E.D.K.
(European Death Knot)
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:
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Easy to remember.
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Easy to tie/untie
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Quickly connects two ropes (of the same diameter or not) to retrieve your rappel rope.
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Cons:
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Although simple, if tied incorrectly, it can lead to grave bodily harm and death.
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If rigged incorrectly to rappel on, the knot can "capsize" (or "roll").
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Caution:
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Leave 12 inches (extreme minimum) to 24 inches of tail. In other words, please leave 24 inches.
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Do NOT tie the EDK on webbing! It will fail when loaded over 1100 lbf. (The Water Knot fails over 2000 lbf)
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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:
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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:
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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)
How to tie (pictures):
1st Step:

2nd Step:

3rd Step:

4th Step:
