Customer Reviews

Handbook Of Knots Expanded Edition

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

for the price the best book on knots there is & I bought (and returned them all :-)
Very complete concerning how to use the knots, and their terminology. Little pictograms in the upperhand corner show it's intended uses, and takes you through all the various types of material and how to prepare it for your work. But the real point is can you replicate the knot? And yes Pawson shows good detail both in picture and word of how to obtain that particular knot.

The cover can also be used as a bookmark so go get some string and start knotting. I always keep some on me for when I have time with nothing to do. Knotting is a cheap and easy hobby but like all else, it takes practise.
This book makes a great hobby totally affordable and fun.

Des Pawson created a great manual for tying all types of knots. He successfully breaks down the various categories to include essential basics, their technical counterparts and various other useful techniques for both decorative uses and inquisitive minds.

As an avid sailor and user of all types of knots, I can't emphasize enough the importance of strongly knowing how to tie the perfect knot when needed. I've been waiting to buy a knot book for years and this one is perfect. The first time I came across his book, a fellow sailor pulled it off the shelf of his vessel to quickly show me an example. After that I was sold on the colorful pictures, simple explainations and great organization of his collection.

Pawsons book is a great guide and I find myself picking it up at various times to simply relax, practice my old knots, and learn a few new tricks.

I bought this book as a gift for my husband and he loves it. When we went camping he was so proud of himself for tying the right knots. The images and step by step instructions are clear and easy to follow.

My son, a Scout, has had hours of fun from this book. It has very clear instructions and great photos. We bought another copy as a gift for a friend.

This book is excellent. It has really easy to follow instructions including several pictures per knot.
More than enough knots for me and more than I will be able to remember anyway.
I would recommend to anyone wanting a good cheap start to knots.

Mr. Des Pawson's HANDBOOK OF KNOTS is an intelligent compendium of the most practical and used knots to be found on a construction site, camping ground, sailing ship, or diver's barge. Mr. Pawson demonstrates both his wisdom and practical expertise in its design as the book is compact and slim enough to slide into the pocket of one's coveralls or overalls and easily withdrawn with one hand as you hang on aloft with the other. If the book were made totally waterproof then it could not be more improved upon for those miserable rainy days at the docks or out in the harbor. This very useful book ought to be found in every prudent riggers tool bag.

This is overall a good book, with some interesting knots and useful illustrations. At times, however--more frequently than is acceptable--I have found the instructions a little too telegraphic and the illustrations completely mysterious. For instance, the illustrations sometimes seem to change orientation from one step to the next with no word of warning. At other times, critical parts of the knot are obscured by a hand of the person holding it. The descriptions sometimes give me the feeling that small but crucial operations have been left out, as if they belonged to the author's unconscious "muscle memory" and he never thought to include them. For example, it seems to me that it is topologically imposible ;-) to produce the Turqouise Turtle (pg. 52) following the the instructions and illustrations. You just can't get from step 3 to 4 without some missing manipulation of the rope.

An excellent book on most aspects of knot tying. From rope types and descriptions to rope storage techniques this book provides all the essential information that the novice or intermediate knot tying individual would find practical. The pages are filled with crisp attractive photographs of knots in their various stages. The only weakness is that some knots are poorly represented pictorially making it increasingly difficult to tie. In summary I found the book very useful and it is highly recommended.

There are a lot of knot books out there, and this is one of the best. It also contains information on splicing ropes, which is suprisingly absent from about 90% of the other knot books out there.

I was truly surprised by Pawson's book. From the reviews of others, I was expecting a good deal, and hoped it would be as good as Morrow's Guide to Knots, but adding some information not included in that very good book. When the book arrived, it seemed so slim (actually 160 pages, however) and compact, I couldn't see how it could compare.

However, it's a marvel in presenting a wealth of information very clearly. I think it is considerably more informative than the Morrow book, and also gives clearer explanations and illustrations.

It has very many useful knots that Morrow and most other small books do not have, such as the Alpine Butterfly, Ashley's Bend, Buntline Hitch, and the Klemheist knot, gives good information on splicing that Morrow completely omits, and has a lot of useful tips everywhere. The illustrations are truly first rate.

I was surprised though at the omission of the tautline hitch or Tarbuck knot (either would have sufficed). Indeed there were no "ratcheting" loop knots given that slide open or closed to the degree desired, then locked -- a truly useful class of knot that shouldn't have been omitted. If another knot had to go to make room, the only two that could have gone, in my opinion, are the Jury Mast Knot and the Thief Knot. (Admittedly, the Thief Knot is interesting, and I guess that if you need the Jury Mast Knot, you REALLY need it. But that's not one person in 10,000 these days.)

Morrow's is probably more complete for the fisherman.

I highly recommended "The Handbook of Knots" as a first book on knots, and for most people it will really be all that they ever need, except for the sliding loop knot omission. But if you do need a sliding knot, the Tautline Hitch is actually a Rolling Hitch tied on its own standing part after looping around the object being hitched, so since the book gives the Rolling Hitch, if you know this relationship between the knots, then you're all set and probably won't ever really need another book.

Unless you become fascinated by the subject, in which case you'll need Ashley's book.

Overall, Pawson's book sets a new standard among the smaller, conveniently-sized, highly practical knot books.