the.com/overhand knot
The first knot you ever learned, and the one that ruins shoelaces forever.
means The simplest knot there is — loop the end of a rope over itself and pull it through, and you've made one; it's the building block nearly every other knot is based on.
from 'Overhand' just describes the motion: the working end passes over the standing part of the rope, rather than under it, as your hand rolls it through the loop. The knot itself has no single inventor or coinage moment — it's older than recorded language, essentially the default thing human fingers do with a piece of string, which is exactly why it shows up first in every kid's hands and last in every stubborn shoelace.
- simplest knot
- one loop, one pass, done
- jams tight
- gets harder to undo under load
- building block
- base of the square and figure-eight knots
- rope killer
- weakens rope strength by up to 50 percent