| Overhand knot | |
|---|---|
 The overhand knot | |
| Names | Overhand knot, thumb knot |
| Category | Stopper |
| Efficiency | 50% |
| Origin | Ancient |
| Related | Simple noose,overhand loop,figure-eight knot,angler's loop,reef knot,fisherman's knot,water knot,half hitch |
| Releasing | Jamming |
| Typical use | fishing, climbing, shoelaces, making other knots. |
| Caveat | Spills if the standing part is pulled forcibly in the wrong direction |
| ABoK | #514, #515, #519 |
| Conway Notation | 3 |
| A/B notation | 31 |
Theoverhand knot is one of the most fundamentalknots, and it forms the basis of many others, including thesimple noose,overhand loop,angler's loop,reef knot,fisherman's knot,half hitch, andwater knot. The overhand knot is astopper, especially when used alone, and hence it is very secure, to the point of jamming badly. It should be used if the knot is intended to be permanent. It is often used to prevent the end of a rope from unraveling. An overhand knot becomes atrefoil knot, atrue knot in the mathematical sense, by joining the ends. It can also be adjusted, faired, or mis-tied as a half hitch.
46. The overhand is the simplest of the single-strandstopper knots, and istied with one end around its own standing part, its purpose being to prevent unreeving.
47. The half knot is a binding knot, being the first movement of the reef or square knot. It istied with two ends around an object and is used when reefing, furling, and tying up parcels, shoestrings, and the like.
48. The half hitch istied with one end of a rope which is passed around an object and secured to its own standing part with asingle hitch.
There are a number of ways to tie the Overhand knot.
Inheraldry, the overhand knot is known as a "Stafford knot", owing to a representation of it being used first as aheraldic badge by theEarls of Stafford, and later as a general symbol ofStaffordshire.[2]
As a defensive measure,hagfishes, which resembleeels, produce large volumes of thickslime when disturbed. A hagfish can dislodge large quantities of slime on its skin, which it uses to evade predation, by tying its own body into an overhand knot, then sliding the knot from its head down to the tail. This action scrapes the slime off the fish's body. Hagfish also tie their bodies into overhand knots in order to create leverage to rip off chunks of their prey's flesh, but do so "in reverse" (starting at the tail, and sliding the knot towards the head for mechanical advantage).[3]
If the two loose ends of an overhand knot are joined together (without creating additional crossings), this becomes equivalent to thetrefoil knot of mathematicalknot theory.
If a flat ribbon or strip is tightly folded into a flattened overhand knot, it assumes a regular pentagonal shape.[4]
