Knots: The essential step-by-step guide for knot tying from beginner to advanced (Collins Gem) Paperback – 7 Feb. 2005

This is, as you can see from the photos of another reviewer, a very clear and easy to follow little book so i find it very helpful. Just a shame it does not include sone of the basic splices.

Small, informative with loads of pictures to help you learn, easy to carry.

Decent beginner's guide on how to tie some basic knots. It provides step-by-step photos/instructions and multiple knot variations in some cases, e.g. bowline, double bowline. It also briefly explains what the knot's used for.There's a section on decorative knots at the end which I mostly didn't bother with, but learned all the rest so the instructions work.It probably goes without saying that no string/rope of any kind is included with the book so you may have to buy some as well. Couldn't possibly advise what's best although I can tell you that I used a length of about 80cms of webtex para cord which is relatively cheap and worked fine, though ends start to become frayed after a while. It's so cheap though, you can just cut the ends off or cut another length without losing any sleep.I found I needed to practise tying new knots about 5 times before I stood a chance of remembering how to do it.The book's fun, a good travelling companion, and could actually be useful one day; of course definitely useful if you're due to go camping or on expedition somewhere.I'd definitely recommend this book to children aged ~9 upwards, and of course adults with a leaning toward this kind of thing(if they like Ray Mears, they'll probably like this!).One of the more applicable/useful Collins gem books in my opinion.

Excellent book. Clear and easy instruction or tying many knots.

A wide range of knots are presented with clear photographs of how to tie them.

I really like the collins gem books I have quite a few now. I love the small size, well presented pages and illustrations.I'm into bushcraft, camping setting up tarps and outdoors activities.I bought this just to get a few ideas on different knots I could use.I could even take it with me camping as it's small and takes up little room or weight.If your looking to learn a few more knots then this is a good little book.I think it's well set out and the illustrations are easy to follow compared to other books on knots I've read.

In principle I like this book. It has lots of knots and has helped get me started on the subject. But being a Gem book, it’s tiny. This size/format results in two critical problems:1. It means the book won’t stay open on its own - you need to hold it open with one hand meaning you don’t have two hands free to work on your knot. I got around this using a big bulldog clip to hold the pages open. However this exacerbates the second issue:2. There is only room for one picture per page, meaning only two knot steps shown per view. So to work through a knot you have to turn the page several times. This means you have to let go of the knot with at least one hand, which can be problematic midway through a knot that you’re still learning. My bulldog clip solution to problem 1 makes this page turning even more awkward.So while this might be a handy book to refer to if you’re already fairly comfortable with the knots in this book, it’s not suitable for a complete beginner. Instead find a book that is large and has all the instruction for a knot visible in a single view.

A great little book with a lot of usefull knots