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The reef knot, or square knot, is an ancient and simple binding knot used to secure a rope or line around an object. It is sometimes also referred to as a Hercules knot or Heracles knot. The knot is formed by tying a left-handed overhand knot between two ends, instead of around one end, and then a right-handed overhand knot via the same procedure, or vice versa. A common mnemonic for this procedure is "right over left; left over right", which is often appended with the rhyming suffix "... makes a knot both tidy and tight". Two consecutive overhands tied as described above of the same handedness will make a granny knot. The of the reef knot must emerge both at the top or both at the bottom, otherwise a thief knot results.
The reef knot is not recommended for tying two ropes together, because of the potential instability of the knot when not stabilized; something that has resulted in many deaths (see Misuse as a bend).
The name square knot is often used for the unslipped version of reef knot. Reef knot itself then is understood as the single slipped version, while the name shoelace knot is to indicate double slipped version.
Sometimes the name bowtie also may be used to indicate a double slipped version, but tying a bowtie is usually performed on flat material, and involves a slip knot of one end holding a bight of the other end i.e. not really a double slipped reef knot.
The name "Square knot" is also used for completely different other knots such as the mathematical concept of square knot, or friendship knot; this last one earns the name by being flat and drawing a square on one face (and a cross on the other face).
The single slipped version is used by sailors for reefing and furling sails. To release the knot a sailor could collapse it with a pull of one hand on the slipped end. The sail's weight would make the collapsed knot come apart. It is specifically this behavior which makes the knot unsafe for connecting two ropes together.
The reef knot is also one of the key knots of macrame textiles.Ashley, pp. 399-400.
The knot lies flat when made with cloth and has been used for tying for millennia. As a bandage knot it was known to the Ancient Greece as the Hercules knot ( Herakleotikon hamma). and is still used extensively in medicine. In his Natural History, Pliny relates the belief that wound healing more quickly when bound with a Hercules knot.
It has also been used since ancient times to tie belts and . A modern use in this manner includes tying the obi (or belt) of a martial arts keikogi.
both ends slipped it becomes a good way to tie shoelaces, whilst the non-slipped version is useful for shoelaces that are excessively short. It is appropriate for tying plastic garbage or trash bags, as the knot forms a handle when tied in two twisted edges of the bag.
A surgeon's variation, used where a third hand is unavailable, is made with two or three twists of the ropes on bottom, and sometimes on top, instead of just one.
The reef knot figures prominently in Scouting worldwide. It is included in the international membership badge and many scouting awards. In Pioneering (Scouting), it is commonly used as a binding knot to finish off specialized lashing (ropework) and . However, it is an insecure knot, unstable when jiggled, and is not suitable for supporting weight.See World Scout Emblem 1955.svg for an image of the emblem.
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