Tying a 4-in-hand...A simple trick that makes a difference!

Having just finished a brief discussion via PM with another SF member about tying ties and ending up with smaller, more elegant knots.... I thought I'd share this with you guys. I really dislike fat-looking knots....which is the main reason why I've almost always used a 4-in-hand. Many years ago I spent some time in the clothing biz and someone I knew taught me a simple "trick" to use when tying a 4-in-hand. He was quite the expert in mens clothing and haberdashery and taught me many of the basics. Out of curiosity I just did a quick Google on "4 in hand" and there are tons of instructional videos, charts, etc on how to tie a 4-in-hand knot. I looked through about a dozen of them and not one of them mentions this trick that I'm going to share with you... Here's the trick for tying a 4-in-hand knot, one that makes a perfect knot and dimple every time: Throughout the process, beginning when you first pass the wide blade over the smaller blade...the trick is to keep the knot flat at all times. Most guys will allow the small blade to be "squeezed" as they wrap the wide blade around it...Don't do that. Keep the small blade flat. And then as you tie the knot continue to also keep the wide blade flat against the now flat small blade. When you're done with the tying, you're not yet finished with the knot. The most important part in achieving a great knot is in the final "tweaking." By making sure the entire knot is flat through the process, you'll inherently have kept everything about the knot more uniform. But more important, at this point the knot that's been kept nice and flat is also going to be wider, which means you will have left yourself more fabric to tweak! Your knot will pretty much end up the same size as any other 4-in-hand knot, but the overall shape will be significantly better. And with the right tweaking you should end up with an absolutely perfect dimple. As for the basics of a 4-in-hand...Here's just one of the many. many tutorials I found online. There are quite a few vids as well. I grabbed this one at random...It's pretty simple and straightforward. It simply shows how to tie a 4-in-hand...without the added "trick." http://www.tie-a-tie.net/fourinhand.html I'm sure there are plenty of other "best ways" to tie a tie. Bring 'em on... Dennis

I've always done this anyway without realizing it (not for aesthetics, but for the sake of keeping the material in good shape long-term), but I could see where many would just wrap and pull. Good advice; I'll be sure to pass this on. Thanks!

I've also done this, just seemed kinda logical and slightly OCDish.

I've also done this, just seemed kinda logical and slightly OCDish.

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It may seem logical to some...but in practice I've seen few guys who do it. If I need to be a bit OCD to avoid my ties ending up looking like this (below)...so be it.

My dad taught me to do this. Great advice!

Originally Posted by lordofpi

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I've always done this anyway without realizing it (not for aesthetics, but for the sake of keeping the material in good shape long-term), but I could see where many would just wrap and pull. Good advice; I'll be sure to pass this on. Thanks!

+1 , Before I knew there was an official name for this knot (high school) I did this because I didn't want to ruin my ties.

a big thank you. That is a great tip

Thanks. I am gonna try it tomorrow morning as I dress for work.

I tried it this morning while tying a half windsor with a new HF tie and I have to say it produced the most perfect well-dimpled knot I have ever tied. Part of it might be the fact that the tie is quite a bit nicer than my others, but still....genius.

Thank you for the tip.. Works great.

don't get it at all...

but i could always tie up a good dimple in FIH, but the problem is sometimes the tie ended up too slanted...