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Ian's Secure Knot Technical Info.
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This page contains some technical information on Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot, including its knotting origins, its
advantages and its limitations.
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Ian's Secure Knot Technical Description
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Creating Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot:
Following the success of my
Ian Knot, I decided to see if I could also improve on the various known methods of tying a secure knot. I
analysed several of the better known variations, including the
Surgeon's Shoelace Knot, the
Better Bow Shoelace Knot and the
FreedomKnot™, all of which are based on the idea of
looping through twice.
My
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot was the end result of a number of experiments and variations, with the emphasis on
making it symmetrical.
What It Turned Out To Be:
I was only subsequently made aware that my new knot was not new! It turned out that I had simply re-invented an
existing knot known as the
Double Slip Knot, which can be seen in Clifford Ashley's definitive reference
The Ashley Book of Knots as #1219.
I was also recently told that the same knot is shown as a
Seaman's Shoelace Knot (or "Seemännische Schuhbandschleife") in the German book "Knoten,
Spleißen, Takeln" by Erich Sondheim.
Unfortunate Naming:
For some reason, Clifford Ashley's name "Double Slip Knot" doesn't convey the true nature of this knot. Imagine
trying to explain to a child, or even to an adult unfamiliar with knotting terminology, that the "Double Slip Knot"
doesn't slip? Although it's a perfectly correct technical name for this knot, it nonetheless makes it sound
less secure than a conventional shoelace knot! The fact that this knot isn't in common use is possible proof
of this mistaken impression.
What Should It Be Called?
Should this knot be called a "Double Slip Knot", as per Clifford Ashley's long standing reference book? Or a
"Seaman's Shoelace Knot", as per Eric Sondheim's book? Or an "Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot", as named by myself only
recently?
There is a convention used when naming flora and fauna, which are generally given both a "Technical" name (usually
Latin) and a "Common" name (usually more descriptive). You are thus welcome to use either the original and
technically accurate name "Double Slip Knot" or a more recently coined common name.
I'm humble enough to admit that I wasn't the first to invent this knot. Perhaps I was simply the first to give it a
meaningful name? I have no egotistical desire for you to use that name for any reason other than that it better
describes the knot's true purpose and is easy to remember.
For me, this knot will always be an "Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot" to remind me of how I (re)-invented it on my own.
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My Own Technical Observations
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How Does It Compare To Other Secure Shoelace Knots?
Whilst it's relatively easy to prove the topological similarities between
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot and its near cousins, the
Surgeon's Shoelace Knot or the
Turquoise Turtle Shoelace Knot, it's another matter to prove that they are equally stable.
From my own testing, in the years of using both Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot and the Surgeon's Shoelace Knot I have
NEVER had either of them come undone! Even when I've accidentally stepped on a lace or snagged a loop, I've
noticed it pulling before the knot has had a chance to come untied.
How Does It Compare To Other Regular Shoelace Knots?
It was much easier to prove that Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot is more secure than any of the
regular knots. Using a pair of shoes with round, slippery laces, I tied one with my
Ian Knot and the other with my
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot. Despite tying both to approximately the same average tightness, the Ian Knot came
untied two or three times a week whilst the Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot
never came untied.
How Much More Secure Is It?
Even without any scientific testing, it was obvious that the Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot held much more firmly,
as it felt like I had to pull more than twice as hard to undo this knot than other regular knots. In order to
quantify this more exactly, I performed some at-home science.
I improvised a crude device for measuring tension as follows: I cut a thick elastic band so that it ended up as a
long elastic strip and tied this to one end of a shoelace. Using a pen, I drew two lines on the elastic 50mm apart.
Armed with a ruler, I was now ready for some basic comparative testing.
I alternated between tying an
Ian Knot (which is identical to a
Standard Shoelace Knot), and an
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot on the same section of lace and tied to the same tension. Each time, I pulled on the
elastic and measured the distance between the two pen marks until the point when the lace began to slip freely. I
then subtracted 50mm from each reading to adjust for the 50mm distance at zero tension. The results were extremely
convincing!
- The
Ian Knot usually came undone between about 50mm and 110mm, with an average of 83mm.
- The
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot came undone between about 200mm and 250mm, with an average of 232mm!
Interestingly, many of the latter readings were 300mm, at which point the elastic was stretched to it's maximum. I
suspect that my readings could have been higher had the elastic been able to stretch any further. In any case, this
test shows that the
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot needs almost
three times the tension to pull it undone than the
Ian Knot, or any
Standard Shoelace Knot.
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Secure Knot Variations
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The concept of looping through more than once in order to make a knot secure can be done in several different ways:
1. Starting Knot Looped Twice:
Looping the starting knot twice
(
Double Starting Knot) provides extra friction to stop the starting knot coming apart. This is why this knot is
commonly used by surgeons when tying sutures, as it makes it more difficult for the sides of a wound to come apart.
2. Finishing Knot Looped Twice:
This is the core method employed by the
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot, the
Surgeon's Shoelace Knot, the
Turquoise Turtle Shoelace Knot, the
Better Bow Shoelace Knot and the
FreedomKnot™. It provides more friction on the finishing bow, making it better suited to shoelaces as it
makes the bows less prone to coming loose from typical daily exertions.
3. Both Starting Knot
AND Finishing Knot Looped Twice:
It would seem logical that this third variation would enjoy the benefits of both of the other two. However, the
sides of the knot end up further apart, making for a looser, less secure knot overall. Try it and see for yourself.
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Other Uses for Ian's Secure Knot
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Besides shoelaces, there's plenty of other knotting tasks that can benefit from the extra holding power and the
neat double wrap of
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot:
- Firmly wrapped parcels
- Rope ties on bathrobes
- Drawstrings on bathers
- Dress or hair ribbons
- Plants tied to stakes
- Lacing on corsets
Once you realise that it has all the security of a good, strong knot with the convenience of drawstrings for easy
untying, you'll be using
Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot in all sorts of places.
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Please see my
Testimonials page to read some of the things that others have said about my Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot.
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This page last updated: 17-Aug-2010. Copyright © 2004-2010 by
Ian W. Fieggen. All rights reserved.
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