Tuesday, February 16, 2010

69 knot or Zeppelin knot

I have to admit one of the skills I have always admired is knot tying.  When using ropes or cords I have always relied upon an ugly, nasty, set of ins and outs to somehow create a knot that is impossible to undo when I am finished.  I am always left with the option of pulling out my EDC knife and cutting the knot from my section of rope.
In an effort to improve my knot tying skills I will periodically post a knot that I have found useful.  The knots will be simple in order to be retained in my limited cerebral cortex.  The 69 knot is very easy to learn and simple to remember as it is based on the number 69.  The number 69 is easy to remember for those of us that failed to mature past adolescence.

The 69 knot is also called the Zeppelin knot.  I assume it was used to tie down Zeppelins back in the day but my middle name is not Wikipedia so do not quote that little tidbit.  The knot is used to connect two sections of rope or cord.  It is very strong but can still be undone with ease.  I have practiced with 550 para cord.  I was concerned that it would not work as well with small diameter rope or cord but the 550 para cord was easily undone.

Step 1 - Create a 6 and 9 with the end of two ropes.
Step 2 - Overlay the 6 on top of the 9.  the key here is to ensure that the tail of the 6 is on top and the tail of the 9 in on the bottom.
Step 3 - Feed the tail of the 6 down thru the loops and the tail of the 9 up thru the loops.

Step 4- Pull both tails in opposite directions creating the knot.

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