Ancient Web: Glenn Dickey Made a Ropework Reference Out of Knots and Names

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.

One knot can have enough names to confuse an entire crew. Glenn Dickey thought the problem, and the ropework behind it, deserved a personal reference site.

Visit More Than Knots.

The homepage is a compact collection of links leading to photographs, bowline variations, knot boards, flat knotting, hitching, Turk's Head knots, historical ships, scouting, and walking staffs. Its copyright line covers 2008–2012. It is a later personal archive whose page layout still resembles an earlier era of hobby websites.

Instead of an endlessly expanding feed of tutorials, the site divides subjects into little reference rooms. Some links are pictorial, others primarily textual.

Same knot, different name

The knot names list is a particularly useful piece of collecting. Dickey gives alternate names for many familiar ties, drawing on Clifford Ashley's Book of Knots, Derrick Lewis's guide, and other sources.

A figure-eight knot is also listed as a Flemish or Savoy knot. The sheet bend appears with names such as the becket bend and flag bend. A carrick bend has names connected with anchors, sailors, and other uses. The document does not establish that every term was used in all places or periods, but it makes clear why old descriptions can be difficult to compare.

Another page on knot morphing describes changing a tied knot into another recognizable knot without undoing it. Dickey credits fellow International Guild of Knot Tyers member Richard Wilcox for introducing him to the technique.

His examples include changing a flat Turk's Head to a cylindrical form, altering a reef knot into a lark's head, and converting a granny knot into other hitches. The page promises more pictures and descriptions as they become available. That unfinished note is characteristic of a personal reference in progress, not a packaged course.

The bowline index further divides knot names from photographs, preserving different paths for readers who want terminology or a visual comparison.

This archive matters because practical crafts carry much of their knowledge through variants, nicknames, and demonstrations. A small independent website could give those scattered traditions a durable set of addresses.

Browse the knot-name catalog and morphing examples.

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.