Customer Reviews

The Ashley Book of Knots

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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!

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 nimrod claims to have invented a new knot or splice, immediately the universal response is: "Just look it up in Ashley's!"

This book has to represent the best value on the market today for anyone interested in knots, splices and fancy ropework. I worked in the Merchant Navy and have spent most of my life living on and around yachts, and I sincerely wish that I'd discovered this book 35 years ago. The Ashley Book of Knots is a treasure trove of useful information and instruction for anyone, from novice to expert, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Jim Briggs. Gold Coast, Australia.

Simply stunning! Nearly 4,000 knots and as many illustrations fill this hefty tome.

Having said this do not assume that this book is heavy going - rather the contrary - Ashley writes in a light and interesting style, interspersed with humour.

Every type of knot is covered - from practical knots though decorative knots to trick knots. An assement of practicality of each knot for specific uses is also included.

Add to this plenty of history, and the classification of knots by use and occupation, and this makes this book a must for anyone interested in knots. It is also handy for dipping into on rainy days!

Clifford Ashley takes you to the heart and soul of knotting.

The magic of the intertwining of line was a passion to this man -- and that passion can infect you, if you're susceptible.

In the course of his descriptions of knots, he takes us through some of the history of knotting -- his references go back to the 1700's. Mainly, this art is descended from the square-rigger seafaring trade. Mr. Ashley knows the language of these sailors.

Although written in the first half of the 20th century, this is still THE authoratative book on knots.

Thousands of knots, thousands of pictures. Knots, from practical hard-working specimens, to purely decorative; to even a few that Mr. Ashley refers to as "useless" knots. Self-illustrated with occasional bytes of humor.

This is "the" book if you have a love of knotting.

However, if all you want is to quickly learn a few knots for very practical reasons, you'd probably be better off with one of the more modern knotting books, which usually have clearer explanations for the layman, replete with pretty color photos. Newer texts would also have recently-invented knots, such as the amazing icicle knot.

Firstly, I want to chide all those whose lame counting of the book's contents parrots publisher information, such as "The result of Mr. Ashley's research was a significant collection of 7,000 drawings of 3,900 knots" -- this is nonsense: Ashley numbers every **illustration**, culminating with "#3854"; and among these there are both a great many duplicates (a quick look in the Index will show many occurrences for "Two Half Hitches", "Clove Hitch", & "Constrictor", e.g.), and there are many illustrated items that most folks won't regard as "knots". A more realistic figure for hitches, e.g., is around 100-200, and likewise for loopknots & bends.

People who are fascinated by knots refer to this book as "the bible", and often refer to particular knots by some Ashley illustration number -- which is a good step towards removing the typical ambiguity of knot names!

More than most knots books, Ashley gives historical and practical information about his subject; and, also more than most, his information is more reliable. I.p., this book is VASTLY superior to the seemingly competing knots tome, _Encyclopedia of Knots & Fancy Ropework_, which seems to be mostly a product of silly imagination by authors unconcerned with reality or good sense (to put it mildly!).

But Ashley wrote in a time preceding modern synthetic fibres such as nylon, polypropylene, and polyester (to say nothing of HMPE, aramids, composites, and coextruded fibres), and his inventory of knots reflects this -- perhaps most especially regarding anglers knots. Someone interested in learning about arborists' climbing/friction hitches or rockclimbers belay and anchor rigging or fishing knotting/rigging will find little or no help here.

This book is the fruit of a live passion for knot tying; it contains approximately 3900 knots, sinnets and splices accompanied with individual explanations and 7000 drawings.

The involvement of Mr. Ashley with knots began as he relates, in his early childhood when his two uncles that were whaling captains taught him the first lessons in knot tying, after this he began the gathering and practical study of every kind of knot that crossed his path. The result is this imposing book that took him 11 years to finish.

The book presents in an organized way knots of general utility, and others that are used in more particular circumstances as fishing or camping. You can find and discover scores of very interesting uses for knots from simple ornamental to practical and useful purposes. The sections that I enjoyed the most are the one about occupational knots and the section about tricks and puzzles, one can spend hours and hours navigating through the book that is so full of interesting details and curiosities.

If you are like me a beginner in knot tying, you could find some of the illustrations and directions a little difficult to follow at first, but I can assure you that if you keep trying, in a short time you will get the knack of it, and you will agree with the author when he says: "To me the simple act of tying a knot is an adventure in unlimited space."