Double Matthew Walker Knot
"A sailor, having been sentenced to death by a judge who in earlier life had been a sailor himself, was reprieved by the judge because of their common fellowship of the sea. The judge offered the sailor a full pardon if he could show him a knot that he, the judge could neither tie nor untie."¹ Thus the Double Matthew Walker Knot, a stopper knot used on topmast rigging lanyards.

Smart Knot Trick
To separate two interlocked Bowlines without untying either: The loop end of one Bowline must be backtracked into the other knot until it has capped the other end of the rope and is withdrawn. The second knot must be well opened before it is entered.¹

Bowline on a bight
Used to make two loops in a rope. Sailors used it to lower injured sailors from ship and riggings.

Sir Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell
Founder of the Boy Scouting movement.

Sheepshank
Used to shorten rope without cutting, and to make a wounded rope safe until repairs can be made.

Square Knot
I have been told that there are 256 ways to tie this knot wrong. A knot is either tied right or it is tied wrong. If this knot is tied wrong or used incorrectly it is dangerous. The square knot is used to join the ends of two ropes together that are the same size, texture, and stiffness.

Smart Knot Trick
To untie a Square Knot that has been tied by one of the audience. While talking you ostensibly tighten the knot by pulling at first one end and then the other, and at the right moment, unseen by the audience, you pull and straighten out the knot as shown by the diagrams. Cover the knot with your hand. When you open your hand there is no knot, it having slipped off the end as shown by the arrows in the second diagram. This is the way sailors untie square knots.¹

Bowline
The bowline is used to make a secure loop in the end of a rope.

Turk's-Head
A decorative knot used for buttons among other things.

Smart Knot Trick
Challenge: To hold in hand the opposite corners of an unknotted handkerchief and, without once letting go, to tie a knot in the handkerchief. This has also been called the "Fourth-dimensional Knot" because it appears from nowhere in particular. The spectators having failed to solve the puzzle, the performer seats himself at a table with a handkerchief stretched before him. He folds his arms and dallies negligently, first with one end of the handkerchief, then the other; suddenly, as he unfolds his arms the knot appears.¹