Lubricate, Tighten & Trim

Fishing knots are intended to be pulled extremely tight before use. To ensure the knot tightens smoothly, and to avoid generating heat, the knot should be moistened with water first. The most conveniently available source of water is saliva - which is probably used more than anything else! When available, a better lubricant is vegetable oil.

The ends of most fishing knots can, and should, be trimmed closely against the knot. The best tool for the purpose is a nail clipper.

Breaking Strain

Some words have already been written on the Safety page about knots weakening rope. Claimed breaking strength for some fishing knots is suspiciously high. Supposedly it varies with the number of turns used, and the number of turns is supposed to be adjusted to accord with the line diameter. It is worth remembering, testing shows that monofilament with a knot in its length breaks at about 50% of its ideal strength.

Ideal breaking strength is tested by winding each end around very large diameter drums. However, this is not the typical situation; in most cases fishing knots subject the line to sharp bends and kinks, which greatly reduces the breaking strain.

Therefore, in any knot where the line passes round itself, performance figures in excess of the 50 - 70 % range are best treated with critical skepticism. Testing your own line and your own knot with your own spring balance still provides you with the only data you can truly trust.

The only well-documented method of tying knots in monofilament and maintaining its strength involves threading the monofilament inside a dacron braid. The report claims that with this technique breaking strains of 90% of the ideal were achieved.

The two knots which claim very high breaking strains are the Bimini Twist and the Australian Braid