Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Canonical Name: thief knot. Variant Name(s): None. Category: bend. Origin: Ancient. Related knots: square knot, granny knot Releasing: Non-jamming. Efficiency: Unknown%. Caveat: spills. Uses: It resembles the square knot, aka reef knot except that the free, or working, ends are on opposite sides. It is said that sailors would secure their belongings in a ditty bag using the thief knot, often with the ends hidden. If another sailor went through the bag, the odds were high the thief would tie the bag back using the more common square knot, revealing the tampering, hence the name. Comments: With the story, fun for demos. "Who can tell the difference between a reef knot and a thief knot?" Structure: Tying: article/pictures This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.