Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Book of Decorative Knots

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been waiting for this book for over a year. This was not a disappointment! This has very good illustrations and pictures. The book itself is is beautiful and can be a coffee table peice. As with any book about a skill, I'm sure it will be below some experts, but you will get results. The best part, is for projects for wrapping objects, there are real pictures of the project being made. For some this might not be necessary, but for visual learners, this is great. Happy knotting.

First, I am relatively new to the decorative knotting world. That being said, I have accumulated a good sized collection of books already, probably 12-15 in number. So far, I would consider this book a must-have for the decorative knotter.

The author covers a remarkable spectrum of knots with excellent pictures and pretty good directions. The book is over 500 pages, so you definitely get your money's worth. There are sections on braids, plaits and sennits, turk's heads, oriental knots, flat decorative knots, combinations of wall and crown knots and more. There are pictures of various projects by expert knotters--some of them amazing--which may inspire you to start on your next project.

Although it would be hard for me to get by without Tom Hall's book and the books from Don Burrhus (knottool.com), if I had to have only one knot book, I would pick this one due to the breadth of topics covered.

Pros:
Great price
Great pictures, full color
Broad spectrum of knots covered, well organized
Knot directions pretty clear

Cons:
Some pictures could have more contrast in the cord colors to make for easier viewing

Exactly as the title say The Ultimate book of Knots. I have been a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers ten years and I'm still learning to tie knots. Excellent How-to photos of intricate knots.

A majority of the photos in this book are terrible. Most use dark colored line and many are knots made with dark colored line on dark colored objects and it is apparent that little or no thought of contrast was considered. If you are one who best learns by visual example stay away from this book because you will be frustrated before you get through the first knotting examples.

A book with far better illustrations and directions is: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots and Ropework: Over 200 Tying Techniques with Step-by-Step Photographs by Geoffrey Budworth, also available from Amazon. And then there is the grand-daddy of them all "Ashley's Book Of Knots" (ABOK) which is well worth the $60 price.