Blood Knot

Tying procedure — Blood Knot

1. Step 01 / 5

   Cross the ends of the two lines so they overlap with the tags pointing in opposite directions, leaving each tag long enough for 7 turns and a tuck. Pinch the lines where they cross.

   You should now see: Two lines crossing in an X, held pinched at the crossing, with a long tag on each side.

   If it goes wrong: Too short an overlap. The second tag runs out before it has made the same number of turns as the first.

   Fix: Start again with longer tags. Squeezing turns out of a short tag leaves one side with fewer turns than the other.

   Why: The blood knot uses a lot of line, because the turns on each side gather in toward the middle as it closes.

   1Line A's tag end

   2Line B's tag end

   Step 1 of 5 · move 1 of 1

   Lay the two lines side by side with a long overlap, one running each way

   Hold: Left hand holds both lines in the middle of the overlap. Move: Right hand lays line B along line A until the overlap is long.

   You should now see: Two lines lying parallel along a long overlap, each tag reaching well past the middle.

2. Step 02 / 5

   Wrap one tag around the other line 5 to 7 times, working away from the crossing. Bring the tag back to the crossing and tuck it between the two lines.

   You should now see: An even spiral of turns on one side of the crossing, and the first tag passing through the gap between the two lines at the middle.

   If it goes wrong: Turns crossing or bunching, or losing count. You see a lumpy spiral, or later find one side has more turns than the other.

   Fix: Unwind this side and wrap it again, counting out loud, then tuck the tag and keep it pinched in the gap.

   Why: Animated Knots puts the strength of the blood knot in the turns: at least five, and up to seven, on each side of the centre.

   1Five turns of A's tag round line B

   Step 2 of 5 · move 1 of 1

   Wrap A's tag round B's standing line five times, working away from the middle

   Hold: Left hand pinches the two lines where they cross. Move: Right hand winds A's tag round line B, five turns out toward the right.

   You should now see: Five even turns of A's tag running outward along line B, with a gap left open where the lines cross.

3. Step 03 / 5

   Wrap the second tag around the first line the same number of times, working away from the middle and winding in the opposite direction, so the two sides mirror each other.

   You should now see: Two matching spirals, one on each side of the middle, with the same number of turns and the first tag still sitting in the gap between them.

   If it goes wrong: Making fewer turns on the second side, or winding in the same direction as the first. The two sides look different and the knot closes crooked.

   Fix: Count both sides. If they do not match, unwind the second side and wrap it again in the opposite direction with the same count.

   Why: Animated Knots describes the blood knot as a join for two lines of similar size, such as leader and tippet sections. Very different diameters close into an uneven barrel.

   1Five turns of B's tag round line A

   2The gap between the two sets

   Step 3 of 5 · move 1 of 1

   Wrap B's tag round A's standing line the same number of times

   Hold: Right hand holds A's turns and the crossing. Move: Left hand winds B's tag round line A, five turns out toward the left.

   You should now see: Two matching sets of five turns running outward from an open gap in the middle.

4. Step 04 / 5

   Tuck the second tag through the same gap at the middle as the first tag, entering from the opposite side, so the two tags point in opposite directions.

   You should now see: Both tags passing through the one central gap, one going each way, with both sets of turns still in place.

   If it goes wrong: Pushing the second tag through a different gap, or in the same direction as the first. The tags lie side by side pointing the same way instead of crossing.

   Fix: Pull the second tag back out and tuck it through the first tag's gap from the other side before pulling anything.

   Why: Tags that cross in the centre are each trapped by the other side's turns as the knot closes. Tucked the same way, both tags can draw back out.

   1A's tag, down through the gap

   Step 4 of 5 · move 1 of 2

   Bring A's tag back over its turns and pass it down through the gap

   Hold: Left hand keeps the gap open between the two sets of turns. Move: Right hand brings A's tag back along the top of its turns and down through the gap.

5. 1B's tag, up through the same gap

   Step 4 of 5 · move 2 of 2

   Pass B's tag up through the same gap, the opposite way

   Hold: Right hand holds A's tag in the gap. Move: Left hand brings B's tag back along the bottom of its turns and up through the gap.

   You should now see: Both tags through the same gap in the middle, A's pointing down and B's pointing up.

6. Step 05 / 5

   Wet the knot and slowly pull the two standing lines apart, so the turns gather in toward the middle and close. Trim both tags close.

   You should now see: A symmetrical barrel with matching coils either side of the centre, the lines leaving it straight, and a short tag on each side.

   If it goes wrong: Pulling fast on dry line, or letting a tag slip out of the centre gap. The barrel closes lopsided, bends at the middle, or the line looks crinkled.

   Fix: If the barrel is lopsided, crinkled or bent at the middle, cut it out and tie it again. A closed blood knot cannot be reworked.

   Why: As the knot closes the turns wrap around each other and change shape, which Animated Knots notes alters the look of the knot in nylon. A slow pull lets them gather evenly.

   Step 5 of 5 · move 1 of 2

   Wet the knot and pull both standing lines slowly until the turns close up

   Hold: Left hand pulls line A's standing part. Move: Right hand pulls line B's standing part the other way, slowly.

7. Step 5 of 5 · move 2 of 2

   Trim both tags close to the barrel

   Hold: Left hand holds the knot by one standing line. Move: Right hand trims each tag close.

   You should now see: One even barrel, both halves the same length, with two short tags leaving the middle in opposite directions.