Editing Sheepshank (section)

{{Short description|Type of knot}}{{Infobox knot
| image=Sheepshank knot.jpg
| name=Sheepshank 
|caption=An unloaded sheepshank tied in nylon rope
| names=
| type= shortening
| origin=1627<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-203465 |title=knot, hitch, and splice :: Sheepshank – Britannica Student Encyclopaedia |access-date=2006-11-11 |archive-date=2006-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060118024602/http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-203465 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| related=[[Catshank]], [[Dogshank]], Bell-ringer's knot
| releasing=Non-jamming
| uses=Provides loops, shortens or removes slack from a rope, bypasses a frayed section of rope
| caveat=Spills if not under tension
| abok_number= #1152, #1153, #1154, #1158, #1159, #1160
| instructions= [http://www.animatedknots.com/sheepshank/]
}}

A '''shank''' is a type of [[knot]] that is used to shorten a [[rope]] or take up slack, such as the '''sheepshank'''. The sheepshank knot is not stable. It will fall apart under too much load or too little load.

The knot has several features which allow a rope to be shortened:

* It provides two loops, one at each end of the knot which can be used to pass another rope through
* The knot remains somewhat secure under tension; the coarser the rope the more secure it is (see Disadvantages, below)
* The knot falls apart easily when tension is removed