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Reef Knot (Square
Knot)
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- An excellent general purpose knot for tying two pieces of
string or twine together, the reef knot is possibly the most
commonly used knot for the job, and is easy to learn. However, it
cannot be overly stressed that the Reef knot is not a long term or
secure knot, and it should only be used to finish parcels or
bindings. In other cases, use a more secure method of bending two
ropes together, such as a Sheetbend,
a Double
Sheetbend, or a Fisherman's
Knot.
- Unfortunately, the Reef knot can easily change into a slipping Lark's
Head (see below), so it should never be used where life
or limb are at risk.
- Holding one end of each rope in each hand, pass the left rope over
the right, and tuck under. Then pass the same rope, now in the right
hand, over the left rope, and tuck under.
- It is common to chant "Left over Right and Under, Right over
Left and Under" when tying the knot. (This can also be
performed as "Right over Left and Under, Left over Right and
Under".)
- The reef knot can easliy be undone by gripping one loose end, and
pulling it back over the knot, in the opposite direction, thus
straightening the rope which is pulled. The other rope forms a Lark's
Head knot, and slips off the tugged rope.
- The knot gets its name from its use on sailing ships, when the
sails were "reefed" - rolled up and tied to the cross spar
with a reef knot. To release the sail, the sailors would climb the
rigging, and work their way along the cross spar, pulling the top
end of the reef knot down. They only had to use one hand, holding on
with the other. The weight of the sail would cause the reef knot to
slip, and the sail would be released.
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- Tip. If you want to tie two ropes together of similar thickness
then never use a Reef knot. Only use it with string and twine when
tying parcels, whippings and bindings.
- Tip. Never use this knot to join ropes of two different
thicknesses.
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