The Ashley Book of Knots

Go to your nearest hardware store, and look at all the fasteners. There are U-bolts, swages, eye-hooks, and on, too many to count. Well, not too long ago, the metal in a bolt would have been a prohibitive cost. Instead, the jobs of all those fasteners were filled by knots. There is a branch of mathematics called "knot theory". It deals with one-dimensional fibers crossing in 3-space, and no other dimensionality has quite the same properties. A strand, wrapped around another and holding it, is a remarkable thing. Daily jobs in older eras touch abstract math in this book. It's a remarkable encyclopedia of practical, beautiful, and profound ways of pulling things together. Ashley shows bows, buttons, nooses, braids, knots, bights, and seemingly endless other ways to make simple strings into tools, toys, and decorations. You will come away from this book with respect. All those different people - fishermen, sailors, weavers, surgeons, and shipping clerks - all of them had their own needs and only strings to meet those needs with. They did their jobs, and did them well, using the techniques remembered in this book. What's more, mathematicians use this book as a fundamental reference. Just about any twist in space was named here, so Ashley has become the catalog. When a mathematician refers to "Ashley #128", the structure has been specified completely. This is history, practice, theory, and fun between the same covers. No working library can be without it. //wiredweird

THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS (c.1944) by Clifford W. Ashley, is the definitive reference work on knots, splices, and ropework in general. Born in 1881 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Clifford W. Ashley was an antique dealer and artist, who spent eleven years writing his magnum opus, THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS, and died three years after its 1944 publication.In his pursuit of ropework, Mr. Ashley spent six months at sea on the whaling bark SUNBEAM; and six weeks on a Delaware Bay oysterman called a 'bugeye'. He interviewed tradesmen, such as: steeplejacks, cobblers, truckdrivers, butchers, electric linesmen, and boyscouts as well as sailors and sea captains to document each nuance of knot unique to its trade. He was taught a few knots by Mr. Ringling himself of circus fame; and taught a knot to Mr. DuPont, a captain of industry.The result of Mr. Ashley's research was a significant collection of 7,000 drawings of 3,900 knots and their application in a 620 page knot tyers tome which has become a veritable bible for rope workers the world over. In just about any capacity that a rope can be utilized has found its way into THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS. Mr. Ashley has covered: netting, lashings, block & tackle, splices, hitches, and bends. He went from purely decorative knots with no practical value to knots applied to industrial use. He included a whole chapter on rope tricks and puzzles. There is an amusing catalog of small figures the author drew to rate the quality of each knot described, such as a deuce of clubs to designate 'unimportance', or an kedge anchor to indicate 'reliability'.Equally important as the knot's description was their utilization on incidental equipment. Mr. Ashley fortuitously included a description of a rope's application on fairleads, belaying pins, H-bitts, cleats, thumb-cleats, fife rails, pin rails, pin racks, and timberheads; as well as escoteric equipment such as euphroe blocks and crows foots. The book also includes the important distinction between the kevel (or cavil) and the quarter cleat. The glossary in the back makes another refinement by distinguishing the knot from the sinnet, splice, hitch, and bend. Thus clearing up any misassumptions in knot application (such as that Knot Theory is a branch of pure mathematics and has nothing to do with Knot Tying!) - THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS settles any disputes in nomenclature.The only short-coming to this significant work is that the drawings are unclear and vague in some instances, making it impossible to tye a knot in the example given. The book is dated in respect to splicing modern power braids such as Liquid Crystal Polymer, Spectra, or Kevlar; and makes no mention of the type of knot or splice found in an Astronaut's tether.Still this can be tolerated in view of the wealth of information and history on knots, splices, and rope contained within its pages. And THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS has gained a further importance in its power of verification. For when some nimr

This book is a work of art and devotion. Clifford Ashley presents an encyclopedic array of knots in this book. If there's a knot you seek, you'll find it here: plain knots and fancy knots, practical knots and magical knots, beautiful and ornamental knots---they're all here. Mr.Ashley's hand drawings make these knots easy to follow. There are hundreds of beautiful pen-and-ink drawings that depict the maritime life as well:from people to places to things. Clifford Ashley's love and mastery of his subject is evident on every page. For my money, this is the best book you will ever find about the subject of knots.

This book is the indispensable, essential, must-have book of every knot a person could ever dream. I bought three other knot books before this one, believing that Ashley's book was more than I needed. Now the other three books gather dust and this one is the only book I use. It isn't just knots, either. Ashley also tells a lot of tales and lets us know what life was like when he lived, as he collected the information to put together his book. I actually read this book sometimes just for the pleasure of reading it. You don't have to be tying knots. It would be hard to imagine a book that could improve on what Ashley has put together. Simply outstanding. I love it.

I bought my first copy of this GREAT book in 1945, in Honolulu while in the navy and have had a copy at my warm side ever since -- most books are read once, maybe twice, some even more BUT this one has been read by me almost daily for all these years -- I even keep an extra copy at my mother-in-law's house so I can be close while travelling -- someone should run down a member of the Ashley family descendants and tell him or her what a totally awesome job he did! There is no book on knots equal to his work -- A wonderful contribution to the nutty people who enjoy knots whether they be scout, sailor, cowboy, climber or the soccer mom who needs help with a simple bow!