Reef Knot or Square Knot How to Tie the Reef Knot How to Tie the Square Knot

Reef Knot or Square Knot How to Tie the Reef Knot How to Tie the Square Knot

One of the best but most misused of knots is the Reef or Square Knot. Employed as a Binding Knot, to reef and furl sails or to tie up parcels, it is invaluable. But employed as a bend (to tie two rope ends together), the Reef Knot is probably responsible for more deaths and injuries than have been caused by the failure of all other knots combined. In fact the ease with which it is capsized by jerking at one end is its chief recommendation as a Reef Knot. Tied in two ropes’ ends of different size, texture, or stiffness, it is almost bound to capsize and spill.

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[marycaroldragoo]

it is the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and my building requires all newspapers and magazines for disposal to be either tied or placed in paper bags. i will be 78 tomorrow and thus definitely am in the "elderly" category, which means i cannot leave my apartment. my paper bag supply is extremely limited, so i decided to learn to tie the best knot for my papers. i think i have listened to all the youtube videos on this knot and yours is one of the most clear. thank you.

[dankolar]

A good knot to include simply because it's so widely known—and widely misused. Keep up the good work. Thank you for your time and trouble.

[michaelcrocker]

Hi Johnny, As usual another Great Video tutorial. Also Many Thanks for letting us know about where not to use the reef knot. Good Advice for all us potential knotters. Keep up the Good work. Best Wishes for A Happy Healthy New Year.

[knucker]

To finish a bandage or reefing a sail, a reef knot the role will fulfill, but for tieing two ends, you must always use bends, as a reef knots a sure way to kill!

[kenthompson]

Love your videos.. can I buy some from you

[LucidSpaceDog]

A very long time ago I was taught this knot in The Cubs and was told it was used for joining two ropes of equal diameter and the sheet bend was for joining two ropes of unequal diameter. Akela must be right, I got my badge so I used it for *ahem* years.

An illustrative anecdote of how wrong that information from all those years ago was wrong:

A couple of years ago I had to do a job in the roof of our building that involved letting a rope down either side of the roof to the floor. The 25m rope wasn't long enough, so I tied our two 25m (static) ropes together with a Reef knot.

Whilst getting it into position I had to haul the rope across the roof and it caught on an 'I' beam. I tried giving it a yank, another yank and to my horror watched as I pulled the knot apart. There was no load on the rope, so it was just the rope that dropped to the floor. Phew.

I got the bloke that brought the rope back up into the roof to work one side of the building, whilst I worked the other.

Besides getting a 50m rope :) What do you suggest I use in future to join two ropes?

Loving the tutorials & I've got various bit of string & rope scattered around my computer chair as I follow the tutorials.

[riccartwright]

maybe I am knot to bright but what if you put and over hand knot at the working end and made it like a jam knot if it would improve not sure ?

[KnottingKnots]

Everybody knows this knot, but not everybody knows how dangerous it can be!

[bryantreacher]

This knot should only be tied in the two ends of the same bit of cord and never in two bits of cord as you have shown in fact this is two overhand knots one tied clockwise and one tied anticlockwise and then pull one over the other which makes a larks head which you turn into your reef knot in fact you can make a right hand reef knot turn in to a left hand reef knot with out undoing the knot depending on which overhand knot you pull over the other one

[jorgenatafntf]

Eu conheço como: nó direito. Gostei da explicação (Like 3). Uso muito. Parabéns. Valeu pela dica.

[daleerickson]

hi Johnny, You forgot the best use for this knot. It is perfect for securing the bit of sail that is removed when "reefing" the sail in strong winds. An old sailor I knew once told me that this is a fine knot for this purpose but, NO other. This, he also pointed out, is why the whole world calls it the reef knot with the exception of the Americans, who "for no adequately explored reason call it a square knot". Before the hate, I am an American and don't know why we insist on calling it a square knot. It's not really square and was originally used to reef sails. Still, in the Boy Scouts, that's the name we were taught. Oh well, we are the only ones who play "soccer" too, so, what can you do? :~)