The packer's knot is a

binding knot Binding may refer to: Computing * Binding, associating a network socket with a local port number and IP address * Data binding, the technique of connecting two data elements together ** UI data binding, linking a user interface element to an eleme ...

which is easily pulled taut and quickly locked in position. It is most often made in small line or string, such as that used for hand

baling The Baling District is an Districts of Malaysia, administrative district in southeastern Kedah, Malaysia. Located about 110 km from Alor Setar, it borders Perak and Betong, Thailand, Betong, the southernmost town of Thailand. Name The name ...

, parcel tying, and binding

roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization ...

s. This latter use, and its general form, make it a member of a class of similar knots known as butcher's knots.Clifford W. Ashley, ''The Ashley Book of Knots'' (New York: Doubleday, 1944), 36-38.

Tying and variations

A lightly tightened

figure-eight knot The figure-eight knot or figure-of-eight knot is a type of stopper knot. It is very important in both sailing and rock climbing as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining devices. Like the overhand knot, which will jam under st ...

is formed around the

standing part 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 ' ...

of the line such that both ends emerge from the same point. Pulling on the standing part tightens the binding. After the desired degree of tension is reached, a locking

half-hitch The half hitch is a simple overhand knot, where the working end of a line is brought over and under the standing part. Insecure on its own, it is a valuable component of a wide variety of useful and reliable hitches, bends, and knots. Two s ...

is added over the working end and pulled taut. Even without the locking half-hitch the knot will generally maintain tension while additional tying is accomplished, such as putting a second,

perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

, wrap on a package.Ashley(1944), p. 337Gordon Perry, ''Knots'' (North Vancouver, Canada: Quantum Publishing, 2006), 130-131. A similar knot made with an

overhand knot The overhand knot is one of the most fundamental knots, and it forms the basis of many others, including the simple noose, overhand loop, angler's loop, reef knot, fisherman's knot, Half hitch, and water knot. The overhand knot is a stopper, e ...

instead of a figure-eight works almost as well.Des Pawson, ''Pocket Guide to Knots & Splices'' (Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books, Inc., 2002), 108-109. Many other variations also exist finishing with this style of locking half-hitch. In fact,

Clifford Ashley Clifford Warren Ashley (December 18, 1881 – September 18, 1947) was an American artist, author, sailor, and knot expert. Life Ashley was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, son of Abiel Davis Ashley and Caroline Morse. He married Sarah Scudder ...

claimed that there were more knots of this type to be found than any other used for a single purpose.

References

External links

Diagram of a packer's knot
{{Knots

Tying and variations

See also

References

External links