Thursday, March 18, 2010

How to tie the Swiss Knot

This is a follow up to the previous post on the history of the most excellent shoe lace knot in the world "Thee Swiss Knot".  If you like stopping in the middle of _____(insert any activity that involves shoes with laces) and tying your shoelaces because they have come undone then STOP READING now.

I will start by saying that the best method for learning the Swiss Knot is to stop one of us on the trail and ask us.  If you can't wait until that happens then check out this short clip I shot in my professional studio with the best camera money can buy.  If that doesn't work you can try following the instructions for Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot.  It is close but slightly more complex and time consuming to tie in my opinion.  What really makes the Swiss Knot work is taking your 2nd loop (or bunny ear) and the loose end and bringing them both back through the middle knot.  I tie all of my shoes this way now and never have them come undone.

5 comments:

peter said...

The secret is out.

Erik said...

Beautiful cinematography and narration. I say you enter it into some type of alternative film festival, such as the Tahoe-Truckee Wild and Scenic Film Festival. The knot hasn't failed me yet!!

Jay said...

Excellent demo! Very helpful! One question - where can I get a red and white plaid table cloth?? Nice!

Lloyd said...

Thanks for the video. I'm already using the knot. However, I found that when I did the initial cross over (the very first step in tying the standard knot), it was working loose while I tied the rest of the Swiss Knot. I solved that by crossing the laces twice, which kept them snug while if finished the knot.

Matt Hart said...

good stuff christian.. i do a lil different version. the loop goes around twice but the loose end does not actually need to go back through.. you can leave that out and make it slightly simpler.