The Carrick bend, also known as the Sailor's breastplate, is a

knot A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...

used for joining two lines. It is particularly appropriate for very heavy rope or cable that is too large and stiff to be easily formed into other common bends.Geoffrey Budworth, ''The Complete Book of Knots'' (London: Octopus, 1997), 43.Brion Toss, ''Chapman's Nautical Guides: Knots'' (New York: Hearst Marine Books, 1990), 79–80. It will not jam even after carrying a significant load or being soaked with water.Clifford W. Ashley, ''The Ashley Book of Knots'' (New York: Doubleday, 1944), 262–263. As with many other members of the

basket weave knot The basket weave knots are a family of bend and lanyard knots with a regular pattern of over–one, under–one. All of these knots are rectangular and lie in a plane. They are named after plait-woven baskets, which have a similar appearance. C ...

family, the carrick bend's aesthetically pleasing interwoven and symmetrical shape has also made it popular for decorative purposes.

Heraldry

The Carrick bend is known as the "

Wake knot The Wake knot or Ormond knot is an English heraldic knot used historically as an heraldic badge by the Wake family, lords of the manor of Bourne in Lincolnshire and also by the Butler family, Earls of Ormond. Form It takes the form of a Carr ...

" or "Ormonde knot" when it is used as a

heraldic badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

Arthur Charles Fox-Davies Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (28 February 1871 – 19 May 1928) was a British expert on heraldry. His ''Complete Guide to Heraldry'', published in 1909, has become a standard work on heraldry in England. A barrister by profession, Fox-Davies worke ...

, ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'' (1909), p. 469.

Etymology

This knot's name dates back to at least 1783, when it was included in a nautical

bilingual dictionary A bilingual dictionary or translation dictionary is a specialized dictionary used to translate words or phrases from one language to another. Bilingual dictionaries can be ''unidirectional'', meaning that they list the meanings of words of one lan ...

authored by Daniel Lescallier. Its origins prior to that are not known with certainty. There are several possible explanations for the name "Carrick" being associated with this bend. The

Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

plasterwork of

Ormonde Castle Ormond Castle () is a castle on the River Suir on the east side of Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. The oldest part of the existing castle is a mid-15th century walled bawn, cornered on the northeast and northwest by towers. Histor ...

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the so ...

shows numerous carrick bends molded in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

. Or the name may come from

Carrick Roads Carrick Roads ( kw, Dowr Carrek, meaning "rock anchorage") is the estuary of the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall in England. It joins the English Channel at its southern end near Falmouth. Geography It is a large flooded valley, or r ...

—a large natural

anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

by Falmouth in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The name may also have been derived from the

Carrack A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade fr ...

, a medieval type of ship.Geoffrey Budworth, ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots'' (London: Hermes House, 1999), 60–61.

Variations

The eight crossings within the carrick bend allow for many similar-looking knots to be made. The lines in a "full" or "true" carrick bend alternate between over and under at ''every crossing''. There are also two ways the ends can emerge from the knot: diagonally opposed or from the same side. The latter form is also called the ''double coin knot''. The form with the ends emerging diagonally opposed is considered more secure. Unfortunately, with so many

permutations In mathematics, a permutation of a set is, loosely speaking, an arrangement of its members into a sequence or linear order, or if the set is already ordered, a rearrangement of its elements. The word "permutation" also refers to the act or proc ...

, the carrick bend is prone to being tied incorrectly.

Appearance

Capsized

The carrick bend is generally tied in a flat interwoven form as shown above. Without additional measures it will collapse into a different shape when tightened, a process known as

capsizing Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...

, with the degree of capsizing depending on the looseness of the weave. This capsized form is both secure and stable once tightened, although it is bulkier than the seized form below. Incomplete capsizing resulting from a tight weave produces a form that is likewise secure and stable, but which is more difficult to untie, countering one of the advantages of the carrick bend. When the knot is allowed to capsize naturally under tension, considerable slippage of line through the knot can occur before tightening, so the knot should be set carefully before loading to avoid this slippage in use.Cyrus Lawrence Day, ''The Art of Knotting and Splicing, 4th ed.'' (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1986), 58.

Seized

In the interest of making the carrick bend easier to untie, especially when tied in extremely large rope, the ends may be seized to prevent the knot from collapsing when load is applied. This practice also keeps the knot's profile flatter and can ease its passage over capstans or

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attache ...

es.Des Pawson, ''Pocket Guide to Knots & Splices'' (Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books, Inc., 2002), 114-115. The ends are traditionally seized to their standing part using a round seizing. For expediency, a series of double constrictor knots, drawn very tight, may also be used. When seizing the carrick bend, ''both'' ends must be secured to their standing parts or the bend will slip.

Decorative uses

In the decorative variation, both standing ends enter from one side and both working ends exit from the other. In this configuration the knot is known as the ''Josephine knot'' ( macrame) or ''double coin knot'' (

Chinese knotting Chinese knotting, also known as () and decorative knots in non-Chinese cultures, is a decorative handcraft art that began as a form of Chinese folk art in the Tang dynasty, Tang and Song dynasty (960–1279 CE) in China. This form of craft or ...

). This form of the carrick bend is found depicted in

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

, sometimes with the tails of heraldic serpents woven (or "nowed") into this knot.J.C. Turner and P. van de Griend (ed.), ''The History and Science of Knots'' (Singapore: World Scientific, 1996), 388. In heraldry the knot is associated with

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Traditional pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/, modern pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɪ.wəd/) (1035 – 1072) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resista ...

and is known under the name

. It is depicted in the coat of arms of Bourne Town Council, Lincolnshire. The knot can be tied using doubled lines for an even flatter, more elaborate appearance. A doubled carrick bend was used to ornamentally secure the

lanyard A lanyard is a cord, length of webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, and activation and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lower ...

s on the breastplate of the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Mark V

diving helmet A diving helmet is a rigid head enclosure with a breathing gas supply used in underwater diving. They are worn mainly by professional divers engaged in surface-supplied diving, though some models can be used with scuba equipment. The upper part ...

during inspection and between dives. When the ends of the carrick bend are connected together, or more practically hidden behind the knot, it becomes a

carrick mat The carrick mat is a flat woven decorative knot which can be used as a mat or pad. Its name is based on the mat's decorative-type Carrick bend#Decorative uses, carrick bend with the ends connected together, forming an endless knot. A larger form ...

. This same configuration is also one of the most basic

Turk's head knot A Turk's head knot, sometimes known as a sailor's knot, is a decorative knot with a variable number of interwoven strands forming a closed loop. The name refers to a general family of knots, not an individual knot. While this knot is typically ma ...

Security

The fully interwoven diagonal carrick bend is the most secure variation. All other forms are inferior and not recommended as bends. Although the carrick bend has a reputation for strength, some tests have shown it to be as weak as 65%

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...

References

External links

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Animated carrick bend video
and step by step process. {{Knots Bend knots