In Praise of the Humble Figure-of-Eight Knot

This is probably one of the best, most reliable, and easiest-to-tie knots that I've ever encountered. In fact, it's so subtle that almost everyone ignores it.

Except mountain climbers. They know that the F-o-8 knot is stronger, holds better, and is safer than a bowline.

Yes--that would be the same bowline knot that everyone seems to regard as the most reliable knot ever tied. It isn't: It's easily tied wrong, and it can fail at the worst possible moment.

I studied the bowline knot until I could tie one in a slack line one-handed. That took a lot of practice, and it never got easy.

The F-o-8 knot is so easy that a child can learn it in thirty seconds.

And it has several advantages over a bowline.

Just try tying a bowline tightly around something. Go ahead. I dare ya. No hurry. Take an hour. Take two. Then try tying it tightly around something you can't reach, like an overhead tree limb.

(Let me save you some time on that: You can't.)

But a F-o-8 knot can be tied around something, and instantly drawn snug, just like a running noose (or lasso, as it's sometimes called). But unlike a lasso, a F-o-8 knot will not back off when slacked and work itself loose.

Want to tie a line securely to an overhead branch? Toss the line over and recover the end. Tie the knot in the "short" end of the rope, and then just pull the the rope tight, sending the knot right up to the overhead branch.

Then you can swing like Tarzan of the Apes if you so desire.

Tired of having the starts and eds of your lashings slip? Tired of wasting a lot of line starting and ending your lashes? Skip the Timber Hitches and Clove Hitches and use a F-o-8 knot instead.

The only inconvenience with a F-o-8 knot is that when it gets pulled really tight, it's very hard to untie. In fact, the mountain-climbers either pick a jammed knot apart with an awl, or slip the knot in the first place so that even a ferociously tight F-o-8 knot can be easily and instantly untied.

"Slipping" is what you do with your shoe laces, when you pull the loops through the middle of the knot. Pulling the ends of the shoelace pulls the loops out, and the knot falls apart.

Same deal, but twice as easy, since a slipped F-o-8 knot only has one "shoelace" loop.

Note that if you make the slipped end of the rope long enough to reach when the knot is cinched tight on that overhead branch, you can pop the knot open when you're through swinging, and immediately recover all of the rope.

(Can't do that with a bowline--nope!)



So here is the basic Figure-of-Eight Knot (AKA a Flemish Knot).

If you were tying this rope to your finger, you could just stick your finger in loop A, and then pull on end C. The knot would tighten right up on your finger AND on end D of the rope--so end D could not pull out through loop A under any circumstances whatsoever, other than by intentional untying.

If you wanted to tie the knot around a branch, for example, just run loop A around the branch, finish up the knot, and give end C a pull to set the knot.

Note that this knot is symmetrical--either loop can be the one tied around something, and pulling either end of the rope will fully tighten the knot. As will pulling both ends at once.

To make it into a slipped F-o-8 knot, just give end D a little more length, feed it into loop A and then run it right back out again. Run a reasonable amount of rope through, leave a reasonably large half-bow behind, then tighten up the knot by pulling end C.



This pic shows bending end D before it's pulled through, just like a shoelace. That works, too.

No matter how tight you pull the knot, pulling end D will easily pull out the half-bow (sliploop). Once it's pulled out the knot will fall instantly apart. Again, just like a shoe-lace.

Note that nothing goes inside the sliploop. Whatever you are tying the rope to goes in loop A and cuddles right up against the sliploop. It can be on either side of the sliploop.

As soon as you start studying this knot on the Net, you will see eleventy-seven variations, No problem--learn the ones you like or may have a use for. But start with the basic knot.

The F-o-8 knot is great for tying two lines together--even if they are of different sizes and materials. It's also a great knot for fish hooks and lures, and jim-dandy for putting a bail on a bucket.

Works good for bondage cuffs, too.

I read that in a magazine somewhere, once, when I was a kid.

 

I use double figure-8 when I am pulling trees (truck side) because there is no stronger knot, it comes apart very easy, and I can do one eyes-closed since been doing them since my climbing days...

 

Figure 8 on a grigri and slippery figure 8 on my hammock rope.

 

2 other names for same knot is "a granny knot" or "thieves knot".
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I will not delete what i said above as it would screw up the flow of what was being said.
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I WAS WRONG ... DISREGARD THE FIRST SENTENCE ABOVE

 

I don't think so... both of those knots are different and require both ends of the line to normally tie... the figure eight knot is generally tied using one end of the line or on a bight...





Thieves knot and the granny knot shown above look similar to the square knot also shown above in the second video...

 

Hokay--There is MUCH misinformation about the Square Knot and the Thief's Knot on the web.

See Basic Knots-New

In the top left picture is a Square Knot. Note that both short ends (tails) of the rope are on the same side of the knot. (The upper side, in this pic.)

In the right-hand picture on the second row is a Thief's Knot. Note that the short ends (tails) are on opposite sides of the knot. One is above, one is below.

The Granny Knot is just a deformed Thief's Knot. The tails are pointed perpendicular rather than parallel to the knot, which makes the knot even more prone to slippage and failure.

Note the complete difference in structure of the Figure-of-Eight knot:
Figure-eight knot - Wikipedia

Most sources seem to get fixated on the use of a Figure-of-Eight knot as a "stopper knot".

A "stopper knot" is any knot you can tie in the end of a piece of rope that will keep the short end from pulling through a badly-tied or otherwise unreliable knot. It's literally just a "bump in the rope" intended to jam against the failing knot.

A simple overhand knot will do the same thing in many cases. It's much better to just tie a good knot in the first place.

 

Thieves knot was designed to look like a square knot so in a dark for castle a thief would feel what he thought was a square knot open a sailor's bag and retie it with a square knot... the sailor would then know some one was in his things....