Cored Square Knot (CSK)
By Lazarus
A Cored Square Knot (also called the Solomon Knot in the Ashley Book of Knots: ABOK#2495) can be a great way to create a rope strap, called a Solomon Bar (ABOK#2496). This is also known as the Cobra Knot in the paracord community. You can use it to create heavy falls or as a way to create a loop at the end of the handle of your flogger.
This can also be a decorative and very secure way to use up a short amount of rope at the end of a bondage tie.
This is related to the Cored Granny Knot, except this one lies flat instead of twisting.
You can use this technique with differing numbers of ropes as your core. Here I demonstrate doing so with a single cord as the core and a double cord as a core, but you could use more.
Video
…Around a Double Cord
Your center two cords are just going to continue straight on, they are not involved in active tying. They just act as the core
…Around a Double Cord, as the Start of a Strap
Note that you could use the Cored Granny Knot concept starting this exact same way to add a vicious spiral as the texture at the beginning of your falls
Lay two cords next to each other loop back on themselves. The center two cords are going to be our core. From here, the technique will be identical to the one above
…Around a Single Cord
This technique works great around a single cord as well.
This technique can be interesting when using a rope that is made with three twists. You can unlay the rope, giving you three cords and use this technique to add a different texture for your falls in place of simple twisted rope. If you do this, I recommend starting and stopping this portion with some kind of stopped knot. When I’m doing this, I prefer the 3-strand version of the Matthew Walker Knot
Your center cord is just going to continue straight on, it is not involved in active tying. It just acts as the core
Rope consumption
- With ¼” (~6mm) rope:
- Each square of a Cored Square Knot around a 2-strand core consumes ~3.5” of rope in each strand. Tightly tied, each square covers a linear distance of ~0.75” (2cm). ...So to have 4” of Cored Square Knot strap, you would need ~13-14” of rope
| Variant | Rope / strand | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Cored Square Knot (one square, 2-strand core) | 3.5" (9 cm) | 0.75" (2 cm) |