Step up Your Knot-Tying Game With the Best Knots Books
We all know how to tie a knot — it’s a childhood skill we all take for granted. But did you know that there are more than 25 different types of knots that could help you handle day-to-day tasks more effectively? You’ve probably never thought about it, but you already employ some level of variety in your knot-tying abilities. For instance, you don’t tie your shoelaces and your grocery shopping bags with the same type of knot, do you? What works for a shoe doesn’t work for a shopping bag, which is exactly why different knot types exist!
Under the right circumstances, this knowledge can prove to be lifesaving as regular first-aid could use those skills. On a more advanced level, even surgeons sometimes use technical knots to patch up a wound properly. Long story short, expanding your knot-tying skills is an extremely valuable skill. So, why not read a fun book about them and gather some evergreen knowledge to make the rest of your life easier? We’ve already gathered a collection of the highest-rated knots books of 2024 for you — so let’s have a look.
Our Top Picks
Comparing the Quality Knots Book of 2024
Best Overall
First up, we have a knots book from the author Sam Fury. It promises to teach over 25 useful knots that are useful for essential purposes like survival, evasion, and escape! That’s because the author himself has had a passion for SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, escape) training since his childhood in Australia! If you’re into hiking or any other adventurous activity, the information shared in this 68-page book is golden. With each description, there are clear demonstrations in the form of high-quality illustrations, making it super easy to understand, even for beginners.
The back of the book states that there are way too many knots for the average person to remember, which is why this book only shares the most practical ones. Thanks to its unmatched online popularity, this book is the best option on this list overall.
Pros
- Offers a collection of genuinely useful knots
- Easy to understand with high-quality illustrations
- Critically acclaimed and popular
Cons
- No digital copy included
Best Colored
Our runner-up is the Geoffrey Budworth knots book. With over 15,000 copies sold, a very high online rating, and tons of positive critiques behind it — you can hardly go wrong with this one. Many sailors, fishermen, campers, climbers, and hikers see it as a must-have guide for clear demonstrations of a collection of solid, useful knots. This book has them all from overhand, figure-of-eight, and crossing knots to bowline and sheet bends!
Unlike many other knots books on the market, this one features colored imagery, which doesn’t let the book get bland. The descriptions for each knot are long, but they’re incredibly well-written. Paired with step-by-step, numbered illustrations, you can easily copy any knot on your first attempt! It has a whopping 160 pages, so you’ll never run out of new knots to try out!
Pros
- Includes useful colorful illustrations
- Extremely well-written descriptions
- A large variety of useful knots
Cons
- Each knot’s intended use sometimes remains unclear
Best Value
Next up, we have a massively popular outdoor knots book by John E. Sherry. With over a million of these sold, you can trust this one to satisfy all your cravings for knot-tying knowledge! What’s unique about this one is that instead of a traditional book, it’s in the form of cards. It makes them much easier to remember as they act as flashcards for your memory! The mini carabiner included in the package allows you to attach them to your waist or backpack.
If you think about it, these cards are much more accessible than a book as you can quickly refer to them whenever you need to tie something up. The best part? They’re completely waterproof and have a no-rust brass grommet, so you can freely expose them to the roughest outdoor conditions without worrying about wear and tear. The 23 all-purpose rope knots shared in these cards will help you tie your boat to the dock, secure a kayak on your car roof, hang lines at camp — and much more.
Pros
- Very accessible for all ages
- Completely waterproof for portability
- Best collection of all-purpose, useful knots
Cons
- Some illustrations can be a bit complex
Best Beginner-Friendly
Next up, we have a knots book that’s specifically geared towards complete beginners. Berndt Sundsten and Jan Jäger have emphasized how it’s a memorable experience for children when they first learn to tie their own shoes! Since the content is so beginner-friendly, it can easily double up as an artsy children’s book for your five– or ten-year-old (s). It’s a ton of fun and a lifetime of valuable skills!
It features some extremely useful loops and knots that are suitable for carrying heavy loads, securing things shut, and much more. From simple knots like the one Santa uses to tie up his gift sack — to the complex double figure eight bend — this 48-page book demonstrates everything with clearly written instructions and detailed illustrations.
Pros
- Easy to learn
- Kid-friendly for educational purposes
- Highly rated and popular
Cons
- Some knots are too confusing for children
Best for Sailors
All sailors know the significance of knots in their day-to-day lives. Whether you operate a dinghy boat or a full-blown yacht, you can’t get by without tying things around to maintain your ship. This book aims to be all-inclusive for that demographic in particular. It guides them through the basic knots, useful hitches, canvas work, hand-sewing, and the art of splicing — all of which are key tools for any sailor.
There are over 100 illustrations that demonstrate each knot with a step-by-step guide. So, no matter how intimidating or complex it looks at first glance, you can always perfectly copy and learn it in no time. Having finished this book, you’ll be better at boat maintenance, belaying, stowing, coiling, and towing procedures — and that’s a pretty good return on investment if you’d ask us!
Pros
- Ideal knot-tying guide for all mariners
- 100+ high-quality illustrations demonstrating knots and steps
- Can help you massively improve your ropework
Cons
- Only targeted toward a niche sailors’ audience
Buyer's Guide to Finding a Knots Book
All of the above books have extremely valuable knot-tying jewels inside them, but you can’t read all of them — can you? So, there’s still some narrowing-down left to do. You can consider the following considerations to find out which book suits you best. From your personal experience level to your profession and preferences, everything comes into play to determine the perfect knots book for you.
Are You a Novice or a Seasoned Pro?
Remember that a book that’s “too easy” will leave you bored, while a book that’s “too complex” will leave you confused. So, the right knots book depends on your experience level.
Ask yourself if you’re a complete beginner in knot-tying, or do you know your way around a rope? For instance, merchant sailors might already be aware of five to ten different types of knots that they use daily, but the average joe wouldn’t. The former class of people should go for slightly advanced books to find actual value in the info they read, while regular folks should stick to simple beginner guides.
Even kid-friendly books like the Berndt Sundsten and Jan Jäger one are ideal for adults with little to no knot variety experience. But, if you finish it and find yourself intrigued to know more, you can jump onto advanced material like the Geoffrey Budworth one.
How Many Pages Can You Handle?
You would not want to get through a 200-page book about knots, only to have forgotten everything by the time you reach the end. So, depending on your passion for knots and your capacity for knowledge retention, you should consider how many pages you can easily handle without getting bored or tired of the book. We suggest sticking to a book under 50 pages if you’ve never learned about knots. It’ll ease you into the genre, teach you some useful knots for everyday use, and allow you to come back to the book for reference whenever you forget a thing or two.
Once you know and remember all the useful knots, feel free to jump onto a bigger book if you feel like it!
Check Reviews
What better way to gauge a book’s potential than to listen to people who have already read it? You can easily find and read the above books’ reviews online. We don’t just mean customer reviews but also the ones that come from professional critiques. Before you invest your money (and tens of hours) into reading a long knots book, you should always look it up online to see if it’s worth your time and financial investment.
See what the people have to say about its writing, illustrations, and structure — and compare the sentiment between different books to find something that clicks with your mindset!
People Also Asked
Why is it so important to know knots?
Having some variety of knots in your arsenal helps with sailing, mountaineering, camping, and tons of other outdoor activities. It also helps with DIY tasks at home like first aid, construction, and repair work.
What is the most secure knot?
Even though that’s a subjective question, the constrictor knot is arguably the strongest binding knot out there. It’s simple, harsh, and secure and can be pretty impossible to untie once it’s fully tightened.
How many major types of knots are there?
There are countless knots, but they can all mostly be classified into three major types: the classic knots where two ends are tied with each other, the hitches where you tie a rope around other objects, and lashings that tie two objects together.