Bight (knot)#Slipped knot

Sources differ on whether an open loop or U-shaped curve in a rope qualifies as a bight. {{harvtxt|Ashley|1944}} treats bights and loops as distinct, stating that a curve "no narrower than a semicircle" is a bight,{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=13, #30}} while an open loop is a curve "narrower than a bight but with separated ends".{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=13, #31}} However, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knots (2002) states: "Any section of line that is bent into a U-shape is a bight."{{harvp|Budworth|2002|p=18}}

{{distinguish|slip knot}}

In order to make a slipped knot (also slipped loop and quick release knot), a bight must be passed, rather than the end. This slipped form of the knot is more easily untied. The traditional bow knot used for tying shoelaces is simply a reef knot with the final overhand knot made with two bights instead of the ends. Similarly, a slippery hitch is a slipped clove hitch.{{fact|date=April 2016}}

The phrase in the bight (or on a bight) means a bight of line is itself being used to make a knot. Specifically this means that the knot can be formed without access to the ends of the rope.{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=207}} This can be an important property for knots to be used in situations where the ends of the rope are inaccessible, such as forming a fixed loop in the middle of a long climbing rope.{{fact|date=April 2016}}

Many knots normally tied with an end also have a form which is tied in the bight (for example, the bowline and the bowline on a bight). In other cases, a knot being tied in the bight is a matter of the method of tying rather than a difference in the completed form of the knot. For example, the clove hitch can be made "in the bight" if it is being slipped over the end of a post but not if being cast onto a closed ring, which requires access to an end of the rope. Other knots, such as the overhand knot, cannot be tied in the bight without changing their final form.{{fact|date=April 2016}}

{{gallery

|title=Bight examples

|width=160 | height=170

|align=center

|File:Sheet-Bend-ABOK-1431.jpg|alt1=Sheet Bend|The blue rope (right) is half-hitched through and around a bight of the red rope (left) in this sheet bend.

|File:Slipped-buntline-hitch-ABOK-1712.jpg|alt2=Slipped buntline hitch|The final tuck of this slipped buntline hitch is made with a bight rather than the end, making it easier to release after tightening.

|File:Marlinespike-hitch-ABOK-2030-Step3.jpg|alt3=Marlinespike hitch|In the tying of a marlinespike hitch, a bight of the standing part is snagged through the loop.

|File:Turks-head-3-lead-10-bight-doubled.jpg|alt4=Turk's head 3 lead 10 bight doubled|The bights, in the case of this 3-lead 10-bight Turk's head knot, are the scallops along the perimeter of the knot.

|File:Alpine butterfly loop.jpg|alt5=Alpine butterfly loop|The alpine butterfly knot is a climbing knot which is tied in the bight and forms a reliable fixed loop.

|File:BowlineBight.jpg|alt6=Bowline on a bight|The bowline on a bight forms two fixed loops in the middle of a rope.

|File:Overhand-loop-ABOK-1046.jpg|alt7=Overhand loop|An overhand knot tied in the bight results in an overhand loop.

|File:FigureOfEightLoop.jpg|alt8=Figure eight loop|A figure-eight knot tied in the bight results in a figure-eight loop.

}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Ashley |first=Clifford W. |year=1944 |title=The Ashley Book of Knots |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=9780385040259 }}
• {{cite book |last=Budworth |first=Geoffrey |year=2002 |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knots |isbn=9781585746262 }}

{{Commons category|Bights}}

{{Knots}}

Category:Knot components

fr:Nœud_(lien)#Ganses