The five primary types of knots are bends (which connect the ends of two ropes), stoppers (which prevent a rope from slipping through an opening), hitches (which connect a rope to a post), loops (which create a closed circle in a rope), and binding knots (which secure an object or hold two tightly together). The figure-eight knot can be used for each purpose.
Stopper: the simple figure-eight knot, made by literally tying a figure eight in the rope.
Loop: The figure-eight loop, made by tying a figure eight in a doubled-up (“folded over”) rope.
Bend: The figure-eight bend, made by tying a figure-eight knot at the end of one rope, then feeding one end of the other rope “backwards” along that knot to create interlaced figure eights.
Binding Knot: The packer’s knot: tie a figure-eight knot in one end of a rope, then grip that end while you wrap the other (loose) end around the items to bind. Feed that loose end through the bottom loop of the figure eight (along and in the same direction as the gripped end); then, with the loose end, make a half hitch (overhand knot) around the gripped end.
Hitch: The trucker’s hitch: Make a figure-eight loop; take one end and pass it around the post or other object you are connecting to or securing, then feed it through the loop. Pull tight, then secure that end to itself with two half hitches.
One very useful knot that a figure-eight knot can’t directly form (to my knowledge) is a friction hitch, which is a type of adjustable loop; for that, learn a specific friction hitch, such as the taut-line hitch.
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