- 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 Sheet bend,
a Double
Sheet bend, 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
easily 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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