Square knot

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Animated Knots show you how to tie Basic Knots, Fishing Knots, Sailing Knots, Climbing Knots, Forty Knots,
Special Knots, and Advanced Knots, for Wolf, Bear, Webelos, Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class.

Adult leader awards are also called "Square knots."

Square knot
Names	Square knot, Reef knot
Typical use	Joining two ends of a single line to bind around an object.
Caveat	Not secure as a bend. Spills easily if one of the free ends is pulled outward. Does not hold well if the two lines are not the same thickness.
Releasing	Jamming
Category	Binding knots
Related	Thief knot, Granny knot, Grief knot, Surgeon's knot

“ The square knot is also known as the joining knot because it can join two ropes together and because it is the first knot Scouts learn when they join the BSA. It has many uses-from securing bundles, packages, and the sails of ships to tying the ends of bandages. ”

— Boy Scout Handbook p. 8

“ There have probably been more lives lost as a result of using a square knot as a bend (to tie two ropes together) than from the failure of any other half dozen knots combined." The Sheet Bend is as easy to tie and untie. ”

— See The Ashley Book of Knots # 1402, p 258.

Required for

• Wolf Electives 17a. Learn to tie an overhand knot and a square knot.
• Bear 22b. Tie a square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two half-hitches, and slip knot. Tell how each knot is used.
• Webelos Outdoorsman #11. ...Show how to tie a square knot and explain how it is used.
• Webelos Arrow of Light #2 Tie the joining knot (square knot).
• Scout #6: Demonstrate tying the square knot (a joining knot).
• Small-Boat Sailing #7a: Square (Reef) knot - Clove hitch - Two half-hitches - Bowline - Cleat hitch - Figure Eight
• Sea Scout Apprentice #5. Square knot - Bowline - Clove hitch - Sheet bend - Two half-hitches - Figure Eight - Cleat hitch

Instructions

1. Hold one rope end in each hand.
2. Pass the right end over and under the rope in your left hand and pull it snug.
3. Pass the rope now in your left hand over and under the one now in your right, and pull it snug.

Lesson Videos

• Grog's Animated Knots: Reef (Square) - Video: About the Square Knot - Video: Square Knots - Video: Different Ways to Tie Square Knots - Video: Square Knots - Wonder How To Video: Square Knot - Wonder How To Video: Square Knots

Notes

• Remember: "Right over left, left over right, makes a knot tidy, and tight."
• The Square knot comes untied easily and is not as strong as a Sheet bend.
• The Overhand knot is one of the Forty Knots.

See also

Knots by Use
Basic knots	Overhand knot · Square knot · Granny knot · Two half-hitches · Taut-line hitch · Bowline · Sheet bend · Slip knot · Clove hitch · Timber hitch
Advanced knots	Constrictor Knot · Monkey's Fist · Ocean Plait · Trucker's Hitch · Turk's Head
Special knots	Braiding · Carrick Bend · Chain Sinnet · Cow Hitch · Double Sheet Bend · Sheep Shank
Fishing knots	Arbor Backing Knot · Barrel Knot · Blood Knot · Blood Loop · Clinch Knot · Fisherman's Knot · Improved Clinch Knot · Nail Knot · Needle Knot · Palomar Knot · Surgeon's Loop · Turle Knot
Sailing knots	Bowline on a Bight · Cleat Hitch · Double Bowline · Figure Eight · Marline Hitch · Midshipman's Hitch · Rolling Hitch · Stevedores Knot
Climbing knots	Alpine Butterfly knot · Double fisherman's knot (Grapevine) · Figure eight follow-through · Figure eight on a bight · Figure eight on bend · Figure eight knot · Prusik knot · Safety knot · Water knot
Forty knots	[[]] · [[]]