The Carrick Bend

To tie the knot move the mouse along the numbers 1 - 8.
Alternate between 8 and Structure to see the structure.

Uses: The Carrick Bend (ABOK # 1439, p 263) joins two ropes together. It used to be widely used to join large hawsers. To preserve the attractive shape of the knot, the bitter end of each hawser was often fastened with a seizing back to its own standing end. This seizing, however, is not required for safety.

Structure: The knot curls up under strain and the attractive, mat-like appearance vanishes. It is important that the bitter ends lie diagonally opposite each other; otherwise an intermittent pull will gradually work the knot towards the bitter ends until it is undone!

Place: Because the Carrick Bend is reliable and has the enormous advantage of being easy to undo, it probably deserves to be used more often. However, it is slightly awkward to assemble and it is too easy to make a mistake and find you have both bitter ends on the same side of the knot.