How to tie the sheet bend knot

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The sheet bend won’t slip when ropes of dissimilar material and size are tied together. Here’s how to tie the sheet bend:

• Make a bight in the end of the thicker rope and hold it with one hand.
• Pass the running end of the other rope through the bight. Then take that end around and behind the bight.
• Bring the end across the front of the bight and tuck it under its own standing part so that both rope ends emerge on the same side of the knot.
• Tighten the knot by holding the bight and pulling the standing part of the smaller line.

When tying a sheet bend, be sure that the working ends are on the same side; otherwise, the knot may be unreliable. If you tie a thick and a thin rope together, use the the thick rope to form the stationary bight and the thin rope as the working line.