Bu Na EE HITCH APPLICATIONS ‘The buntline hitch was traditionally used to secure a janyard to a cringle, eyelet, ring or swivel. These days it is also used on tools with small holes in their handles. Note the short end trapped on the inside of the knot (fig. 3). This is not recommended in cases where the hitch needs to be undone easily, because it is likely to jam and resist the efforts of fingers to free it. However, where something more secure than the normal two half-hitches is needed, the buntline hitch is useful. When tied ina strip of material, it turns out to be the common knot used for men’s neckties (one of life’s lesser- known trivial facts). METHOD Make two half-hitches, tying the second inside the first (figs 1-3). HISTORY ‘The buntline was attached to a sail’s footrope, then passed up in front of that sail to a block on the yard, from where it could be used to pull the bottom of the sail up and so spill the wind out of it. As the sail we ele