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Ranked knots · how each fails

Two or three inspectable options for this job. Failure notes are the compromises, not decoration.

Arbor Knot and Uni Knot fit this job too closely for the model to separate. The order is not a verdict — choose on the failure notes below.

Knot decision card
RecommendedCompare
Toggle alternative

Same rules. Switch knots without running it again — hold the trade-offs side by side.

Arbor Knot — finished structureFinished structure. Line around the reel arbor; a sliding overhand to the spool and a stopper in the tag.
finished · schematic

Line around the reel arbor; a sliding overhand to the spool and a stopper in the tag.

Line around the reel arbor; a sliding overhand to the spool and a stopper in the tag.

Arbor Knot

Line → spool · Monofilament

no field conditions declared

Strong
field fit — how well this connection suits the job you described

Relative ordering from weighted judgement. Not a retention figure, not a probability, not measured.

answer confidence low

Why this one
  • ·Essentially level with Uni Knot on weighted field fit (Strong vs Strong). Treat them as the same answer and choose on the tradeoff
  • ·Spool attachment
  • ·Simple
  • ·Strong connection-job fit (100)
Retie notes
  • Cinches on arbor; backup wraps on spool
  • Tension profile: low. Slip sensitivity: moderate.
  • Failure-sensitive stage: around arbor
  • Failure-sensitive stage: overhand on tag
Watch for
  • !No stopper overhand tied in the tag end
  • !Stopper left loose, so it pulls through the first overhand
  • !Knot not pulled down onto the arbor, leaving the loop loose on the spool
  • !Braid on a smooth bare arbor, where the whole loop turns around the spool
Fallback

Uni Knot Strong

Arbor Knot leads on connection-job fit (100 vs 80) and retie speed (95 vs 84). Uni Knot still holds an edge on material compatibility and load behavior.

58 knots ruled out · 2026-09-16 08:27:29Z

Next — Field Ops Desk

You have a knot to tie. Field Ops turns that into a trip: travel, timing, what to pack, and what is still unchecked. The link carries the connection, the knot, the lines and the tying conditions across, plus whatever the tools before this one worked out, so none of it gets typed twice.

Take this to Field Ops Desk →

No coordinates travel on this link, and it is checkable — everything on it is written into the address, so you can read it before you press it.

Failure modes

When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.

Arbor / core-grip family

A grip on a spool arbor or a lead-core sheath — not a join of equals.

  • !Too few turns on a slick arbor
  • !Sheath cut while the core is pulled
  • !Overhand missing on the leader so the trap never sets
Fails when
  • !No stopper overhand tied in the tag end
  • !Stopper left loose, so it pulls through the first overhand
  • !Knot not pulled down onto the arbor, leaving the loop loose on the spool
  • !Braid on a smooth bare arbor, where the whole loop turns around the spool
Geometry
  • Not cinched

    Spool spin / slip

    Must cinch to arbor · step 03

  • Missing lock overhand

    May slip

    Tag overhand locks cinch · step 02

  • Malformed

    Unreliable

    Simple structure must still be correct · step 01

  • Loose on arbor

    Slip

    Cinch required · step 03

Same family

Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.

This failed — start Diagnose
Surviving options
Arbor Knot — finished structureFinished structure. Line around the reel arbor; a sliding overhand to the spool and a stopper in the tag.

Line around the reel arbor; a sliding overhand to the spool and a stopper in the tag.

01Arbor Knot

Strong

Arbor Knot leads on connection-job fit (100 vs 80) and retie speed (95 vs 84). Uni Knot still holds an edge on material compatibility and load behavior.

Connection-job fit100
Material compatibility83
Load behavior78
Diameter relationship70
Schematic — the Uni Knot family, shared by 6 knots in this catalogueFinished structure. Line through the eye, doubled back into a loop; tag wraps inside that loop; barrel slides to the eye.

Line through the eye, doubled back into a loop; tag wraps inside that loop; barrel slides to the eye.

02Uni Knot

Strong

Versatile

03Centauri Knot

Good

Documented terminal job from Hook the Horizon library

What separated these options

1 · Arbor Knot

2 · Uni Knot

3 · Centauri Knot

Job fit×1.4
Material×1.2
Tie in the field×0.9
Under load×1.2
Retie speed×0.6
cold wet hand difficulty×0.1
wind sensitivity×0.1
low light difficulty×0.1

Ordered by how much each axis separated these options, not by its weight. A heavy axis every candidate scores the same on decided nothing. The bar is the score; the number beside the axis is what that axis was worth in this situation.

  • Job fit, weight 1.4: Arbor Knot 100, Uni Knot 80, Centauri Knot 84. Highest: Arbor Knot.
  • Material, weight 1.2: Arbor Knot 83, Uni Knot 96, Centauri Knot 88. Highest: Uni Knot.
  • Tie in the field, weight 0.9: Arbor Knot 85, Uni Knot 78, Centauri Knot 69. Highest: Arbor Knot.
  • Under load, weight 1.2: Arbor Knot 78, Uni Knot 85, Centauri Knot 82. Highest: Uni Knot.
  • Retie speed, weight 0.6: Arbor Knot 95, Uni Knot 84, Centauri Knot 84. Highest: Arbor Knot.
  • cold wet hand difficulty, weight 0.1: Arbor Knot 92, Uni Knot 78, Centauri Knot 69. Highest: Arbor Knot.
  • wind sensitivity, weight 0.1: Arbor Knot 92, Uni Knot 78, Centauri Knot 69. Highest: Arbor Knot.
  • low light difficulty, weight 0.1: Arbor Knot 78, Uni Knot 78, Centauri Knot 61. Highest: Arbor Knot.

Every scored dimension, every surviving option, side by side. Weighted order — the top rows are the ones actually deciding this call.

What would change this

What if the wind picks up and your hands go cold?

Arbor Knot still leads. Field fit is Strong under that change (Strong here).

What if this connection must pass through the guides?

Arbor Knot still leads. Field fit is Strong under that change (Strong here).

What if you had to rebuild it every twenty minutes?

Arbor Knot still leads. Field fit is Strong under that change (Strong here).

What if you were tying this with unpracticed hands?

Arbor Knot still leads. Field fit is Strong under that change (Strong here).

Where the catalogue went

Every connection in this discipline was checked against the job you set. This is what removed the ones you are not seeing — press a band to read them.

61 modelled · 58 ruled out · 3 survived

A knot that fails more than one constraint is counted once, against the most fundamental one. Nothing here is a score — these are the checks a connection has to pass before it is ranked at all.

Decide

State the job.
We’ll say what holds.

Saved setups · 0

01

The job

What is physically being joined.

Terminal
Line to line
Loops & spool
Rig

line to spool · mono