Ashley Book of Knots
by Clifford Ashley · first published 1944
49% recommend49% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Encyclopedic reference on thousands of knots, illustrated by a marine painter who spent decades documenting them, with historical notes on their origins; suits knot hobbyists and anyone curious about sailing lore.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The most complete compilation of knots, how to tie them and there uses.
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For anyone interested in knots and knot tying, the Ashley Book of Knots[1] is a wonderful book to have. I've spent many happy hours pouring over the knots and their descriptions in this book. [1] - http://www.amazon.com/The-Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford/dp/0385...
on “Knot Strength: Structures That Make a Natural-Fiber Knot Strong or Weak (2010)” ↗As useful as sites like these are, there is still no substitute for the encyclopedic Ashley Book of Knots[1][2], which contains every knot under the sun and then some (up to the time it was written -- and, to be fair, quite a few knots have been invented since then, but it's still an impressive tome). [1]…
on “Animated Knots: Learn how to tie knots with step-by-step animation” ↗…The Brewmaster's Table --- MISC --- Robot Building for Beginners Mountaineering - The Freedom of the Hills A First Course in Coding Theory The Computational Beauty of Nature Total Control The Ashley Book of Knots Make: Electronics
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗The Ashley Book of Knots is also a beautifully hand-written book. https://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford-W/dp/03850...
on “You Can Learn Glass Blowing (1938)” ↗The Ashley Book of Knots is fantastic. You could probably find it at your local library.
on “Knots 3D – Learn how to tie over 150 useful knots” ↗…relevant and answers on how to govern themselves and how they ended up in the mess. Basically whatever prevents Lord of the Flies and people dying of dysentery would I think have priority. Also gonna throw Ashley Book of Knots as a concrete recommendation in there because knowing your knots is probably a good idea when the world has ended and that book is a classic
on “Ask HN: What content/knowledge is most important?” ↗Thanks for sharing this! I've gotten into knot tying in the new year, and keep finding applications and things to do with knots. Here are some other resources I've used: Ashley Book of Knots [0], Grog's animated knots [1], and youtube. A lot of useful knots build on basic knots and variations of basic knots. More complex knots used to be daunting to me (trying to memorize how to tie the…
on “Knot Theory and its Applications [pdf]” ↗The Ashley Book of Knots became public domain a few years ago (70 years after Ashley died) and you should absolutely read it or at least skim it here: https://archive.org/details/TheAshleyBookOfKnots This would have been sooner…
on “Essential Climbing Knots” ↗…knots and their tying. His book has some of my favorite knots in it and is a joy to have received as a gift when I was younger. His stopper knot is a pretty cool one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ashley_Book_of_Knots
on “How strong is your knot?” ↗I recently received a copy of The Ashley Book of Knots and it has a fascinating narrative on the origins of the different knots intertwined with great illustrations. Apparently whalers were considered the upper echelon of seaman compared to their brethren…
on “The Art of Whaling: Illustrations from the Logbooks of Nantucket Whaleships” ↗I saw "The Ashley Book of Knots" mentioned on another post, and it has some interesting history of knots. Especially that the introduction of books led to sailors spending more time not knotting.
on “Why mathematicians study knots” ↗Folks whom like this might also be interested in the Ashley Book of Knots (ABoK). Since it should be public domain, here's a pdf magnet url: magnet:?xt=urn:btih:9777cb900abc65939b7d2cab9cc36c51ecb7a95a&dn=The+Ashley+Book++of+Knots&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.openbittorrent.com%3A80&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fopen.demonii.com%3A1337&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.coppersurfer.tk%3A6969&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Fexodus.desync.com%3A6969
on “507 Mechanical Movements (1868)” ↗…of a casual hobby, but knowing knots can vastly enhance other activities. The spatial challenge of learning the knots is what's most appealing to me right now. I've got two books at the moment, the 'Ashley Book of Knots' which is a classic, and the "Everything Knots Book".
on “Every Computer Scientist Should Have a Creative Hobby” ↗A non-mathematical, but much more practical resource, is the Ashley Book of Knots (fondly known as "ABOK"). Clifford Ashley was a sailor who collected knots, and an accomplished painter and writer. If you find yourself in New Bedford, MA, you can see some of his work in the whaling…
on “The Knot Book: Introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Knots (1994) [pdf]” ↗I've had the Ashley Book of Knots for a long time. It's great. According to the book, Ashley was one of the last people to actually work on a traditional square rigged sailing ship. In the book I learned that the ship's carpenter early…
on “Essential Climbing Knots” ↗