Zeppelin Bend
Rosendahl bend
Joining two ropes of similar size where the join has to hold a heavy load and still untie afterwards, once the load is off.
Bend · Intermediate · Polyester / Nylon rope / Polypropylene / Natural fibre · 4 steps
ApplicationsHow to tie itFinished structure
Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.
Move 1 of 1Make a 6 in one rope and a 9 in the other, with the working ends on opposite sidesYou should now see: A 6 and a 9: one working end crosses above its standing part and the other below. Step 01
Form a loop shaped like the number 6 in the end of the first rope, with the working end crossing on top of its standing part.
You should now seeSeen from above, the rope reads as a 6: a round hole with the standing part leading away from it and the working end lying over the standing part where they cross.
If it goes wrongCrossing the working end under the standing part, or starting with two ropes of very different thickness. Check which strand is on top at the crossing, and hold the two ropes side by side.
Fix: Re-form the loop with the working end on top. If one rope is much thicker than the other, use a sheet bend instead, the usual bend for ropes of different sizes.
Why: Which way the working end crosses sets the handedness of this loop. The second loop has to be its mirror image; two loops of the same handedness give Hunter's bend, which looks similar but is a different knot.
Move 1 of 1Lay the 6 over the 9 so the two holes line upYou should now see: The bights overlap without changing their chirality: top working end over itself, bottom working end under itself. Step 02
Form a loop shaped like a 9 in the second rope, with its working end crossing under its standing part. Lay the 6 on top of the 9 so the holes line up and the working ends point out on opposite sides.
You should now seeOne shared hole through both loops, the two standing parts leading away in opposite directions, and each working end outside the standing parts rather than between them.
If it goes wrongBoth working ends on the same side of the hole, or one tucked between the standing parts. Usually the 9 was formed with its end on top, or it was turned over when laid down.
Fix: Lift the 9 away, re-form it with the working end under its standing part, and slide it under the 6 again so the two working ends point away from each other.
Why: Wikipedia's account of this method stresses that the working ends sit on opposite sides of the holes and outside the standing parts. That arrangement lets the two tucks in step 3 pass each other through the middle.
Move 1 of 1Pass both working ends past each other through the common centreYou should now see: Both ends pass through the same middle opening in opposite directions; neither simply crosses over the centre. Step 03
Take the 6's working end down around the outside of both loops and up through the shared hole. Take the 9's working end up around the outside of both loops and down through the hole.
You should now seeEach working end passes through both loops. One comes up out of the hole and the other goes down through it, running past each other in opposite directions.
If it goes wrongA working end that goes through only its own loop, or both ends through the hole in the same direction. Lift the pair and look: there should be two ends in the hole, one entering from each side.
Fix: Pull the stray end back out, take it around the outside of both loops, and pass it through the hole in the opposite direction to the other end.
Why: The direction matches the crossing from steps 1 and 2: the end that crossed on top of its standing part comes up through the hole, and the end that crossed underneath goes down.
Move 1 of 1Pull both standing parts and both working ends to dress the two interlocking overhandsYou should now see: Two compact interlocking overhands, with the working ends leaving opposite sides of the centre and no strand flipped into Hunter's form. Step 04
Pull the two standing parts in opposite directions, slowly, while pinching the working ends so they do not draw back out of the hole.
You should now seeA compact, symmetrical knot of two interlocked loops, with one tail leaving each face on opposite sides and both tails still close to their starting length.
If it goes wrongLetting a working end slide back through the hole while pulling. The knot comes out lopsided or one tail is suddenly much shorter, which means it has not locked.
Fix: Take the load off, open the knot by pulling its two outer loops away from each other, and retie from step 1.
Why: Animated Knots notes it can be untied after heavy loading but not while under load, and that for critical loads the tails should be left much longer than in its animation.
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
Two interlocking overhands or a Carrick lattice — tails on the documented sides.
- !Tails on the wrong sides of the bend
- !Broken lattice or a reef-knot form in disguise
- !Undressed so one overhand takes the whole load
- !A working end slides back through the shared hole during tightening, so the knot sets lopsided and has not locked
- !The loops have the same handedness, which ties Hunter's bend. Animated Knots calls it less satisfactory and hard to tell apart.
- !One working end goes through only its own loop instead of through both loops, which leaves the knot incomplete
Both working ends on the same side
Bend will not lock and spills under load
The 6 and the 9 must have opposite working ends · step 02
One end missing the second loop
Unfinished 6-and-9 — looks like a sheet bend and will slip
Each working end must pass through the centre of both loops · step 03
Used on a large diameter mismatch
Thinner rope walks out of the lock
Similar diameters only; mismatch is a double sheet bend · step 01
Bend spills or will not dress into two loops
Check
- ?Opposite working ends
- ?Two interlocked loops
Then
- →Retie the 6-and-9
- →Step to double sheet bend on a mismatch
Both working ends on the same side
Check
- ?Bend will not lock and spills under load
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
One end missing the second loop
Check
- ?Unfinished 6-and-9 — looks like a sheet bend and will slip
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Used on a large diameter mismatch
Check
- ?Thinner rope walks out of the lock
- ?Inspect step 01
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.
Why this knot
What it earns its place with, what it costs, and what to reach for instead.
- A 10-second join you will cut anyway (sheet bend is faster)
- Extreme diameter mismatch (double sheet bend or splice)
- Forming the 9 with its working end on top, so both loops have the same handedness and the knot becomes Hunter's bend
- Laying the loops with both working ends on the same side, or with one end between the standing parts
- Passing a working end through only its own loop, or both ends through the shared hole in the same direction
- Letting a working end draw back out of the hole while pulling the standing parts
- Sheet BendBeginner
Join two ropes of unequal or similar diameter
- Carrick BendIntermediate
Joining two heavy ropes or hawsers with a bend that stays easy to undo after it has been loaded
- Hunter's BendIntermediate
Joining two ropes of roughly the same size where the join does not need untying later