A basic knot used to join two ropes of equal thickness; known for its flat, symmetrical shape. Often contrasted with 小間結び (granny knot).
See also: こま結び (こまむすび)
I joined the ropes with a reef knot at camp.
The reef knot is one of the knots that is hard to come undone.
Standard kanji spelling; 固 suggests a firm, secure knot.
Variant spelling using 堅, also meaning firm or hard; less common than 固結び.
Compound of 固 (kata, 'firm, hard') + 結び (musubi, 'knot'). The reading かたむすび is a straightforward combination of the kun'yomi readings.