Back Acres: Useful Knots and Tow Strapping Brush with a Double Half-Hitch Slip Knot

A tractor is not required for tow strapping. Physical strength and determination can also be used. A tow strap would be useful for camping or surviving - to help gather wood for the camp fire. Dragging wood and brush piles across the ground can also be useful for making new paths. Today on the homestead I'll be using the lawn tractor and a tow strap for moving freshly trimmed branches to the brush pile for aging.

Knots can be useful in many situations - mountain climbing, boating, and vehicle cargo strapping are a few more examples. The knot I use the most is a double half-hitch with a slip knot. I use it for the easy bundling and tow strapping of small wood and brush piles. In this post I will be demonstrating half-hitch knots, a square knot for joining two ropes, and the overhand loop knot for adding a loop to the end of a strap or rope.

Pruned Branches and Tow Strap

The picture above is of the cedar and juniper tree pruned branches that need to be moved to the brush pile. The aged branches from the brush pile will soon be used to make char in the fire pit for garden row clay soil amending. In the picture above you can also see the yellow tow strap laid out and hitched to the lawn tractor.

In the picture below you can see how the branches have been piled - centered and perpendicular to the tow strap with ample tow strap beyond this small brush pile.

Before we bundle up the small brush pile, let's first go over a few useful knots.

A Few Useful Knots

Before we get the the double half-hitch with a slip knot - first are the half-hitches. In the picture below is a Half-Hitch tied around the bar of a chair leg. Hitches usually go around something - like a grommet, a tree, or a small pile of brush.

Half-Hitch

The Double Half-Hitch below has more friction and holding strength than the single half-hitch.

Double Half-Hitch

A tied pair of show laces has two slip knots. For my favorite knot we will be using a single slip knot for easy knot release. It can be difficult to untie a regular double half hitch when the knot has been squeezed tight with the force of pulling - a Double Half-Hitch with a Slip Knot makes the knot release much easier.

Double Half-Hitch with Slip Knot

Click the picture below to watch the single half-hitch, the double half-hitch, and the double half-hitch with a slip knot video demonstrations.

Half-Hitch Knots Video

The Square Knot - Two Ropes into One

Sometimes a rope or tow strip isn't quite long enough. With an extra strap or rope, the two can be joined to make one longer rope with the Square Knot. The picture below shows a loosely tied Square Knot.

In the picture below you can see the square knot holding the two pieces of rope together - pulled tight.

To loosen the square knot, it helps to pull to straighten out one of the ropes.

Square Knot Video

Overhand Loop Knot for a Loop on the End

Sometimes it can be useful to have a loop on the end of a strap or rope. Useful for hooking to carabiners, throwing over a tree branch to feed the other end of the rope through for an impromptu lasso, as a stirrup for a foot hold, for docking a boat, and many other uses. Below is a picture of the Overhand Loop Knot.

Overhand Loop Knot Video

Knots can be very useful. For tying knots on location, here is a link to a Downloadable and Printable .PDF file: https://meritbadge.org/wiki/images/d/de/Step-By-Step-Knots-11-Basic-Scout-Knots.pdf

Tow Strapping a Small Brush Pile

In the video below you can see how I bundle a small branch brush pile with a tow strap and the double half-hitch with a slip knot.

Good Ole Lawn Tractor Pull

Watch the video of the brush pile being towed with a view from behind the lawn tractor seat. I didn't strap the camera tripod down, so prepare for a tipsy turvy ride - I'll be sure to strap it down next time. Notice how the brush pile twists and turns, then settles almost parallel with the tow rope while sliding across the ground.

Lawn Tractor Pull Video

The quick release of the double half-hitch with a slip knot is demonstrated in the video below.

Slip Knot Quick Release Video

You can see the green and newly stacked branches in this large branch brush pile. I will have to dig out the fire pit soon to get started on the char for the garden soil.

You may find these previous posts useful:

• Clearing Trees for the Garden & Other Projects - with a Pick Axe, Folding Saw, and Electric Chainsaw
• A Garden Row Seeder and Seeds for Spring Seeding
• Back Acres: The Tools Use Most for Lawn, Tree, and Snow-Tasks

Have a great day!