Clove hitch

Clove hitch
Category	Hitch
Origin	Ancient
Related	Slippery hitch, Two half-hitches, Buntline hitch, Cow hitch, Constrictor knot, Ground-line hitch, Lashings, Snuggle hitch
Typical use	Securing lines running along a series of posts, belaying, starting lashings, weak binding
Caveat	Can spill if the standing part is pulled forcibly in the wrong direction
ABoK	#11, #53, #69, #70, #204, #400, #421, #437, #1176, #1177, #1178, #1179, #1180, #1245, #1773, #1774, #1775, #1776, #1778, #1779, #1814, #2079, #2541, #2542, #2543, #2544, #2546, #2547, #2548
Instructions	[1] [2]

The clove hitch is an ancient type of knot, made of two successive single hitches^[1]: 283 tied around an object. It is most effectively used to secure a middle section of rope to an object it crosses over,^[1]: 213 such as a line on a fencepost. It can also be used as an ordinary hitch, or as a binding knot, but it is not particularly secure in either application.^{[1]: 18, 224} It is considered one of the most important knots, alongside the bowline and the sheet bend.

Although the name clove hitch is given by Falconer in his Dictionary of 1769, the knot is much older, having been tied in ratlines at least as early as the first quarter of the sixteenth century. This is shown in early sculpture and paintings. A round turn is taken with the ratline and then a hitch is added below. The forward end is always the first to be made fast.

— The Ashley Book of Knots^[1]: 214