Page 29 - The Pocket Guide to Equine Knots

Running bowline, step 4.

The bowline is acting as the honda of your makeshift lariat. It has snagged the main part
of the rope in such a way that it can “run,” so you can make the loop as large as you wish,
throw it around an object, and tighten it by a pull. No matter the pressure, you’ll always be

able to get the running bowline untied.

Honda Knot

But if you only wish to create an impromptu lariat, the honda knot is more compact and very
easy to tie. Knot guru Clifford Ashley wrote in The Ashley Book of Knots that he learned the
honda knot from the famous cowboy author and illustrator Will James (whose cabin in the

Pryor Mountains was located only fifty miles or so east of me as the crow flies).
To tie the honda knot, first tie an overhand knot in the end of your rope as a stopper knot,
as shown, and pull it tight. The overhand knot is one you make frequently without thinking;

you simply make a loop in the rope and pass the end through it, then pull tight. It’s probably
the most-often used stopper knot, defined as a knot in the end of a rope to make it easier
to hold onto the end should it slip through your hand. Stopper knots are also used as a
temporary way of keeping a rope from unraveling.

Overhand knot as stopper knot.

After you’ve made a tight overhand stopper knot, make a loose overhand knot eight or
ten inches from the end of your rope (step 1).
Now bring that end up through one side of the overhead knot (step 2). Pull the loose knot
tight, leaving a small loop to act as the honda (step 3).