Figure-8 Follow Through
Ties a figure-8 directly to a fixed anchor by retracing the knot. Use when you can't pre-form a bight — shackles, ring bolts, and structural anchors.
Tie a figure-8 on the standing end
Start away from the anchor. Tie a loose figure-8 knot in the rope — cross over to form a loop, wrap around behind, and feed the working end through the eye. Leave the knot open and relaxed; you'll be threading back through it.
Pass the working end through the anchor
Thread the working end around or through the anchor point — a shackle pin, ring, pipe, or bar. Pull enough tail through to complete the follow-through trace back through the entire figure-8.
Re-enter the knot — first crossing
Now retrace the original figure-8 in reverse. Feed the working end back into the knot alongside the standing part, exactly parallel. Work slowly and keep the two strands running side-by-side without crossing each other.
Continue the trace through the middle
Keep threading the working end through the body of the knot, following every curve and crossing of the original standing part. At each crossing, the tail should sit directly alongside its strand partner.
Complete the second crossing
Thread through the final crossing of the figure-8. The tail should now be running alongside the standing part all the way through both loops of the 8.
Exit the knot
Feed the working end out through the final exit of the knot — parallel to the standing part, heading away from the anchor. The full follow-through trace is now complete.
Dress and tighten
Before loading, dress the knot: work the slack out from the anchor end toward the tail end, keeping all strands parallel. Then pull both the standing part and the working end firmly apart to set the knot against the anchor.