Also called:  "Flat Overhand Knot", "Offset Overhand Bend", "Thumb Knot", "Thumb Bend".  Please call it the E.D.K. or either the "Flat Overhand Knot", as the other names are not-known in the Canyoneering universe.

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The E.D.K. is a very quick way of tieing two ropes together.  This is listed here for only retrieving your rappel rope.  

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It does not matter that the two ropes are not the same thickness.

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I have mentioned it here as an 'essential' knot because it is a great way to tie your rappel rope and pull-cord together.  You can rappel off of the EDK, but that is outside the scope of the website.  I won't even show you how to do it.  When you take a professional course, you can then ask them how to rappel off of one.  But for the mass public, no. 

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The IMPORTANT thing is that you tie a minimum of two over-hand knots (also called "double EDK" or "double stacked") with a maximum of three (also called "triple EDK" or "triple-stacked").

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That's all it is...two overhand knots using the two ropes.

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Pros:

• Easy to remember. 

• Easy to tie/untie

• Quickly connects two ropes (of the same diameter or not) to retrieve your rappel rope.

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Cons:

• Although simple, if tied incorrectly, it can lead to grave bodily harm and death.

• If rigged incorrectly to rappel on, the knot can "capsize" (or "roll").

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Caution:

• Leave 12 inches (extreme minimum) to 24 inches of tail. In other words, please leave 24 inches.

• Do NOT tie the EDK on webbing! It will fail when loaded over 1100 lbf. (The Water Knot fails over 2000 lbf)

• Do NOT use the EDK on very stiff ropes (IE brand new).  On brand new ropes, use a more secure knot such as the Double-Fisherman Bend.

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Canyoneering Usage Examples:

• The tallest rappel in a canyon is 90 ft.  You bring a 100 foot 9 mm rope to rappel on and you also bring a 100-foot 6 mm pull-cord to retrieve your 9 mm.  When you are setting up your rigging, one way is to use an EDK knot on both ropes so that you would use the 6 mm pull-cord to retrieve the 9 mm rappel rope.

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Additional Reading:

• Wikipedia: Offset Overhand Bend

• AnimatedKnots.com: Flat Overhand Bend

• Youtube: Canyons & Crags - "Flat Overhand Knot - the European Death Knot"

• Canyoneering.net: "EDK in Webbing?"

• CanyoneeringUSA.com: "How to Tie Two Ropes Together"

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Below, I show you three ways on how to tie the knot, via:

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1) Pictures

2) GIF (animated picture that repeats itself with no-end)

3) Video (from Canyoneering101 YouTube Channel)