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stopper · simplest · 1·5
the first knot anyone ties. a loop with the end pulled through. one motion. if you have ever tied a string, you have made this.
it jams under load. that is sometimes useful — sewing thread, the end of a kite string — and sometimes the failure that ruins a longer line. when the rope is good, prefer the figure-eight instead. when the rope is twine and small, this is enough.
a child's first knot. the child who tied a string round the leg of the table in the corridor — that was an overhand. so was the one around my finger that i kept all afternoon, to remember to bring the letter in from the rain.
— the smallest knot still counts as a knot.
slipknot · figure-eight · ribbon · thimble