The Knot Library

Loops (16)

• Bowline The king of knots
  The all-purpose fixed loop. Tie it in the end of a rope to drop over a post, clip to a ring, or haul just about anything. It's the first loop knot most people should learn.
• Figure Eight Follow Through Figure eight retrace
  The standard climbing tie-in. You tie a figure eight in the rope, thread the end through your harness, then retrace the original knot to close a loop around the harness.
• Figure Eight on a Bight Figure eight loop
  The fast way to put a strong loop anywhere you can fold the rope. Double the rope into a bight, then tie a figure eight with the doubled strand — done in seconds.
• Alpine Butterfly Loop Lineman's loop
  The best fixed loop for the middle of a rope. Wrap the rope around your hand, shuffle the turns, and pull a loop through — no rope ends needed at all.
• Bowline on a Bight
  A double loop tied in the middle of a rope without using the ends. You get two strong side-by-side loops from nothing but a folded bight and a clever final tuck.
• Yosemite Bowline Bowline with Yosemite finish
  A bowline with an extra tuck: the tail wraps around the loop leg and follows the standing line back through the top of the knot, locking the tail in place.
• Slip Knot
  The instant adjustable loop: an overhand knot tied around its own standing part with a bight, so one pull on the end collapses the whole thing.
• Honda Knot Lariat knot
  The knot that makes a lasso a lasso. It forms a small, nearly round eye that the rope's standing part runs through, creating a smooth-sliding open loop.
• Angler's Loop Perfection loop
  A compact fixed loop that forms perfectly in line with the standing part — no offset kink. Tied by fly anglers in leader butts, and one of the few knots that truly holds in bungee cord.
• Spanish Bowline
  Two separate, adjustable-share loops spreading from the middle of a rope like a pair of spectacles. The traditional rescue and chair knot of the fire service.
• Portuguese Bowline French bowline
  A bowline tied with two loops through the same collar, so rope can slide between the loops and share the load adjustably — like a bowline with a sliding partner.
• Englishman's Loop Fisherman's loop
  Two overhand knots — one tied around the standing part, one in it — slid together to jam into a fixed loop. The fisherman's knot rearranged into loop form.
• Poacher's Knot Double overhand noose, scaffold knot
  A double overhand knot tied around the standing part, forming a sliding loop that cinches down and locks onto whatever it surrounds.
• Jury Mast Knot Masthead knot
  Three interwoven loops radiating from a central ring that drops over a spar. In the age of sail it anchored the emergency stays of a jury-rigged replacement mast.
• Water Bowline
  A fixed end loop with an extra half hitch in its collar. It is a distinct bowline variation, not the same knot as a Double Bowline.
• Running Bowline
  A bowline tied around its own standing part so the outer loop can draw closed around an object. The small bowline eye remains fixed.

Hitches (28)

• Clove Hitch
  Two crossing turns around a post, rail or carabiner. It's the fastest way to attach a rope to a bar-shaped object and adjust the length afterward.
• Two Half Hitches Double half hitch
  Pass the rope around the object, then tie two half hitches around its own standing part. The result is a small sliding noose that snugs down onto whatever it's tied to.
• Round Turn & Two Half Hitches
  A full wrap around the object first, then two half hitches to lock it. The round turn takes the strain while your hitches are tied in comfort.
• Taut-Line Hitch Adjustable hitch, midshipman's hitch
  An adjustable loop that grips under tension but slides when you push it. The classic use: tent guy-lines that you can tighten as the fabric stretches overnight.
• Trucker's Hitch Power cinch
  A rope-only pulley system: put a loop in the standing line, run the end around an anchor and back through the loop, then haul. You get roughly a three-to-one mechanical advantage.
• Timber Hitch
  Wrap the rope around a log, pass the end around the standing part, then twist it back around itself three or more times. Pull, and it bites into the wood.
• Constrictor Knot
  A clove hitch with one extra tuck that traps the crossing turn. The result grips like a hose clamp made of string — many consider it the best binding knot there is.
• Rolling Hitch Taut hitch to another rope
  A clove hitch with an extra turn stacked on the loaded side. That extra turn lets it grip a pole — or another rope — against a pull that runs along the object instead of away from it.
• Prusik Knot Prusik hitch
  A loop of thin cord wrapped around a thicker rope three times through itself. Loaded, it locks onto the rope; unloaded, it slides freely by hand.
• Klemheist Knot Machard knot
  A friction hitch made by spiraling a cord loop up the rope and threading the tail through the top bight. A close cousin of the prusik that's faster to tie and release.
• Munter Hitch Italian hitch
  A sliding, reversible hitch tied on a carabiner that feeds rope smoothly one way and brakes it under control the other. It's a belay device made of nothing but rope.
• Cleat Hitch
  The proper way to tie a line to a dock cleat: a full turn around the base, figure-eight wraps over the horns, finished with a single locking hitch laid flat.
• Cow Hitch Lark's head, girth hitch
  Fold the rope into a bight, pass it around or through the object, and feed the ends through the bight. Two half hitches facing opposite ways, tied in one motion.
• Highwayman's Hitch Draw hitch
  A quick-release hitch built from three stacked bights: it holds a moderate pull on the standing end, but one tug on the tail and the whole knot spills off the rail instantly.
• Anchor Bend Fisherman's bend
  A round turn through a ring with the first half hitch locked under the turn itself, then a second half hitch to finish. Despite the name, it's a hitch — and the classic way to tie rope to an anchor.
• Strangle Knot Double overhand binding
  A double overhand knot tied around an object instead of a rope end. The wraps cross over the top and clamp down in a neat, narrow band.
• Marlinspike Hitch
  A quick temporary hitch that traps a rod — a spike, screwdriver or stick — in a loop of the rope, giving you a comfortable T-handle to pull with.
• Killick Hitch Kelson hitch
  A timber hitch with an extra half hitch added farther along the object. The timber hitch grips; the half hitch steers, keeping a long or awkward load pulling straight.
• Buntline Hitch
  A clove hitch tied around the standing part, inside the loop — so tension drags the hitch down snug against whatever the rope passes through.
• Sheepshank
  The traditional way to shorten a rope without cutting it: fold the slack into an S, then trap each end of the S with a half hitch. The Man o' War variant interlocks the hitches for more security.
• Icicle Hitch
  A friction hitch of stacked wraps famous for one superpower: gripping a smooth, even tapered pole against a lengthwise pull — demonstrated by hanging from a greased marlinspike.
• Bachmann Knot Bachmann hitch
  A friction hitch wrapped around both the rope and the spine of a carabiner. The carabiner acts as a rigid handle, so the hitch slides smoothly and resets instantly.
• Packer's Knot
  A figure eight tied around the standing part, forming a noose that slides tight and then locks itself under load. Finished with a half hitch, it stays put for good.
• Boa Knot
  A modern binding knot — invented by a weaver in 1996 — that merges the constrictor's grip with a doubled, wider band of wraps. Tie two loops, twist into a figure eight, slip over the object.
• Adjustable Grip Hitch
  An adjustable hitch for tent guys and light ridgelines. Slide it with the line unloaded, then tighten the knot again before tensioning.
• Boom Hitch
  A compact arrangement of wraps for attaching a rope to a spar, pipe, or post. It can accommodate a sideways pull and may resist a pull along the spar.
• Halyard Hitch
  A compact rope-to-shackle attachment associated with sail halyards. The tail exits close to the shackle rather than pointing away.
• Pile Hitch
  A temporary post attachment made with a bight, so you do not need to feed the whole rope end around the post.

Bends (13)

• Sheet Bend Weaver's knot
  The standard knot for joining two ropes — including ropes of different thickness. The thicker rope forms a bight, the thinner rope locks through and around it.
• Double Sheet Bend
  A Sheet Bend with a second wrap of the thinner rope around the bight before the final tuck. Compare it with the single version when joining unequal rope diameters.
• Square Knot Reef knot
  Right over left, left over right. The everyday knot for tying two ends of the same rope around something — a package, a bandage, a furled sail.
• Fisherman's Knot English knot
  Two overhand knots, each tied around the other rope's standing part, slid together until they jam against each other. Simple symmetry that grips hard.
• Double Fisherman's Bend Grapevine knot
  Two double overhand (strangle) knots tied around each other's standing parts. The gold standard for permanently joining two ropes or closing a cordelette loop.
• Water Knot Ring bend, tape knot
  A commonly used knot for joining flat webbing: tie a loose overhand in one end, then retrace it with the other end so the tape lies flat. Inspect the tails and follow the webbing manufacturer’s guidance.
• Zeppelin Bend Rosendahl bend
  Two interlocking loops with each end tucked through the middle. This symmetrical rope join is known for being comparatively easy to untie after loading.
• Carrick Bend Sailor's bend
  The classic bend for heavy rope and cable: two open loops woven over-under-over into a beautiful basket pattern, which capsizes into a compact working form under load.
• Hunter's Bend Rigger's bend
  Two interlocked overhand knots tied on parallel ropes, with the ends passing through the middle in opposite directions. A secure bend that famously made front-page news in 1978.
• Ashley's Bend ABOK #1452
  Two interlocking loops with both ends passed together through the shared center. Clifford Ashley's own favorite among the bends he devised.
• Granny Knot The square knot's evil twin
  What you get when you tie a square knot's second pass the same way as the first instead of mirrored. It looks almost right — and that is exactly the problem.
• Thief Knot
  Identical to a square knot except the working ends exit on opposite corners instead of the same side. Sailors' lore says sea chests were tied with it to catch snooping shipmates.
• Alpine Butterfly Bend
  A rope-to-rope join built from the same interlocking structure as the Alpine Butterfly Loop. Use roughly similar rope diameters.

Stoppers (5)

• Overhand Knot Thumb knot
  The simplest knot there is: a loop with the end passed through. It's the atom of knotting — dozens of major knots are built from it.
• Figure Eight Knot Flemish knot
  Give the overhand knot one extra half-twist before the tuck and you get a knot shaped like the numeral 8 — bulkier, stronger, and far kinder to the rope.
• Double Overhand Knot Strangle knot base
  An overhand knot with the end passed through the loop twice, then worked snug into a neat barrel shape. Small effort, serious bulk and grip.
• Ashley Stopper Knot Oysterman's stopper
  The bulkiest practical stopper: a clever slipknot-based tie that finishes as a wide three-lobed face, invented by the author of the great knot encyclopedia.
• Stevedore Knot
  A figure eight with two extra wraps before the final tuck, producing a noticeably fatter stopper. Dockworkers used it to keep cargo lines from running through blocks.

Fishing Knots (19)

• Improved Clinch Knot
  The classic hook-to-line knot: five twists of the tag end around the standing line, back through the eye loop, then through the big loop just formed. The 'improved' part is that final tuck.
• Palomar Knot
  Double the line, pass the loop through the hook eye, tie a loose overhand with it, then pass the loop over the entire hook and snug down. Doubled line all the way through.
• Uni Knot Duncan loop, grinner
  A sliding barrel of wraps tied through a loop of the line itself. Snug it to the eye for a tight connection, or leave it loose for a free-swinging loop that improves lure action.
• Blood Knot Barrel knot
  The classic line-to-line splice: each tag end wraps five times around the other line and tucks back through the center gap in opposite directions, forming a slim symmetrical barrel.
• Surgeon's Knot Double surgeon's
  Lay the two lines side by side and tie a double overhand knot with both at once. That's the entire knot — brutally simple and effective.
• Snell Knot
  Instead of tying to the hook's eye, the line is wrapped in a coil around the hook's shank itself, so the pull runs in a dead-straight line with the hook.
• Bimini Twist Twenty-times-around knot
  Twenty-plus twists rolled down over themselves under body tension, creating a long doubled-line loop. The offshore standard for putting a full-strength shock section in the line.
• Dropper Loop Blood loop dropper
  A loop that stands out perpendicular from the middle of a fishing line, formed by twisting a loop's own turns around themselves and pulling the center through.
• Albright Knot
  A connection between fishing lines of different diameters or materials, including a backing-to-fly-line connection.
• Arbor Knot
  A simple way to attach fishing line to the center of a reel spool before winding on line. In cord, the same structure is called the Canadian Jam Knot.
• Davy Knot
  A small fly-to-tippet connection with few movements and little line consumption. It is useful to practice when frequent fly changes eat into your tippet.
• Double Davy Knot
  A Davy-style fly connection with an extra tuck. It addresses situations where the original Davy has too little purchase on the hook eye.
• Non-Slip Mono Loop
  A fixed loop tied directly to a fly or lure so the eye can move within the loop. Also known as Lefty Kreh’s Loop Knot.
• Nail Knot
  A compact fishing-line join commonly used at a fly-line and leader connection. A small tube or knot tool helps thread the wraps.
• Orvis Knot
  A compact knot for fastening fishing line to a hook or fly. Its small series of loop passes offers an alternative to a wrapped Clinch.
• Rapala Knot
  A fixed-loop lure connection that leaves room for movement at the eye. Its finishing tuck distinguishes it from the Non-Slip Mono Loop.
• San Diego Jam Knot
  A fishing knot for fastening line to a hook, swivel, or lure. Also called the Reverse Clinch Knot.
• Surgeon’s Loop
  A fixed loop in the end of fishing line made with a doubled overhand structure. Commonly used in loop-to-loop connections.
• Trilene Knot
  A monofilament-to-hook connection with two passes through the eye. It also attaches line to a swivel or lure.

Decorative Knots (13)

• Monkey's Fist
  Three interlocking sets of three turns woven around a core, forming a near-perfect sphere of rope. Historically tied to weight the end of a ship's heaving line.
• Turk's Head Woggle knot
  A continuous interwoven braid tied in a ring around a cylinder — a rail, a wheel, a walking stick. One strand, woven over and under itself until the pattern closes.
• Diamond Knot Lanyard knot, knife lanyard knot
  A compact, faceted button knot tied in the middle of a doubled cord, leaving a loop above and two tails below. The classic finish for knife and tool lanyards.
• Chain Sinnet Monkey braid, daisy chain
  A running chain of slip knots, each bight pulled through the last. It shortens a long rope to a quarter of its length and unzips instantly when you need it back.
• Cobra Knot Solomon bar, Portuguese sinnet
  Alternating square-knot passes tied around a core pair of strands, building a flat, ridged bar. The default weave for paracord survival bracelets everywhere.
• Matthew Walker Knot
  The great multi-strand stopper of the tall-ship era: each strand of the rope is tied in an overhand around its neighbors, producing a symmetric, barrel-shaped knob in the rope itself.
• Manrope Knot
  A wall knot topped with a crown knot, then doubled by following every lead a second time. The result is the large, handsome knob that finished the manropes flanking a ship's gangway.
• True Lover's Knot
  Two overhand knots, one tied through the other, so the pair interlock symmetrically — two knots joined yet distinct. Centuries of sailors sent it home as a token.
• Ocean Plait Mat Ocean braid mat
  A single rope woven back through itself in a long over-under path, then doubled or tripled to fill out a handsome oval mat. The classic nautical doormat.
• Three-Strand Braid Common plait
  The braid everyone knows from hair, bread and rope alike: outer strand over the middle, alternating sides, forever. The gateway to all sennit work.
• Crown Knot
  A three-strand rope-end knot that turns the loose strands back toward the standing rope. It starts a back splice and appears in decorative ropework.
• Crown Sinnet
  A sequence of crown knots that builds a decorative cord for key rings and craft lanyards. Four working strands make a useful practice version.
• Wall Knot
  A small stopper formed from the individual strands of a rope. It is also a building block of the Wall and Crown finish.

Ropework (11)

• Square Lashing
  The lashing for joining two poles at right angles: a clove hitch to start, three tight wraps alternating over and under, frapping turns to cinch, a clove hitch to finish.
• Diagonal Lashing
  The lashing for poles that cross at an angle or need pulling together: a timber hitch cinches the poles, then wraps run across both diagonals before frapping and finishing.
• Sheer Lashing Shear lashing, round lashing
  Wraps binding two parallel poles: tied at the ends of overlapped poles it splices them into one longer pole, tied near the tips it makes hinged legs that scissor open into an A-frame.
• Eye Splice
  A permanent loop formed by unlaying a rope's strands and weaving each one back over-and-under into the standing part, at least three full tucks per strand.
• Back Splice
  A rope-end finish: tie a Crown Knot so each strand doubles back, then tuck each strand into the standing rope. It helps control fraying but still needs inspection.
• Short Splice
  The permanent way to join two three-strand ropes: marry the unlaid ends together, then tuck each strand over-and-under into the opposite rope, both directions.
• Common Whipping Plain whipping
  Tight wraps of twine around a rope's end, with both ends of the twine buried under the wraps themselves. The simplest cure for a fraying rope.
• Sailmaker's Whipping
  A whipping reinforced with frapping turns that ride the rope's own strand grooves, locking the wraps in place. Traditionally sewn, but a needle-free version exists for laid rope.
• French Whipping
  A whipping made of consecutive half hitches instead of plain wraps, producing a raised spiral ridge along the surface as it climbs.
• Seizing Round seizing
  Binding two parallel ropes — or two parts of the same rope — together with tight wraps of twine, cinched by frapping turns between the ropes.
• West Country Whipping
  A rope-end binding made from alternating half knots in twine. It is a straightforward introduction to controlling frayed ends.