The Girth Hitch is one of the simplest out there, but it can be an extremely useful knot. This week, Bryan demonstrates how to tie the Girth Hitch, as well as the very similar Cow Hitch.
In addition to both of those methods, Bryan shows how the Girth Hitch fits into our ongoing DIY Knot Board Display.
Girth Hitch/Cow Hitch » Hitches
(Strength: 4/Security: 5/Stability: 5/Difficulty: 1) See below for what these ratings mean.
With a Cow Hitch, the exact same hitch pattern is created, but as you’ll see in the video, it’s done so with a single line of rope. Also, picture the standing end being attached to a Cow. After wrapping the working end around the object you’re tying the “cow” onto, you now have an unsecured end and when the standing end is pulled, the hitch will slip.
Ratings
Strength/Security/Stability/Difficulty
Each knot will be assigned a rating from 1-5 (1 representing the lowest score) based on the following four properties:
Strength – All knots will weaken the strength of a rope, however, there are knots that are stronger than others. The scale here will reflect how strong the rope remains with the specified knot.
Security – The security scale refers to how well the knot will stay tied, and resist coming loose under a normal load.
Stability – Stability refers to how easily the knot will come untied under an abnormal load (i.e. the knot being pulled in a direction it was not intended to) A lower score here represents instability.
Difficulty – The lower the number, the easier a knot is to tie.