{{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, a '''bight''' is a curved section or slack part between the two ends of a rope, string, or yarn.<ref name="ashley597">{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=59}}. "Any slack part of a rope between the two ends, particularly when curved or looped."</ref> 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 knots, indicating how many repetitions of braiding are made in the circuit of a given knot.<ref name="ashley232">{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=232}}</ref>
==Bight vs. open loop== 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,<ref>{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=13, #30}}</ref> while an open loop is a curve "narrower than a bight but with separated ends".<ref>{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=13, #31}}</ref> However, ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knots'' (2002) states: "Any section of line that is bent into a U-shape is a bight."<ref>{{harvp|Budworth|2002|p=18}}</ref>
==Slipped knot== <!-- Slipped knot redirects here --> {{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 variation of the single hitch that spills instantly when the end of the rope is pulled.<ref name="ashley283">{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=283}}</ref>
==''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.<ref name="ashley207">{{harvp|Ashley|1944|p=207}}</ref> 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.<ref> {{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 |language=en |format=video |date=Sep 6, 2016}}</ref>
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 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 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. }}
==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