 Seifert-matrix presentation of the Alexander module

Cut a knot exterior along a Seifert surface and stack copies to form its infinite cyclic cover. Linking-dual generators for the homology of the cut-open piece give the positive and negative inclusion matrices $V$ and $V^T$ in row convention. The gluing relations therefore have matrix $tV-V^T$. The H0 gluing map is multiplication by $t-1$ and is injective, so these relations present the entire Alexander module of a knot. Its order is the determinant, up to a Laurent unit.