Ashley stopper knot

The knot starts with a slip loop – a loop that tightens when you pull the standing part. The standing part is the long part of the rope that will later take the strain. The key is that the small bight is drawn from this standing part and not from the end.

Then you pass the short end through this bight. When you now pull the standing part, the bight shrinks and clamps the end. The rope ends up in several layers on top of each other, and these layers form the three round lobes. This makes the knot clearly bulkier than a figure-eight in the same rope.

A finished Ashley stopper is compact and round. Seen from above it has three even lobes, and the end emerges roughly in the middle. If you see only two lobes, or the knot looks more like a stretched overhand, the bight has usually been drawn from the wrong part of the rope.

Dress the knot before you set it: push the turns into place so that nothing is twisted or crossed that should not be. Then pull the end first and afterwards pull the standing part firmly so everything settles – this is called setting. Leave the tail long enough to stick out clearly from the knot – a very short tail can slip out.

Do a test: hold the knot against the eyelet it is meant for and pull on the rope. If it slips through, pulling tighter will not help – then you need a toggle or a washer.

The Ashley stopper is worth it when a figure-eight or a double overhand is too small: on large tarp grommets, on rings, in holes in a crate or at the end of a grab or pull line you want to grip well. It uses surprisingly little rope for its size.

It is less suitable where you have to untie the knot often and quickly. After a hard pull it sits tighter than a figure-eight. With very large openings even this knot will not help; then a piece of wood as a toggle or a washer is the better solution.

The most common mistake is in the second step: the bight is drawn from the end instead of the standing part. Then nothing closes around the end, and the knot is just a messy lump that can deform under load. Because the sequence is easy to confuse and is still awaiting an expert check, always compare the finished knot with a reliable illustration.

Other mistakes are a tail that is too short and a knot that was not dressed before setting – then the lobes sit crooked and the knot is smaller than expected. Check stoppers that often run through eyelets regularly: constant rubbing loosens them over time.

A stopper knot is not a safety knot for people. Life-safety use of knots only after proper training with certified equipment.

Clifford W. Ashley was an American painter and knot collector. His large book of knots from 1944 is still regarded as the standard reference and lists thousands of knots with numbers. He described this stopper there; in English-language books it is therefore called the Ashley stopper, sometimes also the oysterman's stopper.

A medium-thick, soft rope is best for practising. Tie the knot a few times next to a figure-eight and a double overhand. You will see straight away how much bulkier it is – and you will learn to recognise it at a glance.