resp. Bowstring Knot
Description:
In the literature and on the internet, the Honda Knot seems to be presented mainly as a Lariat Knot. Yet, as I have found out, it is a very good and very simple rope tensioner that builds up its gripping force when pulled tight and thus hardly loses any of its gripping force when the loose end is released. This makes it one of the self-clamping rope tensioner knots. Only later did I find out that it is identical in form to the Bowstring Knot, but used differently. But not even all descriptions of this knot correctly describe the rope tensioner property. However, it requires another knot at the other end of the standing part and is therefore, like most rope tensioner knots, not suitable on its own for tensioning a rope around an object.
In principle, the Honda Knot has similar fields of application and properties as the Trucker’s Hitch and is a good substitute for this knot. In contrast to the Trucker’s Hitch, it is self-clamping, which is a particular advantage when tying. The Trucker’s Hitch itself is shown in the literature and on the internet with different suspension loops. If a slipped Overhand Knot is used for this, it can dissolve itself when being pulled up. The Honda Knot does not have this property.
The Honda Knot still has the special property that it forms a symmetrical, well-spread loop. Since it only builds up its clamping characteristics when the two legs of the loop are evenly loaded, it must be secured when the load is asymmetrical (and dynamic?). A good symmetrical loop without rope tensioner properties is the Honda Butterfly Loop I developed, in which I combined the Honda Knot and the Alpine Butterfly Knot.
Note: Only the loops are symmetrical in the cases I have mentioned, the knots themselves are often asymmetrical relative to the symmetry of the loops.
