What Is the Naoki Knot?

The Naoki Knot is a secure extension of the Ian Knot.

It starts exactly like a regular Ian Knot. Just before tightening, one extra step turns it into a stronger, more secure bow knot. It gives you the security of knots such as the Berluti Knot or Ian’s Secure Knot, while keeping much of the speed and simplicity of the Ian Knot.

I had been using the Ian Knot in everyday life for many years.

One day, I wanted a more secure way to tie the round laces on my leather shoes, so I tried several strong bow knots, including Ian’s Secure Knot and the Berluti Knot.

Both are excellent ways to create a secure bow knot that is much less likely to come undone. From the name Ian’s Secure Knot, however, I had originally imagined something different: a way to start with the familiar movements of the Ian Knot and simply add a small extra step to make it more secure.

In practice, Ian’s Secure Knot uses a substantially different tying sequence from the regular Ian Knot. You need to decide from the beginning which knot you are going to tie. The Berluti Knot is also highly secure, but both methods take somewhat longer than the Ian Knot.

That led me to a simple question:

Could the Ian Knot be extended into a secure knot without giving up its speed and simplicity?

I eventually found a way.

You begin exactly as you would with a normal Ian Knot. Then, just before pulling the loops tight, you add one extra step that transforms it into a more secure bow knot.

That is the Naoki Knot.

I originally called it Ian Knot Plus to describe how it was developed: the Ian Knot, plus one additional step. Today, I use Naoki Knot as the main name because it is easier to remember and easier to distinguish from the original Ian Knot.

But its origin has not changed.

Naoki Knot exists because the Ian Knot came first.