I am under the impression that not many of you know where the name of this beautiful little crown-like knot came from. And… surprise! There’s a reason why there is no “official” source for this knot and that’s because it is not the official name. It is actually called a footrope-knot. Find it in Ashley’s Book of Knots on page 122 No 696. “The footrope knot; first a crown, then a wall. Tuck up and that’s all.”
It is my favorite stopper-knot. Something nice to end your rope with, without being too bulky and still have the possibility to extend your ropes easily.
At the risk of sounding like an ancient man. In 2003 (!) when I started out finding my own ropes and browsing the interwebs for information, I found a website called Nawashi.com; then being one of the few good sources available. Those were different times. Nowadays there is so much information available, that people even can’t see the wood for the trees.
The webmaster then was Numinous. I regret that we never have been in touch then, I might have learned a lot, earlier :-) But he had this “Thistle”-knot description and tutorial on his website. There was also an explanation on the site why he named it that, probably not knowing either what its original name is.
“I just like the name “thistle” for this, because that’s exactly what it looks like and since I’m of Scottish heritage, it seems appropriate to me.” – Numinous
As said, it’s my favorite stopper knot, so when I started my little rope business, I called that knot a thistle knot.
I am probably not the only one that knew of Numinous’ website then, being a fabulous name. Nawashi is a household name in the Japanese rope style community nowadays. And Osada Steve being a smart man, always ahead of people, he purchased the domain. Luckily we have the Waybackmachine, now better known as the web archive, which can show you old versions of websites and domains.
Give it a try; here’s Numinous’old website: Former Nawashi.com.
So when you meet someone talking about rope and stopper knots and they call this one a Thistle knot, you KNOW it’s a pervert!
Marrow