BUCKHORN CLIFFSA preparedness field manual

Tools and Repair · Skill

Two Half Hitches

Two turns round its own line. Works under load. When to use it, the four moves to tie it, and what makes it fail, with drawings.

Quick facts

  • TypeHitch
  • Holds whenAny steady pull, any post shape
  • Fails whenHitches turned opposite ways (a cow hitch), or a tail too short
  • Unties after load
    • Yes
    • it ties
    • unties while loaded

Two turns round its own line. Works under load.

Part of Knots: which knot for the job, where the knot is picked by the problem. This page is the one knot: when it's the right one, the four moves to tie it, and what makes it fail.

When to use it

Posts and ringsStakes, rails, rings.
Under tensionTies and unties loaded.
Square or slickWhere a clove hitch slips.
RidgelinesFixed end of a tarp line.

How to tie it

Twice around. Locked.

Standing lineWorking end

  1. Two Half Hitches step 1: Over the rail

    1

    Over the railPass the end up over the rail and down behind it.
  2. Two Half Hitches step 2: First half hitch

    2

    First half hitchAcross the front, round behind, then down over itself.
  3. Two Half Hitches step 3: Second half hitch

    3

    Second half hitchRepeat below the first, turning the same way.
  4. Two Half Hitches step 4: Snug it up

    4

    Snug it upSlide both hitches up to the rail and pull tight.
✓

Check it: both hitches turn the same way and stack snug against the rail. Turned opposite ways they will not hold. Retie the second one.

Where it fails

Watch out

Both hitches must turn the same way. Opposite turns make a cow hitch, and it slips.

  • Leave a tail. Four to six inches so it cannot pull through.
  • Heavy or jerking load? Take one full wrap round the post first. The wrap takes the strain.

Locks other knots

Clove hitchRolls loose when the pull shifts.Two half hitches with the tail round the standing line, snug to the hitch.
BowlineShakes loose when the rope goes slack.One or two half hitches with the tail round the loop leg, tight to the knot.

The other three

Four knots cover nearly every job on a homestead, a campsite, or a truck. The rest are on the knots page, picked by the job.

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

How do you tie two half hitches?

Pass the end over the rail and down behind it. Bring it across the front of the standing line, round behind, and down over itself: that is one half hitch. Make a second one below it, turning the same way. Slide both up to the rail and pull tight. Leave a four to six inch tail.

What are two half hitches used for?

Tying a rope to a post, stake, rail or ring, including square or slick ones where a clove hitch slips, and the fixed end of a tarp ridgeline. It ties and unties under tension, which most knots will not.

What is a round turn and two half hitches?

The same knot with one full wrap round the post taken first. The wrap takes the strain, so it's the version for a heavy or jerking load, a boat on a line, or a tarp in wind.

Which knot ties to a post under tension?

Two half hitches. You can tie it while the standing line is already pulling and untie it the same way. Take a round turn first if the load is heavy.

How do you back up a clove hitch or bowline?

With half hitches from the tail. For a clove hitch that might roll loose, two half hitches with the tail round the standing line, snug to the hitch. For a bowline that will sit slack, one or two half hitches with the tail round the loop leg, tight to the knot.

Keep going

Read nextKnots: Which Knot to Tie for the Job, and How to Tie ItFour knots cover nearly every job. Pick by the problem: tie to a post, join two ropes, a loop that will not close, a tarp. Then the bowline, clove hitch, two half hitches and sheet bend, each drawn step by step with when it fails.Tools and Repair · Guide

Related to this

Tools and Repair · Skill Bowline Knot Loop. Holds: Steady pull on the loop. Fails: Slack and shaking, or stiff slick rope. Tools and Repair · Skill Clove Hitch Hitch. Holds: Steady, straight pull on a round pole. Fails: Sideways pull, slack, square posts, slick rope. Tools and Repair · Skill Sheet Bend Bend. Holds: Two ropes under a steady pull, even different sizes. Fails: Tails on opposite sides (left-handed), or slack and shaking. Tools and Repair · Supply Synthetic Rope: Nylon, Polyester or Polypropylene, and Which One to Buy for Each Job Nylon stretches and takes shock, polyester holds tension and takes sun, polypropylene floats and costs the least; stock all three and keep the poly out of the sun
Everything in Tools and RepairNever-mix checkerShelf life tableFind a recipe by needWalk-around auditStart here

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