Day 05 - Sheet Bend

Today's knot is the sheet bend. This knot is used to connect any two rope ends together. There are other knots that can do this, too, but the sheet bend is the best because it works well even when the two ropes are of different thicknesses.

I will demonstrate this knot and then you will spend the bell mastering it. Be sure to also practice the other 4 knots and think about the purpose of each. Thus far, we have learned:

1. Alpine butterfly loop: great for putting a static bight in a rope when you cannot reach the ends of the rope
2. bowline hitch: great for any time when you need a static bight at the end of a rope, like when you are turning a rope into a dog leash or if you are using a rope to help someone up out of a ravine
3. midshipman's hitch: ideal for situations where you want to be able to increase or decrease tension in a rope after it has been tied (as when setting up tents and tarps); this knot is sometimes called the taut-line hitch
4. power cinch: this is the go-to knot any time you need to hold something down that weighs more than you do, because it will double your strength due to its mechanical advantage; this knot is sometimes called the trucker's hitch
5. sheet bend: this is the best knot for joining two ends of a rope; this lets you create one long rope from two shorter ropes or to create a strong loop out of a single length of rope