In 1925 the Columbian Rope Company published a brochure with images of impressive displays of Scouting knots to advertise their tape marked pure manilla rope. Two images feature a large knot board made by Troop 4 of Columbus Ohio. I wonder if that knot board is still around? Artful knot boards pictured in the brochure feature some practical Scouting […]
Knots and Pioneering
Zepplin Bend Infographic
The Zeppelin bend is an easy, secure way of joining two lines. Where it really shines, though, is how easy it is to untie even after it has been under a heavy load. Also called a Rosendahl Bend after Commander of the Lakehurst, N.J. Naval Air Station Charles Rosendahl who purportedly insisted it be used to moor airships […]
Eight Knot Contest
The eight knot contest can be an individual or patrol contest, it’s one of my favorite inter-patrol competitions. To hold the eight knot contest you’ll need four ropes of equal diameter, three six foot long, one twelve feet long. A two foot long log about six inches in diameter, and two trees 12-16 feet apart. The […]
Amazing Pioneering Projects
I have seen elaborate gateways, bridges and towers lashed together at Scout events but have yet to see anything remotely like the giant pioneering projects lashed together by these Israeli Scouts. (see more in my post Pioneering Unleashed) Characters from video games, movies, cartoons, and folklore are all featured. The slideshow includes some models of the […]
Philmont Dining Fly Infographic
The Philmont dining fly or crew tarp is a 12′ by 12′ nylon tarp rigged for simple, easy setup. Hiking sticks or trekking poles can be used as poles, eight stakes and three paracord lines are all else that’s required. A 40′ paracord ridge line is rigged underneath the ridge of the tarp and a loop of the line is threaded through […]
Two Scout Pioneering Techniques
Here’s two relatively little-known Scout pioneering methods that are well worth investigating. CatDrill This new (to me at least!) Scout pioneering technique originated with the Italian Scout Group Trento1. CatDrill combines classic pioneering and froissartage (see below). This technique uses smaller diameter wooden poles or branches and lighter cordage to make sturdy joints that can be used to build […]
Six First Class Knots
Here’s a handy one-page reference that shows six First Class Knots – the square knot, taut-line hitch, two half hitches, timber hitch, clove hitch and bowline. Here’s more knot infographics Six First Class Knots and over 40 more infographics and helpful PDF documents Are included in the GET IT NOW BEFORE YOU CLICK THE DOWNLOAD BUTTON Join the growing […]
Turk’s Head Knot Neckerchief Slide
You can download a PDF version of both the right and left handed versions of this infographic below RIGHT HANDED LEFT HANDED The “Turk’s head” knot (named for its resemblance to a turban) is a familiar traditional neckerchief slide or woggle. (Special thanks to Brian Stockton for the left handed version of this infographic) Elaborate Turk’s head knots can be made with […]
Royal Carrick Bend Neckerchief Slide
The decorative royal carrick bend can be fashioned into a great neckerchief slide. Begin by laying out the royal carrick bend flat and then tighten the strands around a cylinder (paper tube, etc.) This is a challenging project, but it’s worth the trouble. Here’s my Carrick Bend Infographic Here’s a royal carrick bend neckerchief slide […]
Baking, Bowlines and Bhangra! – Scouting Video Picks
YouTube is a global phenomenon; 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month, 100 hours of video are uploaded every minute, 80% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US. Here’s this week’s Scouting video picks I hope Scouters find interesting, informative and useful. Danish Dampers for Gourmet Campers! Campfire cooking idea from Scout’s UK series of Rapid […]
Fleur-De-Lis Knot
This video from the author of Paracord Fusion Ties demonstrates tying a fleur-de-lis knot – I have the Kindle edition of Volume one of Paracord Fusion Ties (there are three volumes). It has very easy to follow illustrations and I recommend highly, the number of things you can make with paracord is nearly endless, and it’s great […]
Uses for Pioneering Projects – Ropes and Poles Blog
South African Scouter Peter Le Roux maintains the excellent Ropes and Poles blog. Here’s a recent post on expanding the use of pioneering projects: Pioneering projects are great fun to build, and there is a good sense of accomplishment that can be achieved, but I’m always looking for a pioneering project to be a bit more useful […]
Pioneering Tower Challenge
Pioneering tower challenge; build this tower using this sketch. Send me a picture of the result! It won’t be easy, certainly, but is it possible? You may want to refer to this book for a little help.
Ruan’s Rhino Pioneering Sculpture
This pioneering sculpture was created by a Scout named Ruan from 1st Horison, a Scout group on the West Rand near Johannesburg in South Africa (map below). Ruan is working towards Springbok Scout – the highest rank in Scouts South Africa, like our Eagle Scout. One of the requirements for Springbok is a construction project (there’s also […]
Bottle Sling Knot Infographic
The bottle sling knot has been around for centuries. This ancient method of forming a sling for the neck of a jug or bottle this knot was described in detail by the Greek physician Heraklas in his first century book on surgical knots and slings. The bottle sling can be used to create a handle […]
Constrictor Knot
The constrictor knot is a way of making a secure, temporary or semi-permanent binding (it’s a good temporary whipping for a rope, closing a bag, or holding a punch of poles together.) A close cousin of the clove hitch the constrictor knot adds an additional crossing of the ends under the full wrap. It’s easy […]
Pioneering Camp Seat Infographic
This Pioneering Camp Seat infographic was generously provided by reader and listener Roger Thor Roop – Thank’s Roger! The Infographic is available as a PDF document formatted to print on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. (see the download link below) Get dozens of Scouting resources like this one (infographics and other helpful documents in PDF format) Get the PDF […]
Pioneering Unleashed!
These incredible pioneering structures built by Israeli Scouts are a real inspiration (here’s the website). Obviously a lot of planning and modeling went into creating projects on this scale. It looks like a tremendous amount of fun doesn’t it? I’ll have to show my Scouts these pictures – who wouldn’t want to build a giant Spongebob or Dragon? […]
Carrick Bend
A “bend’ in knotting terminology is a knot used to join two ropes. The carrick bend is consider superior in strength and utility to the square or reef knot (which is not classed as a bend). In 1783 the carrick bend was mentioned in nautical dictionary. There are several possible explanations for the name “Carrick”; Ormonde Castle in Carrick-on-Suir shows […]
Scout Pioneering
Larry Green (no relation) has an excellent website and blog on the subject of Scout Pioneering: My name is Larry Green and for over twenty years, I’ve been a student of the late, greatly-loved and widely admired Adolph Peschke, author of the (previous) Pioneering Merit Badge pamphlet, and the acknowledged designer of thirty original “boy-sized” pioneering projects. Adolph’s way of […]
Pioneering (and more) with John Thurman
Richard Francis “John” Thurman (4 April 1911 – April 1985) was Camp Chief of Gilwell Park from 1943 to 1969. In 1943, he introduced the Gilwell woggle awarded on the completion of basic training, and the Gilwell scarf and the Wood Badge beads were awarded on the completion of Advanced Training. Thurman wrote a number […]
Japanese Square Lashing
I’ve watched Scouts who struggle with the traditional square lashing (especially getting it tight enough) learn the Japanese square lashing quickly and go on to actually building stuff rather than fiddling with lashings. The Japanese Square Lashing is a vast improvement over the traditional square lashing Scouts normally use that involves tying clove hitches. It’s simpler and faster to tie and can be drawn up much […]
Icicle Hitch
A minor miracle in the world of knots the icicle hitch won’t slip on a smooth and/or tapered surface (like an icicle). When tied and arranged carefully the icicle hitch is surprisingly slip-free when pulled parallel to the stave or pole or icicle it is tied on. I first learned the icicle hitch years ago […]
Trucker’s Hitch Infographic
The trucker’s hitch is a compound knot that functions as a kind of pulley affording a 3-1 mechanical advantage effectively tripling the amount of pull on the working end. I use the trucker’s hitch when tightening up tarp lines, securing loads or making bundles. See my tarp knots infographic for more tarp knots The hitch […]
