Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/06/learn-this-japanese-pole-lashing-technique.html
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But I thought the Poles were closed?
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I really want to learn to tie better knots. I got some para cord for practice. And i have done some braiding and knot tying… but I have to slooowwwlly follow a video or picture and even then It is like witch craft.
I guess it is like anything, practices makes perfect.
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Uh-huh. Pole lashing. Not kinbaku at all.
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I don’t know what makes this Japanese. Apart from the X pattern in the front, it’s a minor variation on the square lashing taught by the scouts and used in the western world for millennia.
Perhaps it would be better if he pulled the rope properly taut, but the poles don’t seem to be held very rigidly at 90 degrees.
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This site has the clearest step-by-step instructions I’ve found, and you can pause it at each step.
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Pole lashings are really cool! I used something similar to this to make a trellis out of some flimsy bamboo sticks a year or two ago. They held up all season and then some. If you’re building something like that, using a lashing material that shrinks as it dries makes the connection more and more secure as the season progresses. I found them fun and effective.
I think I used this technique, which looks to me to be slightly different than the one in this video.
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Least fun Japanese rope tying video ever. But, most SFW too…
@teknocholer, it’s probably called Japanese because the tie is done with two bight ends of equal lengths, putting the vertical pole in the bend in the middle of the rope. A lot of Japanese style ropework is done with a doubled rope, working from the center of the (normally shorter) rope, while most western ties are done with a longer, single rope, working from one end. I have no idea the history of this tie; but it seems very Japanese in style and would not surprise me if this variant was prevalent in use in Japan.
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Every year I lash together some bamboo poles to make a pyramid structure for pole beans to climb. It involves 16 square lashings and a couple of sheer lashings, but last year I cut the work in half by permanently lashing two A-frames with copper wire. They can still be stored flat. I use sisal garden twine, that easily lasts a season and can be composted.
That’s simpler and less confusing than the video, although I don’t know why the author thinks clove hitches are a dealbreaker.
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Came for the shibari. Leaving dissatisfied
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I’m fairly convinced that I have a neurological deficit which leaves me almost totally unable to learn knots. I am way above average on most spatial stuff, probably a bit better than average with manual dexterity, and rote memorization comes fairly easy to me.
Yet I still recall the day a fourth grade teacher showed me what’s called a ‘cheater bow’ which allowed me to tie my own shoes for the first time. I eventually married someone who, while we were together, learned rope work and suspension to the extent that she was teaching classes by the time we divorced. Yet when I finish securing the load in a truck, I hand the ends of the ropes to literally anyone else.
Turns out I’m just not really into tying people up, but when such an occasion arises, I channel Indiana Jones facing that dude with the scimitar in the second movie as I grab whatever combination of velcro and carabiners lets me sidestep the issue most gracefully.
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Boom, and quite possibly, tish!
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Check out Animated Knots (dot com). Excellent, step by step animations for pretty much any knot. In reality you only need to learn 4 or 5 for practical purposes -
A good hitch to attach a line to a fixed point eg round turn and two half hitches.
A quick release hitch eg evenk hitch
An adjustable tension hitch for things like tent guy lines eg Farrimond friction hitch
A good bend to join two lines together eg Zeppelin bend
A fixed loop in the end of a line eg bowline or figure 8 loop
And then learn the trucker’s hitch to lash down loads and generally look extra manly and Ron Swanson-like.
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I’d like to hear @74hc595’s opinion on this.
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You’re not alone! Videos and picture tutorials are hard. I highly recommend a tutor or class situation for learning basic ropework.
Places that offer dogman and rigging licences often have classes dedicated to this stuff as do many sailing certifications. Bribe a tutor with some cash or their favourite bottle of booze to sit in if you can!
Every human being should learn the basics - the half dozen most used sailing knots, the uni-knot (fishing staple) and the trucker’s hitch. 3 strand rope skills like an end splice, eye splice and basic whipping knots are also great practical (and arty) fun.
These skills are so useful and empowering I’d go so far as to count them as critical to being an educated person.
Note: The lashing in the video seems dubious. I would have liked to see them give it a wiggle to demonstrate it’s effectiveness.
I had the same thought. This technique looks slightly more annoying than what I learned in the scouts. Also starting with equal length ropes sounds annoying. If you don’t have exactly the right length you’ll probably end up with some wastage.
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There’s only one rule - it has to be consensual 
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What if you don’t speak Polish?
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Then you have to polish up your language skills.
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