight parts
>>the most nip is always thru a deformity from simple linear, not a linear section.
Even destabilizing 1 leg to pull out of square towards re-lease shows this.
.
While Whatnot, SheetBends give lessons in crossing leg(s) from more passive output side to greater/more high voltage SPart input side to nip and can now be bend.
Surgeon's, Simons etc. show with more of a list of linear than radial arcs etc.
.
Many red marks on my forehead, but usually less if look wide and deep before moving on.
You tend not to forget aha moments tho(especially when see red tatoo marks in mirror..)!