Editing Butterfly bend

{{Short description|Knot to join the ends of two ropes together}}{{Infobox knot
| name=Butterfly Bend
| image= Alpine Butterfly Bend Final.jpg
| names= Strait bend<ref name="tossrig">{{Citation|first=Brion|last=Toss|title=The Complete Rigger's Apprentice|location=Camden, Maine|publisher=International Marine|year=1998|isbn=0-07-064840-9|pages=72–73}}</ref>
| type= bend
| origin= 
| related= [[butterfly loop]], [[Hunter's bend]], [[Zeppelin bend]], [[Ashley's bend]]
| releasing= non-jamming
| strength= 
| uses= 
| caveat= Errors in tying can result in a similar looking but insecure bend
| abok_number= 
| instructions= [http://www.animatedknots.com/alpinebend/]
}}
The '''butterfly bend''' is a [[knot]] used to join the ends of two ropes together.  It is the analogous [[bend knot|bend]] form of the [[butterfly loop]],<ref name="tossrig"/> in that it is the butterfly loop with the loop cut.<ref name="budult">{{Citation|first=Geoffrey|last=Budworth|title=The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots|location=London|publisher=Hermes House|year=1999|isbn=0-681-60694-0|page=77}}</ref>  The observation that the butterfly loop is secure enough to isolate a worn or damaged section of rope within the loop indicated that the bend form of the knot would be similarly secure.<ref name="pdsmith">{{Cite book|title=Knots for Mountaineering, Camping, Utility, Rescue, etc|last1=Smith|first1=Phil D.|orig-year=1953|year=1955|publisher=Desert Trail|location=Twentynine Palms, CA}}</ref>

==History==

When Phil D. Smith made the first known presentation of the [[Hunter's bend]] in 1953 (under the name "rigger's bend"),<ref name="TKB">{{Citation|title=The Knot Book|publisher=Sterling Publishing|location=New York|last=Budworth|first=Geoffrey|year=1985|orig-year=1983|isbn=0-8069-7944-5|page=120}}</ref> he described it as a modification to the butterfly bend.<ref name="pdsmith"/>  While the bend form had been known to mountaineers, nautical rigger Brion Toss brought the knot to a wider audience when he published it in 1975. Unaware of the earlier publication, Toss called the butterfly bend the '''strait bend''' after the [[Strait of Juan de Fuca]].<ref name="tossrig"/><ref name="asheraltbook">{{Citation|last=Asher|first=Harry|title=The Alternative Knot Book|publisher=Nautical Books|location=London|year=1989|isbn=0-7136-5950-5|page=57}}</ref>

==Tying==
The butterfly bend can be tied using a subset of the methods used for tying the loop form by holding the two rope ends together and treating them as if they were a single [[bight (knot)|bight]].  However, specific methods have been developed for tying the bend form directly, including the one shown below and characterizable using the [[mnemonic device]] "A ''d'' through a ''b''; 'twixt the two and toward me":
[[Image:Alpine Butterfly Bend HowTo.jpg|thumb|left|butterfly bend step by step]]
{{clear}}

==Security==
A properly tied butterfly bend should be as secure as the equivalent loop form.<ref name="tossrig"/>  However, subtle positioning errors during the above shown tying method can result in a similar looking but insecure bend knot.<ref name="notableknots">{{Cite web |title=Butterfly Bend |url=http://notableknotindex.webs.com/butterflybend.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530233217/http://notableknotindex.webs.com/butterflybend.html |archive-date=2023-05-30 |access-date=2012-05-27 |publisher=Notable Knot Index}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Knot]]
* [[List of bend knots]]
* [[List of knots]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Knots}}

[[Category:Bend knots]]