The Clove Hitch is one of the most widely used hitch knots. And the sheer number of entries in Clifford Ashley’s Book of Knots does this justice. We’re talking possibly double the amount of entries I listed here, with a chapter specifically named after the Clove Hitch. Most of the relevant entries in the book are listed here word for word. If you want the mentions and counterparts, you have some reading to do! Here are most of the entries exactly as they were:

Abok #11,

     ‘The CLOVE HITCH is called: (I) “WATERMANS KNOT,” (2) “simple fastening in a rope,” (3) “LARK’S HEAD, CROSSED,” and (4) “BUILDERS’ KNOT.” The name CLOVE HITCH itself does not appear at all, and the old and reliable FISHERMAN’S BEND is called a SLIP KNOT!’

Abok #198,

     ‘The commoner way to sling a hammer for lowering is by a CLOVE HITCH around the small of the handle. If not drawn tight, there is danger of the handle slipping out. In the dictionaries the LOVE HITCH is sometimes called the BUILDER’S KNOT, a name apparently coined by Tom Bowling, who must have been unaware of the English name CLOVE HITCH, since he did not use it, although it had appeared as early as 1769 in Falconer’s Dictionary of the Marine. In the trades, facts are generally passed along by word of mouth and very little is acquired from books, so the builder himself is probably unaware that he has a knot named for him.’

Abok #204,

     ‘The DRY WEATHER HITCH. Here again appears that most universal general utility hitch, the CLOVE HITCH (1178), which be discussed at length in Chapters 23 and 33. It is quickly formed and easily adjusted, but tends to jam if wet.’

Abok #400,

     ‘The CLOVE HITCH (#1177) is the customary knot with which to tie the first tier of meshes to the headline of a net.’

Abok #421,

     ‘A CLOVE HITCH (#1177) is the CROSSING KNOT employed in rattling down rigging. Ratlines are the rope steps found on shrouds, by means of which the rigging is climbed.’

Abok #1176, 1177,

     ‘Although the name CLOVE HITCH is given by Falconer in his Dictionary of 1769, the knot is much older, having been tied in ratlines at least as early as the first quarter of the sixteenth century. This is shown in early sculpture and paintings. A round turn is taken with the ratline and then a hitch is added below. The forward end is always the first to be made fast. Diagram 1176 shows the outside view of the starboard shrouds and #1177 the outside view of the port shrouds. In tying up heavy bundles and bales the CLOVE HITCH is the  CROSSING KNOT favored by manufacturers, since the whole lashing is not apt to give way if any part of the cord or rope chafes through.’

Abok #1178,

     ‘When placing a CLOVE HITCH over a post or stake it may be tied in hand by first making two turns and then bringing the lower turn atop the first one. (See first diagram.) Or a SINGLE HITCH may be tied around the post and the rope tightened and held while the second hitch is added. Additional ways of tying the CLOVE HITCH are given in POST HITCHES, Chapter 23. “Trick” ways are shown in Chapter 33.’

Abok #1179,

     ‘Frequently it is a great convenience to be able to tie the knot with one hand. The rope, as shown here, comes from the left and is led beyond the post. With the palm of the right hand held away from you, grasp the rope on the right side of the post. Cross the hand to your left, and turn the palm toward you. This imparts a twist to the rope which is then dropped back (away from you) over the post. Take the end again in your right hand, pull it to the left to tighten the rope, then make and place a second turn, over the top of the post, exactly as described for the first one.’

Abok #1180,

     ‘If it is desired to haul the line between posts very tight, the following is the way to do it. Pull with both hands and when the rope is taut, hold what you have gained with the left hand. Twist the rope to the right with the right hand, which will cause a turn to be formed, and allow this turn to drop over the end of the post. Pull this turn tight around the post with the right hand, without rendering any that is held in the left hand. Hold all taut with the left hand while adding a second hitch to complete the CLOVE HITCH.’

Abok #1245,

     ‘The CLOVE HITCH, although an excellent CROSSING KNOT, is not a good binder, although often used for the purpose.’

Abok #1670, 1671,

     ‘The CLOVE HITCH is a common POST HITCH. When made fast to a spar, the end should either be stopped (*1670) or half hitched (1671) to its own standing part, as the knot has a tendency slip. The name CLOVE HITCH appears in  Falconer’s Dictionary (1769).

Abok #1773,

     ‘The CLOVE HITCH was mentioned by Falconer in 1769. “Tom Bowling,” in 1866, called it the BUILDER’S KNOT. It consists of two SINGLE HITCHES, the second one superimposed over the first. It is commonly tied in hand and then dropped over a post.’

Abok #1774,

     ‘A quick way of tying the CLOVE HITCH in medium-weight rope is here shown. With the back of the left hand and the palm of the right hand uppermost, grasp the rope with the two hands several feet apart. Rotate each hand one half turn as indicated by the arrows and clap the knuckles of the right hand into the palm of the left hand. Transfer the upper hitch into the grasp of the left hand and drop the knot over a post.’

Abok #1777,

     ‘A one-hand method of casting a CLOVE HITCH directly over the post. It is accomplished with a half turn of the right arm, which is repeated in adding the second hitch.’

Abok #1778,

     ‘The STEAMBOAT HITCH is the quickest and most convenient way that I know of tying the CLOVE HITCH in medium- or heavyweight rope. It was first shown to me by E. E. du Pont, who had seen it tied on a Chesapeake Bay steamer. H. W. Riley, in a Cornell Agricultural School knot bulletin, calls this the “Circus method.” The CLOVE HITCH does not draw up snugly when pull is exerted on one end only and there is almost always an initial slip that cannot be gauged with certainty. The hitch may be unwound with a rotating pull in one direction, particularly if it is tied to a square post and the rope is stiff.’

Abok #2040,

     ‘Signal flags on yachts are commonly sent aloft on a small staff. The flag is seized twice to its staff and the halyard is clove hitched just below the lower seizing, and single hitched or clove hitched near the bottom of the staff. The two ends of the halyard are generally bent together.’

Abok #2079,

     ‘The CLOVE HITCH is ordinarily tied in heavy cord by manufacturers’ shipping departments, whenever a CROSSING HITCH iS required. However, if the cord is worth saving, the CLOVE HITCH is an annoyance, as it is difficult to untie. The hitch in the illustration is tied in the horizontal cord.’

Abok #2542,

     ‘To tie a CLOVE HITCH with two fingers is far simpler than appears. It is based on a common practical method which follows this, in which two hands are employed. Hold the right hand palm up. Place the forefinger under the string, which is laid flat on the table. Hold the left hand palm down, forefinger on top of
the string. Grip the string with the forefingers and rotate each hand a half turn. Then without turning them further place the hitch from the right finger against the tip of the left forefinger, which completes the knot.’

Abok #2547,

     ‘A CLOVE HITCH from two round turns. Nothing could be simpler than this, but it is rather surprising when the hitch appears. The turns are not twisted sidewise in the same plane; the right one comes forward and up, the left one goes backward and up. When the two meet the knot is formed.’