# Bight (knot) > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bight_(knot) > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bight_(knot).md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bight_(knot) > Source revision: 1354951253 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Curved section between two ends of a rope}} {{refimprove|date=April 2016}} thumb|An open loop of rope. Sources differ on whether this is a bight. In [knot tying](/source/knot_tying), a '''bight''' is a curved section or slack part between the two ends of a [rope](/source/rope), [string](/source/Twine), or [yarn](/source/yarn).{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=59}}. "Any slack part of a rope between the two ends, particularly when curved or looped." A knot that can be tied using only the bight of a rope, without access to the ends, is described as '''in the bight'''. The term "bight" is also used in a more specific way when describing [Turk's head knot](/source/Turk's_head_knot)s, indicating how many repetitions of [braid](/source/braid)ing are made in the circuit of a given knot.{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=232}} ==Bight vs. open loop== Sources differ on whether an open [loop](/source/Loop_(knot)) 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}} ==Slipped knot== {{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](/source/Bow_(knot)) used for tying [shoelace](/source/shoelace)s is simply a [reef knot](/source/reef_knot) with the final [overhand knot](/source/overhand_knot) made with two bights instead of the ends. Similarly, a [slippery hitch](/source/slippery_hitch) is a slipped variation of the single hitch that spills instantly when the end of the rope is pulled.{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=283}} ==''In the bight''== 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](/source/climbing) rope. {{cite web |title= Rock Climbing: How to Tie a Figure 8 Knot on a Bight |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbB85p_uJsE |website=youtube.com |publisher=[REI](/source/REI) |language=en |format=video |date=Sep 6, 2016}} Many knots normally tied with an end also have a form which is tied in the bight (for example, the [bowline](/source/bowline) and the [bowline on a bight](/source/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](/source/clove_hitch) can be made "in the bight" if it is being slipped over the end of a post or into an open carabiner but not if being cast onto a closed ring, which requires access to an end of the rope. ==Examples== {{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](/source/Half_hitch) through and around a bight of the red rope (left) in this [sheet bend](/source/sheet_bend). |File:Slipped-buntline-hitch-ABOK-1712.jpg|alt2=Slipped buntline hitch|The final tuck of this [slipped buntline hitch](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/overhand_knot) tied ''in the bight'' results in an [overhand loop](/source/overhand_loop). |File:FigureOfEightLoop.jpg|alt8=Figure eight loop|A [figure-eight knot](/source/figure-eight_knot) tied ''in the bight'' results in a [figure-eight loop](/source/figure-eight_loop). }} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Bibliography== *{{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 }} ==External links== {{Commons category|Bights}} {{Knots}} Category:Knot components [fr:Nœud_(lien)#Ganses](/source/fr%3AN%C5%93ud_(lien)) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bight (knot)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bight_(knot)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bight_(knot)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.