Master the Granny Knot

The Granny Knot is a binding knot used to secure a rope or a line around an object. It is not as secure as the Reef knot which is also know as the square knot. Neither of the knots should be used as bend to join two ropes together as the are many better options to do this which are more secure and easier to untie after load has been applied.

The granny knot is also referred to as the False Knot, lubber's knot, calf knot or the bobby knot and is sometimes called the old granny knot.

The granny knot consists of two identical half knots, one tied on top of the other. It has but one practical purpose that I know of and that is to serve as a surgeon's knot. Formerly it was employed for tying up parcels in five-and-ten-cent stores, but the practice was given up and paper bags substituted as they were found to be simpler.

This is not number 3 in The Ashley book of knots and is referenced many times in the ultimate encyclopaedia of knots.

When attempting to tie a reef knot (square knot), it is easy to produce a granny knot accidentally. This is dangerous because the granny knot can slip when heavily loaded. A tightened granny knot can also jam and is often more difficult to untie than the reef knot. It is better to tie a reef knot in nearly all circumstances. One way to distinguish them is that in the reef knot each loop passes completely over, or completely under (not through) the neck of the other.

The reef knot is commonly taught as left over right, tuck under then right over left, tuck under. The granny knot is the first step repeated twice, left over right, tuck under. This is a very common mistake made by people learning to tie a reef knot.

If you want to learn how to tie the reef knot the team at bottom up boats has another great video for you to know your konts.

The Reef or Square Knot

The team at bottom up boats hope you enjoy the latest video in our know knots series.