Ashley Stopper
Three-lobed stopper. Use when a figure-8 pulls through.
Intermediate · Polyester / Nylon rope / Polypropylene / Natural fibre / Dyneema / HMPE
Connection card
Ashley Stopper
For stopper in the end.
This card does not say how strong the knot is. A retention figure comes from a bench, in one material, at one diameter, tied by somebody who ties it all day — and the line in your hand is none of those. What it does tell you is whether the thing you have just tied is the thing the record describes.
What this plate is telling you
Three-lobed stopper. Use when a figure-8 pulls through.
Save this as a picture and it works with a dead signal and a nearly dead battery, which is when a joint is most often tied badly. The rest of this page — the steps, the seating sequence, the failure modes and the bench — is for the evening before.
Before you start
- ·Leave a long working end. It has to pass through the slip knot's loop before anything is tightened.
- ·Make the slip knot's loop from the standing part. Only then does pulling the standing part close the loop around the working end.
- ·Ashley described it for holes too large for a figure-eight. Test the finished knot against the block, fairlead or hole it has to stop.
- ·It is a stopper knot and cannot join two ropes. To join ropes, use a bend such as a sheet bend.
Step 1 of 4. Leaving a long working end, tie a loose slip knot near the end of the rope, pulling a bight of the standing part through the overhand so the loop shrinks when you pull the standing part.
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
swipe to step
01
Leaving a long working end, tie a loose slip knot near the end of the rope, pulling a bight of the standing part through the overhand so the loop shrinks when you pull the standing part.
A loose overhand on the working-end side with an open loop coming out of it. A gentle tug on the standing part makes the loop smaller.
Pulling the bight through from the working end instead. You notice it because tugging the standing part does not shrink the loop, while pulling the working end spills the knot.
Fix: Pull the working end to spill the knot, then tie it again with the bight taken from the standing part.
Why: This loop is what closes around the working end in step 3. It can only close when the standing part is pulled if the loop is made from the standing part.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — Ashley Stopper
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Ashley Stopper itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 01 / 4
Leaving a long working end, tie a loose slip knot near the end of the rope, pulling a bight of the standing part through the overhand so the loop shrinks when you pull the standing part.
You should now see: A loose overhand on the working-end side with an open loop coming out of it. A gentle tug on the standing part makes the loop smaller.
If it goes wrong: Pulling the bight through from the working end instead. You notice it because tugging the standing part does not shrink the loop, while pulling the working end spills the knot.
Fix: Pull the working end to spill the knot, then tie it again with the bight taken from the standing part.
Why: This loop is what closes around the working end in step 3. It can only close when the standing part is pulled if the loop is made from the standing part.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Ashley Stopper itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 02 / 4
Tuck the working end through the open loop and draw a little of it through, keeping the loop loose around it.
You should now see: The working end passes through the loop and hangs out the far side, with the loop still sitting loosely around it.
If it goes wrong: Tucking the working end through the overhand instead of the loop. When the standing part is pulled later, the loop closes on nothing and a plain overhand is left.
Fix: Pull the working end back out and feed it through the loop of standing part, which is the loop that shrinks when you tug the standing part.
Why: The working end has to be inside the loop before anything is tightened. The loop closing around it is what makes the extra lobe.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Ashley Stopper itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 03 / 4
Pull the overhand part snug first, then pull the working end tight, and last pull the standing part hard so the loop closes down on the working end.
You should now see: The loop has disappeared into the knot. On the underside, where the standing part enters, three separate lobes sit in a neat triangle.
If it goes wrong: Hauling on the standing part before the overhand is snug. The loop drags out or closes in the wrong place, and the underside shows only two lobes, like a plain overhand.
Fix: If only two lobes show, open the knot back to the slip knot, check the working end is inside the loop, and tighten again in order: overhand, working end, standing part.
Why: Animated Knots gives this order because the overhand has to be snug before the standing part closes the loop. That keeps the loop seated around the working end instead of pulling out of the knot.
If wrong: Left as a two-lobe overhand — Pulls through the block — this is not an Ashley yet.
- Diagram in reviewA drawing of the Ashley Stopper itself is being made. Until then, follow the written steps.
Step 04 / 4
Work any slack out of the lobes with your fingers, pull the standing part once more, then test the knot against the block, fairlead or hole it is meant to stop.
You should now see: A firm, round knot with no loose lobe, which stops at the opening without starting to squeeze into it.
If it goes wrong: A loose knot, or one too small for the opening, that starts to pull into the block under load. It also gets tried as a way to join two ropes, which a stopper cannot do.
Fix: If it is loose, retie and tighten in order. If it is tight and still pulls in, the opening is too big for this knot. To join two ropes, use a bend such as a sheet bend.
Why: Ashley described this knot for holes too large for a figure-eight, and Animated Knots calls it the bulkiest of the simple stoppers and less likely than a figure-eight to shake loose.
If wrong: Undersized or loose body — Pulls through the opening.
If wrong: Asked to join two ropes — A stopper is not a bend.
Watch the tie
Ashley Stopper Knot | How to Tie the Ashley Stopper KnotAnimatedKnots · Opens on YouTubeExternal video from a creator we follow — not produced by us. Nothing on this page loads from YouTube until you follow the link.
Seating sequence — where failures are born
The step list compresses the finish. Run these phases in order, one at a time.
01 Form
Build the structure loose enough to see every turn.
None. Shape first.
02 Dress
Nest every turn. Crossed parts will walk or jam.
Light — hold the shape.
03 Set
Load the standing part so the intended turns take the strain.
Working load, not a snatch.
04 Check
Confirm the lock still breaks or inspects as the job requires.
None extra.
05 Commit
Only load it after the structure reads correct. Wrong means remake.
Working load, not a snatch.
Finished structure — what correct looks like
No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.
- ·Compact three-lobed stopper, larger than the block or fairlead after dress
- ·Dressed compact so the third lobe cannot pull through
- ·Short tail. This is not loaded as a join
- ·Three distinct lobes on the underside — two lobes is an overhand
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Compact three-lobed stopper, larger than the block or fairlead after dress
- 02Dressed compact so the third lobe cannot pull through
- 03Short tail. This is not loaded as a join
- 04Three distinct lobes on the underside — two lobes is an overhand
- 05A two-lobe unfinished overhand pulls through
- 06Three lobes, larger than the opening. Stopper only
Field notes — dark, cold, gloves
- ·Dress is the lock. A pretty knot that is not dressed is not finished.
- ·HMPE usually wants a splice, not a hitch you learned in polyester.
- ·If you cannot break or inspect it under the load you expect, it is the wrong job.
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
Bulk at the tail, larger than the opening — not a join.
- !Body smaller than the block or fairlead after dress
- !Asked to join two ropes
- !Figure-8 used in HMPE where Estar extra turns were the stopper, or Ashley left as a two-lobe overhand
- !The working end is not inside the loop when the standing part is pulled, so the loop closes on nothing and a plain overhand is left
- !The standing part was pulled before the overhand was snug, and the underside shows two lobes instead of three
- !The knot is loose, or too small for the opening, and starts to pull into the block or fairlead under load
Left as a two-lobe overhand
Pulls through the block — this is not an Ashley yet
The third lobe is the stopper · step 03
Undersized or loose body
Pulls through the opening
Size after dress is the job · step 04
Asked to join two ropes
A stopper is not a bend
Pick a sheet bend or Zeppelin if you needed a join · step 04
Stopper pulls through or looks like an overhand
Check
- ?Three lobes on the underside
- ?Larger than the opening
Then
- →Finish the third lobe
- →Retie larger
Left as a two-lobe overhand
Check
- ?Pulls through the block — this is not an Ashley yet
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Undersized or loose body
Check
- ?Pulls through the opening
- ?Inspect step 04
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Asked to join two ropes
Check
- ?A stopper is not a bend
- ?Inspect step 04
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.
Get it right with everything in your favour0/5 clean
Good light, dry hands, a table. Until the sequence is automatic here there is nothing for the harder rungs to test — you would only be learning that difficult conditions are difficult, which you already knew.
How · Tie it, check it against the list, log it. Five clean and the ladder opens.
Nothing marked. Log it clean, or mark what happened first.
Not ideal for
- ×A tiny stopper (figure-8 is smaller)
- ×Any load-bearing join
Strength, and where the number comes from
Not established
A stopper whose published property is that it will not pull through; no publisher states a rope-break percentage for it.
Percentages come from published tests on their own line, their own knot-tyer and their own pull rate. Yours is a different system. Treat a figure as a reason to test, not as a result you already have.
- Animated Knots — Ashley Stopper (Oysterman's)
- AnimatedKnots — Ashley Stopper Knot | How to Tie the Ashley Stopper Knot
Cited tying video already attached to this record.
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Animated Knots — Ashley Stopper
Animated Knots by Grog
- Ashley Stopper Knot | How to Tie the Ashley Stopper Knot
AnimatedKnots
Related knots
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.