SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/scout-square-lashing

What is a square lashing used for?

Binding two poles that cross, usually at right angles.

  1. Joining two ropes end to end
  2. Binding two crossing poles together ✔
  3. Tying a boat to a dock

Why: A square lashing ties two poles together where they touch and cross, usually at 90 degrees. It is load bearing, so it is used to build frames and scaffolding.

Huh, didn't know that: It gets its name because the wraps are square to the poles.

The dad joke
Why did the poles get along? They were lashed together.
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Sources

  1. Bryan on Scouting (Scouting America): How to complete a square lashing in half the time https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2019/10/10/how-to-complete-a-square-lashing-in-half-the-time/

Test yourself in the game

Outdoors & CampingTwo cross-brace poles have a gap between them and must be pulled together. Which lashing?Outdoors & CampingWhich knot is used to begin and end many lashings?Outdoors & CampingWhich knot is made for dragging a log across the ground?

That's stuff everyone should know.