The knot produced by this method is on the narrow side, notably asymmetric.

For United States Army uniforms, and United States Navy uniforms that include a necktie, the four-in-hand knot is one of three prescribed options for tying the necktie, the other two being the half-Windsor and Windsor.

The knot is slid up the narrow end of the tie until snug against the collar.

It was used by sailors throughout the Age of Sail to rig ships and remains a useful working knot today.

A variant of the four-in-hand, with the long end of the tie passed back around and above the just-tied knot, was employed by Aristotle Onassis, who caused it to become briefly fashionable in some circles.