Blood knot hack

[RisenFly]

Just posted this video on my blood knot hack. Simple trick to get the knot tied just a bit easier IMO.

https://youtu.be/CbHs9NND-gA

 

[GeneBeam]

Thank you.

 

[maxima12]

Blood knots, I am the best in the world. At one time 180 an hour. No hack, i did not take a peek. May be something my boy, sold out for.

Hope he got a ribbon!

let us say 34 years at low ball 5000 leaders a year, some years 15,000 leaders. 7 piece formula= 6 knots.

Tied lot of blood knots. No need to see how a beginner has all the wraps.

Maxima12

 

[RisenFly]

maxima12 wrote:
Blood knots, I am the best in the world. At one time 180 an hour. No hack, i did not take a peek. May be something my boy, sold out for.

Hope he got a ribbon!

let us say 34 years at low ball 5000 leaders a year, some years 15,000 leaders. 7 piece formula= 6 knots.

Tied lot of blood knots. No need to see how a beginner has all the wraps.

Maxima12

summary of the hack. 8 total twists, but after 4 twists put the first tag end in so you know where the middle is and can easily put the 2nd tag in opposite way after the 2nd 4 wraps. Speeds it up for me. I don't tie nearly that many but do hand tie a few leaders for the shop and this little trick helps save a bit of time.

 

[Bamboozle]

"A hack...?"

Do you mean there actually is someone, anyone out there that actually tries to tie a blood knot WITHOUT first sticking the tag end from the first wraps into what will become the opening for the other tag end??

I have been tying blood knots with "your hack" since Theodore Gordon was in knickers and have never seen it demonstrated any other way in any book or video worth reading or watching.

If it is demonstrated today by trying to make all of the twists without poking the 1st tag through, it probably explains why so many newbies shy away from blood knots because they are "too difficult."

If that how you initially learned it, you better find a better source for learning fishing knots... ;-)

 

[redietz]

Bamboozle wrote:

I have been tying blood knots with "your hack" since Theodore Gordon was in knickers and have never seen it demonstrated any other way in any book or video worth reading or watching.

Nor have I. I can't even conceive that anyone would try to make all the wraps and then pick apart the middle.

 

[afishinado]

redietz wrote:

Bamboozle wrote:

I have been tying blood knots with "your hack" since Theodore Gordon was in knickers and have never seen it demonstrated any other way in any book or video worth reading or watching.

Nor have I. I can't even conceive that anyone would try to make all the wraps and then pick apart the middle.

True, it can't be done that way, at least properly since the half the wraps should be wrapped in one direction and the other half wrapped in the other direction.

 

[RisenFly]

Bamboozle wrote:
"A hack...?"

Do you mean there actually is someone, anyone out there that actually tries to tie a blood knot WITHOUT first sticking the tag end from the first wraps into what will become the opening for the other tag end??

I have been tying blood knots with "your hack" since Theodore Gordon was in knickers and have never seen it demonstrated any other way in any book or video worth reading or watching.

If it is demonstrated today by trying to make all of the twists without poking the 1st tag through, it probably explains why so many newbies shy away from blood knots because they are "too difficult."

If that how you initially learned it, you better find a better source for learning fishing knots... ;-)

Lay off a bit, don't you think? I'm by far no newbie and have taught this way to a ton of people that have never seen it before. So yes, it's a hack, or at least an improved way for many people to tie the knot. And yes I believe most people don't tie this knot and choose a surgeons because they don't know how to tie it easily.

 

[Bamboozle]

A bit sensitive, eh?

After doing a bit of searching on the Internet, I have discovered that there are more than few people who never got the memo 100 years ago that you don't need a toothpick, a carabiner, or your thumb to tie a blood knot.

So now I know where you find the confused people to show your hack to...

Based on THOSE videos, anything would be an improvement, err excuse me, a hack. However, trust me it's nothing new.

Here's MY "hack" to your hack (although I'm sure I didn't invent it):

When you do the first series of wraps and put the 1st tag where the two pieces cross, instead of trying to pinch the 1st tag between your fingers or let it do what it wants, fold it back across the wraps you just made and hold it and the wraps between whatever fingers work best. That will keep you from losing the 1st tag or having it pull/fall out of the opening as you make the next set of wraps.

After you have made the opposite 2nd set of wraps, if you find the opening is a bit small, with the 1st tag still folded over, slip it between the fingers of your other hand and just pull back on the 1st tag and it will enlarge the "opening" making it MUCH easier to put the 2nd tag through. That pays huge dividends if you are using fine tippets when you are trying to "thread" the needle with the 2nd tag.

Another hack to that hack:

If you are adding tippet to an existing intermediate section and want to keep that intermediate section as long as possible, make the first series of wraps with the material you are adding because if you are incorporating the 1st hack, you will want to fold that tag over before winding the second set.

The 2nd set of wraps with the intermediate section doesn't need to have as long a working length because you don't need to fold the tag over on the 2nd set of wraps so you can save an inch of leader.

A final hack to the hack of the hack:

I find blood knots are a WHOLE lot easier to tie if the material is under tension. Therefore, whether fishing or tying knots at home, I don't cut the material I am adding off of the spool until I FINISH the knot and I try and have it pulled taught somehow (with a tippet dispenser or in a pocket) when I tie the knot.

I've watched more than few fishermen struggle to tie a blood knot because they cut a piece of tippet they planned to add off of the spool first.

When fishing, I also let a belly of line drag in the water and hold just my leader to get some tension on the end where I am adding the tippet.

 

[Baron]

Well Well, Funny you bring this up Risen. I was about to post a New Topic on this very subject. Don't mind Bam's approach as I can attest he means well and in discussion he "gets right too it" and is a fantastic resource as are you. I have been tying the triple surgeon, as mentioned, because it is easy and because I can tie it in almost dark conditions. It became noticeable that the Surgeons aren't as flat and grab more debris upon retrieving. I thought you old farts would come through again with an easy was to do it and now I only need to try them out and practice to know which method works best for me.
Thank you all so much.

 

[Baron]

Well I'm thankful to have found this post. Just tied this not a dozen times with old backing. Tomorrow I switch to Mono. While watching the news I just tie them over and over.

 

[Bamboozle]

With practice, you can tie them with almost NO waste which allows you to make leader sections exactly the length you want.

When I spent countless hours making leaders my fingers would get sore, so there were times when a couple of rags around my fingers when I pulled, helped a lot.

 

[Baron]

Might happen here. As an ex-arborist knots have always intrigued me, but most individuals never explore alternatives, myself included, until its forced on them.

 

[mute]

Holy crap. If it aint politics its blood knots. Glad I have better things to get my panties in a bunch over these days. Then again I only rock the g-strings so its never really a problem, HA.

Thanks for the tip Risen, whether its usable, useless or overall non applicable I at-least appreciate the time and effort you spent contributing something that someone may or may not utilize.

 

[Baron]

Stupid knot!

It haunts me, that and the Nail knot.

I’ve been tying these at night for two nights now. Gonna beat this.

So far so good.

 

[RisenFly]

Baron wrote:
Stupid knot!

It haunts me, that and the Nail knot.

I’ve been tying these at night for two nights now. Gonna beat this.

So far so good.

The nail not is a tough one, even with the tools. I have a "hack" for that one without a tool at all I might make a video for at some point as well.

 

[RisenFly]

Bamboozle wrote:
With practice, you can tie them with almost NO waste which allows you to make leader sections exactly the length you want.

When I spent countless hours making leaders my fingers would get sore, so there were times when a couple of rags around my fingers when I pulled, helped a lot.

Yep I have it down that each knot I lose 1" of material. So I can measure out each section for my leaders and know what the finished leader length is.

 

[RisenFly]

mute wrote:
Holy crap. If it aint politics its blood knots. Glad I have better things to get my panties in a bunch over these days. Then again I only rock the g-strings so its never really a problem, HA.

Thanks for the tip Risen, whether its usable, useless or overall non applicable I at-least appreciate the time and effort you spent contributing something that someone may or may not utilize.

I've shared this with probably a few dozen people in the shop since we opened and no one had ever seen it done before. So IMO it's a needed tip.

 

[Bamboozle]

If you ever whipped the end of a sisal or cotton rope with twine to keep it from unfraying, you should realize that you can easily adapt that technique to tying a nail knot without a tool.

At the fly shop where I bought my first fly rod decades ago, that was the only way the owner tied nail knots. The first time I saw him do it I was amazed since I had a fancy schmancy nail knot tool that I used and struggled with...

...never again.

Some folks like to temporarily double the fly line over which makes it easier to not have the end of the fly line pull free before cinching the wraps of the leader, OR they use the doubled fly line like a nail, but I just do the wraps further up the line before cinching them tight.

Works like a charm.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

"Hack" is just a label that gets clicks. What Risen demonstrated is the way I've been tying blood knots for 30 years. If there is a generation of folks tying them any other way, this video has value.

I would ad two modifications to the video: 1. use colored mono instead of backing so you don't have frayed ends to contend with; 2. moisten the knot before tightening. Other than that, well done.

We should try to not be too egocentric when evaluating the value of these kinds of videos, lest we reduce ourselves to old guys shaking our cane (rods) on our front lawns.