Figure-eight knot

In the figure-eight, the working end first forms a loop, then goes once right around the standing part and only then is tucked through the loop. That extra round is the whole difference from the overhand. It makes the knot longer and bulkier and spreads the rope's bending over several gentler curves.

Because the curves are less tight, the knot does not squeeze together as much under load. That is why it jams less than the overhand and can usually be loosened after loading with a bit of flexing. At the same time it is a more effective stopper because it has more bulk to sit in front of an opening.

A correctly tied, dressed figure-eight shows a clear eight: two curves crossing in the middle and the end leaving on the opposite side from the standing part. If the knot instead looks small and compact, like a pretzel with only one curve, you probably forgot the round around the standing part – then it is an overhand knot.

Dress the knot before setting it, until the eight is clearly visible and no turn is twisted. Then pull evenly on standing part and end. A loosely left figure-eight can shake loose in slick cord; a firmly set one keeps its shape.

Leave a sufficiently long tail – several rope diameters. After the first loading, check again that the eight has kept its shape and the tail has not got shorter.

The figure-eight is the right stopper when the rope end must be untied again later: at the end of a guyline behind a taut-line hitch, on a line running through a pulley or eyelet, at the end of a rope you want to coil up again. It uses only a little more rope than the overhand.

In very thin, slick cord it can loosen; a double overhand is often more reliable there. And it is a stopper, not a loop and not a hitch. For a loop there is the figure-eight loop, which is based on the same shape.

The figure-eight is closely related to knots used in climbing. That tempts some people to think it is safer than it is in a particular application. But a stopper at a rope end is something quite different from protecting people. None of the knots in this atlas is meant for life-safety use – not for climbing, abseiling, rescue or holding and lifting people. Life-safety use only after proper training with certified equipment.

In everyday use too: a stopper only stops a rope slipping through an opening clearly smaller than the knot. If the opening is too large or the edge sharp, it can be pulled through or damaged. So check the opening, not just the knot.

First tie it slowly following the diagram: form a loop, take the end around behind the standing part, then through the loop from the front. Say the steps quietly to yourself as you go. Then alternately tie an overhand and a figure-eight and compare them – this teaches you to tell them apart at a glance.

At sea the figure-eight is the classic stopper at the ends of sheets so they don't run out through the blocks. In English it is also called the 'Flemish knot'. If a figure-eight is too small for you, there is the stevedore knot with one extra turn – anyone who knows the figure-eight can learn it in a minute.