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Half Hitch as a Bowline BacktieA half hitch is an overhand knot tied around departing cord. It's the simplest way to secure a bowline waist loop for critical uses like climbing.Text and photos by Steve Howe Need a primer on knot tying terminology? Click here.
Start with a snugged-up bowline tied belt-tight around the narrowest part of your body.
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READERS COMMENTS
Page 1
Is that a bowline with a half-hitch or a sheet bend with a half-hitch?
— Foxman
A Half Hitch is not an Overhand, its a Half Hitch. You are showing an Overhand Knot and that's the correct knot for this application. The picture is clearly a Bowline, not a Sheet Bend.
— Terry Pogue
Foxman, from your question, I assume you're already aware that a bowline and a sheet bend are the "same". That is, the twists in the rope are identical. The only difference is which of the lines coming out of the knot are the tails vs. the bight in the bowline.
As for the picture, it looks like it probably is actually a bowline. Without seeing more of the rope it's impossible to say for certain. I believe part of the confusion is that the tail of the working end incorrectly finishes outside the bight of the bowline. This is important b/c having he tail exit "into" the bowline's bight makes the knot more secure (less likely to untie on its own). This is less of a concern when the bowline is backed-up as shown above.
This leads me to my last comment. Backpacker, I would call this a "bowline with an overhand back-up" rather than a "half hitch back-up". A half hitch, like all hitches, must, by definition collapse once its host is removed. In the above pictures, what is shown is an overhand knot tied around one side of the bight of a bowline. If you remove the line that creates the bowline's bight from the back-up knot, you would still have an overhand knot in the tail of the working end. Ergo, it is not a hitch and is, in fact, an overhand knot.
It's just a picky nomenclature thing, but if you're putting it on your website, you might as well get it right :-)
— JCS
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