Part Two
Foundation Knots

Most knots, bends, and hitches incorporate simpler structures which are themselves knots. The knots in this section are all easy to learn and tie. Some of them are useful in their own right, while all of them are important as components of more complex knots or for understanding basic procedures or principles that come into play when tying them.

1. Overhand Knot

Uses: stopper, binding, hand grips, to prevent fraying

Pros: quick, easy; forms the basis of many other knots

Cons: difficult to untie; not secure

2. Slipped Overhand Knot

Uses: stopper, simple noose

Pros: quick and easy to tie and release; larger than Overhand Knot

Cons: less secure than a standard Overhand Knot

3. Double Overhand Knot

Uses: stopper, binding, handholds

Pros: quick and easy to tie; more secure than Overhand Knot

Cons: hard to untie

4. Overhand Loop

Uses: fixed loop anywhere on a rope; attachment, tie-off, or purchase point

Pros: quick and easy to tie even if neither end is free

Cons: difficult to untie

5. Single Hitch

Uses: hitch to maintain light, instantly released tension; hold an end in place temporarily

Pros: ties and releases instantly

Cons: extremely insecure

6. Half Knot

Uses: light-duty or temporary binding of bundles or packages

Pros: quick and easy to tie; easily untied

Cons: insecure

7. Half Hitch

Uses: maintain light tension on an object that must be easily released

Pros: quick and easy to tie and untie

Cons: insecure; slips easily

8. Slipped Half Hitch

Uses: maintain light tension on an object that must be easily released

Pros: easy to tie, quicker to release than Half Hitch

Cons: insecure; slips easily

1. Overhand Knot

Also known as: Simple Knot, Thumb Knot

The Overhand Knot is the most basic “true knot,” in which the rope is tied to itself. In spite of its simplicity, it is useful in its own right and of paramount importance as the foundation of many other knots. And in spite of its name, it can be tied either overhand or underhand.

Uses: stopper, binding, creating a series of handholds along a length of line; preventing fraying at the end of a line

Pros: quick and easy to tie; forms the basis of many other knots

Cons: difficult to untie if tightened hard; can slip; not secure as a binding

Instructions

1. Make an overhand crossing turn.

2. Pass the working end under the standing part.

3. Pull the working end through the crossing turn.

4. Pull both ends to tighten.

Untying: Grab the standing part where it crosses the working part, and the working part where it crosses the standing part, and pull in opposite directions. If it is tied very tight in twisted line, it can be helpful to twist the working end with the lay of the rope and push it under the crossing. In extreme cases, a fid might be needed to loosen the knot.

2. Slipped Overhand Knot

Also known as: Slip Knot, Running Knot, Overhand Knot with Drawloop

Many knots can be tied “slipped,” or with a drawloop, in which the working end is formed into a bight before it is captured by another part of the knot. Never use the bight in the working end of a slipped knot as a loop to bear a load: it will not hold. But if the working end of the Slipped Overhand Knot is left extra long, it can be turned around so that the working end serves as the standing part, and the drawloop can then function as a simple noose.

Uses: stopper, simple noose

Pros: quick and easy to tie and release; bulkier than a standard Overhand Knot

Cons: less secure than a standard Overhand Knot; not as effective as some other stopper knots

Instructions

1. Make an overhand crossing turn.

2. Form a bight in the working end.

3. Pass the bight under the standing part and partway through the crossing turn.

4. The knot before tightening.

5. To tighten, pull the standing part with one hand, and the bight with the other hand. Be careful not to draw the working end through the crossing turn when tightening or you’ll be left with a standard Overhand Knot.

Untying: Grab the working end and pull. It may get harder when the end of the bight reaches the crossing turn, but more effort will usually succeed in pulling it through, unless the rope is so stiff that it won’t take a tight radius.

3. Double Overhand Knot

Also known as: Doubled Thumb or Simple Knot

“Doubling” (taking part of the rope and passing it through a crossing turn or other element twice) is another basic procedure used in many knots. Doubling creates more bulk and increases friction, which equates to holding power. While the Double Overhand Knot is larger overall than a standard Overhand Knot, its diameter is the same so it won’t prevent the rope from running through a larger hole.

Uses: stopper, binding, handholds along a line

Pros: quick and easy to tie; less likely to slip than a standard Overhand Knot

Cons: hard to untie if tightened hard

Instructions

1. Make an Overhand Knot

2. Pass the working end through the crossing turn a second time.

3. The “doubled” aspect of this knot is clear before you tighten it.

4. As you pull both ends, the knot changes form.

5. Work the knot into shape by pushing it up from the standing part toward the working end.

6. The finished, faired knot.

Untying: Use your thumbs to pry apart the two adjacent crossing turns on either side of the knot, then pull the working end through the crossing turn in the standing part

4. Overhand Loop

Also known as: Loop Knot

The Overhand Loop is simply an Overhand Knot tied in a bight. Among the simplest of loops, it is fixed (i.e., non-adjustable) and, if placed under much strain, it becomes so tight that it should be considered untieable.

Uses: forming a fixed loop anywhere along the length of a rope or at the end; useful as a handhold, an attachment point for hardware, a loop from which to hang objects, and a purchase through which a working end can be passed in order to pull the standing part tight

Pros: quick and easy to tie even if neither end is free

Cons: very difficult to untie if tightened hard

Instructions

1. Form a bight near the working end or anywhere along the rope.

2. Make a crossing turn with the bight across both the standing part and the working end.

3. Pass the bight through the crossing turn.

4. Holding the standing part and working end together in one hand, pull the bight to tighten.

Untying: Grab either strand of the bight just before it passes under the standing parts, and either strand of the standing part where it passes over the bight, and pull in opposite directions. Generally, however, you should consider this knot to be permanent and be prepared to cut it.

5. Single Hitch

Also known as: Half Knot

Almost too rudimentary to be considered a knot, the Single Hitch is just a crossing turn around an object. It will hold given perfect conditions of friction, angle, and load, but even then with only minimal security. Of limited use by itself, it serves as an element of many other knots.

Uses: as a hitch to maintain light tension on an object that must be instantly releasable; as an element of other knots, to hold one end in place pending a subsequent procedure

Pros: quick and easy; can be released instantly

Cons: extremely insecure

Instructions

1. There’s scarcely anything to a Single Hitch. Take a crossing turn around an object and capture the working end against it with the standing part, or vice versa.

Untying: Release tension and the structure simply falls apart.

6. Half Knot

Also known as: Overhand Knot

Even if they don’t know it by name, everyone knows the Half Knot as the first step in tying a shoelace. It is the simplest of binding knots and forms the foundation for many important and more secure bindings and bends. When tied in a single piece of cordage, it’s just an Overhand Knot tied around an object. But it may also be tied in the working ends of two different cords.

Uses: light-duty or temporary binding of bundles or packages

Pros: quick and easy to tie; easily untied

Cons: insecure

Instructions

1. Cross one end over the other.

2. Take either end and tuck it under the opposite one.

3. Pull both working ends to tighten.

4. The Half Knot may be tied with the ends of two ropes.

Untying: Pull the standing parts in opposite directions.

7. Half Hitch

Also known as: Single Hitch

The Half Hitch is much like the Overhand Knot or Half Knot, but the working end doubles back on itself to form a crossing turn around the standing part. An essential component of innumerable other knots, it is of limited usefulness by itself because it is not secure.

Uses: to pull or maintain light tension on an object that must be easily released

Pros: quick and easy to tie; more secure than a Single Hitch

Cons: insecure; slips easily; holds only with light constant tension at certain angles

Instructions

1. Take a turn around an object and cross the working end over the standing part.

2. Pass the working end through the crossing turn from back to front.

3. While maintaining tension on the standing part, pull the working end tight so that it forms an overhand crossing turn around the standing part and lies perpendicular to it.

4. The finished Half Hitch.

Untying: Pull a little slack into the standing part, then pull the working end through the crossing turn that surrounds the object.

8. Slipped Half Hitch

Also known as: Half Hitch with a Drawloop

Tie a Slipped Overhand Knot around an object and you’ve got a Slipped Half Hitch. It has the same benefits and disadvantages as a regular Half Hitch but the drawloop makes it even easier to untie.

Uses: to maintain light tension on an object that must be easily released

Pros: quick and easy to tie; more easily released than a regular Half Hitch

Cons: insecure; slips easily; holds only with light constant tension

Instructions

1. Make a crossing turn around an object and form the working end into a bight.

2. Pull the bight partway through the crossing turn.

3. Pull the bight and the standing part to tighten, being careful not to pull the working end through the crossing turn.

Untying: Just pull the working end and the knot will fall open.