It is more bulky and less prone to jamming than the closely related figure-eight knot.

It was subsequently adopted by dictionaries, engineers' handbooks, and other works of reference, and it is now firmly established in books, if not in the vocabulary of seamen.

"[2] Despite this history, many sources, including The Ashley Book of Knots, presume that the knot was used by stevedores in their work loading and unloading ships.

The apparent aspect of the knot favored by transmission-line workers (to which the Hunt pamphlet was targeted) is the knot's remaining easily untied after heavy loading.

It should also be noted that the extra wrap that it has over the figure 8 stopper will, with flexible cordage, give better security when set.