How to tie it
- 1Bring the running end over and under the pole.
- 2Take the end around a second time, crossing over the first wrap to form an X shape.
- 3Tuck the end under that X. The two ends should come out between the legs of the X — if they come out to the sides, it isn't a clove hitch.
- 4Pull both ends to tighten it against the pole.
To make it hold under load, add a half hitch around the standing part after finishing. In a lashing, the clove hitch is captured by the wraps and fraps that follow.
When to use it
- Starting and ending a lashing. Square, diagonal, or shear — its most important scouting job.
- Fastening a rope to a post, rail, fence, or tent pole temporarily.
- Hanging or securing a line where quick on-and-off matters more than maximum security.
Common mistakes & safety
- On its own it can slip. It holds best under steady, even tension on both ends. Load only one end, or let the pole rotate, and it can roll loose — add a half hitch or two to lock it for anything load-bearing.
- It can also bind. Under a heavy, steady pull it may be hard to untie — the flip side of the same behavior.
- It's a starting knot, not a safety knot. In lashings it's meant to be captured by the wraps and fraps that follow, not to hold the load by itself.
- Dress it so the X sits flat and the tuck is snug. A loose clove hitch slips much more easily.
Going deeper
- Clove hitch vs. two half-hitches. Identical knot, different target: the clove hitch is tied around the object; two half-hitches are tied around the rope's own standing part after passing the object.
- Why lashings start with it. It grabs the spar fast so you can start wrapping; the wraps and fraps then carry the real load, and a final clove hitch locks it off.
- Its cousins. The constrictor knot grips far harder and is hard to untie — used when you don't need to release it. The slipped clove hitch finishes with a draw-loop for a fast one-pull release.
- Two ways to tie it. Around a post with the working end (as above), or — when the end of the post is free — by making two loops in the standing part and dropping them over the post.
Official source
How to tie the 7 basic Scout knots — Scout Life →Rank requirements and official wording live with Scouting America. Confirm the current requirement text at scouting.org before signing anything off.