Knots/Bend knots/Water knot
The water knot (also tape knot, ring bend, grass knot, or overhand follow-through) is a knot frequently used in climbing for joining two ends of webbing together, for instance when making a sling.
| Water knot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Names | Water knot, Tape knot, Ring bend, Grass knot, Overhand follow through |
| Category | bend |
| Typical use | To join webbing for climbing |
| Caveat | Ends should be left long, knot should be tightened and inspected before each use. Difficult to untie. |
| ABoK number |
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Tying the water knot
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It is tied by forming an overhand knot in one end and then following it with the other end, feeding in the opposite direction.
The ends should be left at least 3 inches
long and the knot should be "set" by tightening it with full body weight. The ends can be taped or lightly sewn to the standing parts to help prevent them from creeping back into the knot.[1]
Security
editTesting has shown the water knot to slip very slightly, but very consistently, with each load and unload cycle. In tests using 9/16 in tubular webbing, repeated loading and unloading with 250 lbs caused one of the 3 in tails to work back into the knot in just over 800 loading cycles. When the water knot was statically loaded with 200 lbs no slipping was observed. These results validate the need to leave long tails and inspect water knots before each use.[2]