Granny knot

This article is about a rope knot. For the mathematical version, see Granny knot (mathematics).

Granny knot

Names	Granny knot, false knot, lubber's knot, calf knot, booby knot
Category	Binding
Origin	Ancient
Related	Reef knot, thief knot, grief knot
Releasing	Often jams
Caveat	Should not be used as a bend. Inferior to reef knot for binding purposes, it can release suddenly and unpredictably.
ABoK	#3, #80, #186, #464, #1206, #1405, #2553, #3786

The granny knot is a binding knot, used to secure a rope or line around an object. It is considered inferior to the reef knot (square knot), which it superficially resembles. Neither of these knots should be used as a bend knot for attaching two ropes together.

Etymology

Called the "granny's knot" with references going back to at least 1867, the knot was so-called because it is "the natural knot tied by women or landsmen".^[1] It has also been suggested that rather than impugning the knot-tying skill of grandmothers, the name "granny" may be a corruption of granary after its possible use tying the necks of grain sacks.^[2]

Tying

When attempting to tie a reef knot (square knot), it is easy to produce a granny knot accidentally. This is dangerous because the granny knot can slip when heavily loaded. A tightened granny knot can also jam and is often more difficult to untie than the reef knot. It is better to tie a reef knot in nearly all circumstances. One way to distinguish them is that in the reef knot each loop passes completely over, or completely under (not through) the neck of the other.

The reef knot is commonly taught as left over right, tuck under then right over left, tuck under. The granny knot is the first step repeated twice, left over right, tuck under. This is a very common mistake made by people learning to tie a reef knot.

Bourchier knot of heraldry

Heraldry

In heraldry, the granny knot is known as the Bourchier knot, due to being a heraldic badge of the Bourchier family.^[3]

Related knots

References

↑ Smyth, William Henry (2008) [1867], Sir Edward Belcher, ed., The Sailor's Word-Book, Project Gutenberg, p. 346
↑ Budworth, Geoffrey (2000), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knots, New York: Lyons Press, p. 40
↑ Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry (1909), pp. 390, 469.

External links

"The Reef Knot Family", NotableKnotIndex.webs.com.

Knots

By type

Bends	Adjustable Albright special Ashley's Alpine butterfly Basket weave Beer Blood Carrick Double fisherman's Fisherman's Flemish Grief Halyard Harness Heaving line Hunter's Nail One-sided overhand Racking Sheet Shoelace Shroud Simple Simon under Single carrick Surgeon's Surgeon's loop Triple fisherman's True lover's Water Zeppelin

Binding	Boa Bottle sling Constrictor Corned beef Granny Ground-line hitch Jamming Miller's Packer's Reef Strangle Thief Transom

Climbing	Autoblock Bachmann Beer Bowline on a bight Alpine butterfly Directional figure eight Double bowline Farmer's loop Figure-eight Figure-eight loop Figure-of-nine loop Friction hitch Klemheist Munter hitch Overhand loop Prusik Trident loop Yosemite bowline

Coils & Shanks	Alpine coil Butterfly coil Over/under cable coiling Chain sinnet Sheepshank

Decorative	Carrick mat Chinese button Celtic button Diamond Fiador Friendship Ghiordes Matthew Walker Turk's head Wall and crown

Fishing (angling)	Angler's loop Arbor Bimini twist Blood Fisherman's Half blood Improved clinch Knotless Nail Palomar Snell Trilene Triple fisherman's Turle Uni

Hitches	Adjustable grip Anchor bend Axle Bachmann Bale sling Barrel Becket Blackwall Blake's Boom Buntline Cat's paw Clove Cow Distel Double overhand noose Falconer's Farrimond friction Friction hitch Garda Ground-line Half Halter Highpoint Highwayman's Hitching tie Icicle Improved clinch knot Killick Knute Lobster buoy Marlinespike Munter Ossel Pile Pipe Sailor's Snuggle Swing Taut-line Timber

Loop	Angler's Artillery loop Bale sling hitch Bowline Bumper Carrick bend loop Cossack Cowboy bowline Diamond Double bowline Dropper loop Eskimo bowline Fiador Fireman's chair Friendship knot Halter hitch Handcuff Honda Jury mast Overhand Portuguese bowline Rigid double splayed loop in the bight Slippery eight Span Spanish bowline Tom fool's Trident Triple bowline Triple crown Water bowline Yosemite bowline Zeppelin

Running (slip)	Hangman's Running bowline Running highwayman's hitch Tarbuck

Splices & splicing	Eye Fid Marlinspike Rat-tail T Western Union

Stopper	Ashley's stopper Button Double overhand Monkey's fist Overhand Stevedore

Whipping	Common Overhand knot with draw-loop Portuguese Sailmaker's West Country

Lists of knots
Related topics

Lists of knots	Bends Bindings Decorative knots Hitches (friction) Mathematical

Related topics	Chinese knotting Density History International Guild of Knot Tyers Macramé Mizuhiki Norigae Ropework Lashing Splicing Seizing Sennit

Category
WikiProject
Commons

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