One-sided overhand bend

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How to tie this knot.

An "Offset Overhand bend" is a simple method of joining two cords or threads together. This knot is used (with long tails!) in rock climbing, for joining two rope for a rappel. American climbers often refer to it as the European death knot. Though it is not so strong, it is easy to tie, and since it is "offset" it slides over edges more easily than other knots, easing rope retrieval; its small size reduces its chance of getting stuck, too. It can be made more secure by tying off one end around the other with an Overhand stopper knot, snug to the OOB body. If the ropes are of different diameters (or flexibility), the thinner (or more flexible) rope should be in the position shown in the image by the blue rope, and the safety overhand stopper should be tied with this.

This is a stub article for a class of abseil (rapelling) flat bends used by some modern rock and alpine climbers to join two ropes together. While some Euro Death-knots have the advantage of pulling more cleanly after a rapel and thus may avoid binding and becoming difficult to retrieve, some of these knots can also invert, leading to catastrophic knot failure (capsizing), thus the tongue-in-cheek nickname for this group of flat bends. In particular, the flat figure eight is notorious for rappel failure and should be avoided.