Knotted me into bondage

I would recommend this to anyone interested in rope bondage as a beginner, or a more experienced user who wants to learn some new knots and ties.
Published:
Pros
Great instructions for almost every step of the process, helpful pictures, glossary
Cons
Won't lay open, some repeated photographs
Rating by reviewer:
5
extremely useful review

About author

The two authors, JD and Dan, are well known in bondage circles (especially on the West Coast) for creatively coming up with ties that are functional and pleasing to view. They hold workshops in the SF Bay Area that require reservations and, for a brief time, even posted youtube video tutorials (which usually got flagged as inappropriate). According to the author page, they have 25 years of combined rope experience, deriving from jobs in rigging and rock climbing, though if you're curious you could visit their website "two knotty boys". The photographer Larry Utley did a good job with his photos as well- they are well taken and almost always show clearly the steps outlined in the text.
    • Engaging
    • Multiple contributoring authors
    • Well known author

Content / Style / Audience

This book is for beginners and experts alike in rope bondage. I knew some of these ties starting out (like the traditional Japanese karada), but I think everyone will find something useful. Who knew you can tie your own strap-on harness using rope?

The tone is casual yet informative, and while some of the jokes are groan-worthy puns, overall it's an accessible book. They even include a glossary for those who don't know what a rope "bight" is. The book assumes you're a newcomer to the process, so they have an introduction, a bondage safety chapter (right at the beginning, where it should be!) and some bullet points on rope types and how to care for them. Knots are also covered at the beginning in their own chapter, before the actual bondage instructions begin. And every tie in the book can be made of those 13 knots!
The ties themselves are divided into four chapters: basic bondage, decorative bondage, dominance bondage and sex bondage. The titles speak for themselves.
  • Who / How / What
    [ ? ]
    Who might this product be best for? How is it best used? What are the best circumstances or situations for using this product?
    • Everyone interested in bondage
  • General
    [ ? ]
    Other tags that are useful and descriptive for this product.
    • Bdsm
    • Fetish
    • Instructional / educational

Design

Overall this is the most clear, laid out bondage book I've seen- which is why I bought it! The photographs may be in black and white, but they go well with the text. Most of the time the ties/knots are explained throughly and there are no "missing steps" in between that leave you wondering, "How?" My small quibble is that sometimes photographs are repeated- at the start of the tutorial and then in the instructions-couldn't we get a different perspective?

My only other small dislike is that the book's binding doesn't allow it to be laid flat until you "crack" the spine. If you're tying your partner up, you might find yourself pinning down the book page you need to view too.

Size-wise the book is 11" by 8.5" and is soft cover. It's not the most discreet in terms of the cover, but the backside might pass so long as no one read the text, which has rope bondage all over it. But it's slim enough you could take it anywhere: 1/4".
    • Diagrams / photos included
    • Soft cover

Personal comments

Overall a great book for those who want to learn bondage- Two Knotty Boys are recognized as masters in their field for good reason.

Experience

As mentioned earlier, it'd be nice if this book were easier to prop open, especially if you've got a wiggly bottom who likes being bratty. The "basic bondage" ties are very easy and you can do those just by looking at the instructions (usually a page long), quickly memorizing them, and then utilizing. Some even take seconds to do. The more advanced ties are where you'll start to wish you had brought some paperweights with your rope-you usually need to reference the book for the next step.
Overall though the ties hold well and are secure-any instances where my bottom could wiggle free were because I hadn't pulled the rope tight enough...probably because I kept having to transfer all the trailing ends of rope to one hand (or my mouth) and flip through the book looking for page 58.
Follow-up commentary
This is still a great book; I've lent it out to many friends and have even taught at a local munch (informal gathering for kinky people) some of the basic ties and knots. I highly recommend it!
This content is the opinion of the submitting contributor and is not endorsed by EdenFantasys.com

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This review was edited by
  • Coralbell Contributor: Coralbell
  • Rank:
    6.7 / 10
  • Edited reviews: 125
Comments
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  • Contributor: Coralbell
    You did a great job on this!
  • Contributor: sexyintexas
    Nice review
  • Contributor: Purpleladybug
    Thanks for the review!!!
  • Contributor: liilii080
    Sounds very informative! Thanks for the review.
  • Contributor: Miss T
    Great review! Thank you! Added to my wishlist!
  • Contributor: CandidKinkster
    Nice review. My husband is currently reading this book and I'm looking forward to seeing what he has in store for me!
  • Contributor: Ms. Paprika
    Thank you everyone. sub.girl, I hope I enjoy what your husband learns! ;D
  • Contributor: Shellz31
    This looks like a good read! Might have to throw it into a future order.

    Great job on the review
  • Contributor: systematicweasel
    Looks like a good book =) Thanks for the review
  • Contributor: Ms. Paprika
    Thank you, Shellz and systematicweasel, for reading my review.
  • Contributor: tortilla
    this sounds interesting - might be worth a look through
  • Contributor: thisisadeletedaccount
    Thanks for the review! Makes me proud to be from the Bay Area. =P
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