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1. xp84+(OP)[view] [source] 2026-02-02 08:40:40
I haven't mastered the Ian's knot (the super fast one) yet, but I've been tying the "Ian's Secure Knot" [1] for years. I try to teach parents on my kid's soccer team as well, because in my experience, half use the "standard shoelace knot" which is mediocre at staying tied, and the other half tie the granny version of the same, which comes out in about 5 minutes.

This seems very much like the kind of thing that a kid probably learns and is drilled on in late preschool in Japan, and given how much time must be wasted daily by even grown adults re-tying shoes it makes me wish we taught kids practical skills like this. (Yes, I know scouts learn knot-tying in general, but a lot of kids don't even get to do scouting).

P.S. to be honest, I've started buying and installing the sets of elastic laces with buckles (they're only a couple bucks) every time I get a new pair of shoes, so I don't tie shoes anymore, except for things like soccer cleats.

1. https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm

replies(2): >>GuB-42+t5 >>imgabe+OP
2. GuB-42+t5[view] [source] 2026-02-02 09:43:33
>>xp84+(OP)
> Yes, I know scouts learn knot-tying in general, but a lot of kids don't even get to do scouting

But do knot scouts learn to tie their shoes correctly? I never did scouting but I have done sailing, and was interested in knot tying as a kid, but shoe tying wasn't given much attention. They certainly told us how to tie a reef/square knot properly, but no one looked at our shoes even though half of us did it wrong. In most books, you had the standard shoe tie if you are lucky, but nothing more.

Ian seems to be the only one who takes shoe tying seriously, even though it may be the most tied knot in the world. I have the Ashley Book of Knots, widely considered the reference on knot tying, if a little dated, and shoe tying only occupies a single page out of 600. Interestingly, a knot analogous to the "Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot" is mentioned (#1219) but despite being, I think, the best in the book, its existence is merely acknowledged.

3. imgabe+OP[view] [source] 2026-02-02 15:21:17
>>xp84+(OP)
I've been using the secure knot for years now. It's vastly superior to the standard shoelace knot.
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