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I'm running a rope through a grommet and would like stopper knots on both sides so that the rope is secure and not movable either way. I've done an overhand stopper knot on the entering side then passed the rope through the grommet. I can do a similar knot on the exiting side, but I'm having a hard time cinching that knot tightly up against the grommet (see image). Is there some sort of slip stopper knot or similar that would allow me to tighten it? Or another method to accomplish what I'm looking to do?

enter image description here

UPDATE

To clarify, I'm passing only one rope through the grommet, one way. Once the knots are set, I won't need to untie the rope. And if there's extra rope on the bottom side after cinching the lower knot up against the grommet, I can cut off the remaining slack. Also, I wish to use only the rope, no other tools (clamps, etc.).

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  • Can you do two ropes through the grommet? If so, maybe a double fisherman's bend tied with the grommet in the middle would work well: animatedknots.com/double-fishermans-bend-knot
    – Dave X
    Jul 10, 2022 at 17:57
  • Unfortunately, I can only do 1 rope through, just like the photo.
    – VBStarr
    Jul 10, 2022 at 18:33
  • If the lower end shown is free, then it's only the lower knot that is taking strain. So if the function of the upper knot is simply to prevent the rope from sliding back through the hole, then it need not be an actual knot, but some kind of crimp or clamp around the rope.
    – Weather Vane
    Jul 10, 2022 at 18:54
  • Correct, I could find a crimp or clamp, but was hoping to use only the rope itself. I've seen slipping stopper knots in fishing, but those use two lines. However, that's the concept I'm looking for - but with just a single rope.
    – VBStarr
    Jul 11, 2022 at 4:52
  • It is often possible to move a knot to a wanted position while tightening with the help of a fid (or other strong thin metal rod) and some experience. But the nature of a stopper knots makes it impossible to move them after they are tightened. And I do think it very unlikely that you can get the knot to sit close to the hole.
    – Willeke ♦
    Jul 14, 2022 at 15:42

2 Answers 2

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Your requirements are spread between your question and your comments. These ideas may work:

A double fisherman's bend tied through the grommet would provide load handling capability on both sides:

double fisherman's knot tied through a hole

The snugness can be loosened by pulling the knots away from the grommet, or tightened by loading the opposite strands.

An overhand stopper knot tied on each side of the grommet, with additional half-hitches used to snug up the slack:

overhand stoppers through a hole, with added half-hitches

In the above, two additional half hitches were used, creating a clove hitch between the loose stopper and the grommet. Depending on the gap, more or less half-hitches could be used. In this case, one could instead do a half-hitch on each side for symmetry.

Adding an extra half-hitch to an overhand or other stopper knot could be a "Banana Knot", ABOK 361.

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  • The second of these (wrapping further hitches between the knot and the grommet to take up any slack) is a great idea. But in the first, OP states that only one rope can be passed through thre grommet.
    – Weather Vane
    Jul 12, 2022 at 13:13
  • Yes, the second one is the best idea I've seen so far (the first looks good, but it does require ropes to pass through twice). I was taking the (possibly wrong) approach of trying to 'slip' the lower knot up against the grommet and then secure it somehow. But this method is definitely functional.
    – VBStarr
    Jul 12, 2022 at 19:07
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    @WeatherVane -- Yes, I saw that VBStarr wanted just one rope through the grommet in the comments, but I thought the double fisherman's knot was excellent for the slip idea in the OP and also for security if one wanted to hold tension on a cinched knot.
    – Dave X
    Jul 12, 2022 at 22:45
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It is not clear, what are your requirements. The fastest and simplest knot is the simple knot, it is easy to adjust, but hard to untie. If untying is implied, than the 8 knot looks like best solution. If you do not want to go through all the long rope to tie the knot, then bowline knot could be a solution.

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  • My requirement, like in the photo, is to have both knots snugly against each side, as close together as possible, thus not allowing any 'play' of the rope either way. I don't need to untie and can cut off any remaining of the rope end, so whatever knot on the rope-end side works best to push it tightly against the hole is what I'd be looking for. Will a simple knot work for this? If so, how is it tied?
    – VBStarr
    Jul 10, 2022 at 18:38
  • If you intend to cut off the remaining rope ends, do you mean that it is decorative? In Sailing, they use a rope through a grommet with knots on both sides for reefing en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reefing but the knots leave play so the ropes dangle free. // a "simple knot" is an overhand: animatedknots.com/overhand-knot You are using a double overhand in your pic: animatedknots.com/double-overhand-stopper-knot
    – Dave X
    Jul 10, 2022 at 19:03
  • Interesting! Double-overhand in my sail guide is called "bloody knot" because of one of its purposes during ages of sailing.
    – Vladimir
    Jul 10, 2022 at 19:59
  • Okay, so neither an overhand or double-overhand will work on the bottom side, since both will leave play. I think it would need to be some type of slip knot, that can be pushed all the way up, but then tightened so that it could never slip back down. Anything like that exist?
    – VBStarr
    Jul 11, 2022 at 4:47
  • @VBStarr -- please add your requirements to your question. An overhand is like a half-hitch around itself Perhaps you could add additional overhands/half-hitches on top of/behind a too loose overhand.
    – Dave X
    Jul 12, 2022 at 2:17

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