When I was a jackeroo after leaving school, one of the first things I learnt was how to tie knots in wire. There were a few different knots, but the main ones I still use today were the figure 8, two loops, and tying off a strainer. Since then gripples were invented in 1988 by a Welshman by the name of Hugh Facey. I can’t deny gripples are brilliant, but they are also expensive (depending on how you value your labour) and I find the modern gripples slip more than the old ones did (maybe that’s just me longing for the good old days).