French bowline French bowline Some consider that a French bowline is the same as a Portuguese bowline, i.e. a bowline with two loops that can be used as a bosun's chair. A different knot is however also known as a French bowline. This form of bowline is similar to a standard bowline but there are several loops so that there is less likelihood of damage to a delicate object secured by the bowline. As with a standard bowline, the knot cannot tighten. Pressure is distributed over a wider area than in the case of a standard bowline. The main advantage of this
Overhand knot There are a number of ways to tie the Overhand knot. In heraldry, the overhand knot is known as a "Stafford knot", owing to a representation of it being used first as a heraldic badge by the Earls of Stafford, and later as a general symbol of Staffordshire. As a defensive measure, hagfishes, which resemble eels, produce large volumes of thick slime when disturbed. A hagfish can remove the excess slime, which can suffocate it in a matter of minutes, by tying its own body into an overhand knot, then sliding the knot from its head down to the tail.