Hi.

I want to tie something (like a silk) on to a length of rope or cord, so that it falls off when I pull the rope taught.

What kind of knot is that?

Check out Aldo Colombini's video he does exactly that, ties a silk on a cord, pulls the card tight and the silk flys off still tied in a knot which can be inspected.
PM me. I will have to check my files which video it is on for correct information.
vinny

It's called the pop-off knot AFAIK..

It's in Mongolian Pop-Knot for sure by Whit Haydn

I have the Daryl tapes somewhere; is it on those?

Yes, I'm pretty sure it is.

ollie

Abbott has a knot called "Jay-Bee's Undisturbed Knot" (p. 63 of the Dover edition). This looks identical to the knot in Daryl's Fooler Doolers 1 video. That one he calls "The Mystery of the Chinese Laundryman," which he attributes to Eric D. Widger.

John

Thanks all!

There's a nice penetration of a knotted silk from a rope in the Tarbell Course. In this version, you use a six or seven foot length of rope. You stand on one end, and put the other end in your mouth. This gives you a vertical run of rope. Using your hand, you tie the silk around the middle of the rope. You can slide it up and down the rope, and let go of it, and it stays in position. Then, you grasp the ends of the silk and pull it free of the rope. The knot remains in the silk. Very pretty trick.

I've seen a couple of performers use it, including Johnathan Neal (nee Johnathan Neal Brown) and, I believe, Dick Gustafson.

Unfortunately I don't recall the name. But the time to look it up would certainly be worth while.

Dennis Loomis

What is the knot called that looks like a square knot but is really a slip knot? I know how to tie it, but I don't know what the name is.

Let me be more specific. A square knot has the bitter ends on the same side of the knot. This knot looks exactly the same except the bitter ends are on opposing sides of the knot. When it was shown to me I was told that it was an old sailor's trick to make sure no one had been messing with his personal possessions. I know the method of tying the knot. What I'm asking is what is the name, and where can I find out more about this knot. A gimmick is not a trick until you have a story to tell.

Tan-Q
Al Angello

You could do a Cords of Phantasia type routine with two ropes and several silks and either have all of them fall/come off or some fall and others stay on. Blackstone Jr. did this routine like a lazy magician's routine.

Jimmy

Granny Knot or False Square Knot.

Dear Doug,

Is that some kind of a joke? I said, "It looks EXACTLY like a square knot". This is an old sailors knot, not an old cub scout knot. Is there a boatswains mate in the house?

Thanks.

Al Angello

Al,

How about a "Thief" knot?
http://www.geocities.com/roo_two/reefknot.html

Doug,

Thanks for the link.

Doug,

I would like to offer you my sincere appologies. You have solved a 15-year mystery for me. The "thief" knot is a deceptive knot that very very few people know about, or would recognize, which is why old time sailors could use it successfully to catch a thief.

Next time I go through Chambersburg I will look you up, buy you a cup of coffee, and we can swap a couple of rope tricks.

U DA MAN

Al Angello

Al, no apology necessary. Look forward to that coffee with you.

For Denis Loomis...

On Daryl's rope tape, Daryl says the effect where you hold one end of rope in your mouth and remove a silk which has been double knotted on the rope is Disolvo by Rice.

I do it and it as a quick three penetration routine...
1. silk penetrates rope (Disolvo)
2. rope penetrates 5 inch plastic ring
3. a larger silk of a different color penetrates the ring
-------------------------------
The silk through the ring is very visual and looks like real magic. I learned it from watching Dick Cavet do it when he hosted a TV magic special years ago.
If you misspell the word "real" in the above sentence then you are on the road to being able to do it too... much like the silk through microphone stand which Duke
Stern used to do...(among other things).

I make the silk penetrate the ring on the count of three. With each count I raise both silk and ring. If the silk and ring are both in motion downward when the penetration happens, then it really looks like the silk just melts through the ring.