Tuesday 3 February 2015

Boola Boola and Bugbears

Basically I suck at the Boola Boola so I use the Somerville Bowline for my single/double column ties. Now there are a few reasons for this.
  • Its bomb proof - its basically impossible to tie wrong or result in slipage
  • With the twist tie method the Somerville Bowline is about as fast as the Boola Boola.
  • Somerville Bowline doesnt need reinforcement.
But given its flaws (or my incompetence), it is still good to know how to tie a Boola Boola. So what tricks do i use to make sure I dont stuff it up.
  • Cross the tail with the standing before capturing the loops.
  • Make a loop in the standing end by grabbing underneath with your left hand and rotating clockwise. 
  • Thread the tail thru the loop and tighten 90 degrees to the loops
  • Settle the knot.
  • Loop the standing again and thread through the tail to reinforce/lock the knot.
While the Somerville Bowline is probably not traditional it is functional. The same can be said for the Boola Boola being a functional improvement to the Hojojitsu Slip knot.