# Topsider leather shoelaces: how to tie?



## rwjones (Jan 29, 2009)

My Topsider shoelaces - the classic yet unwieldy leather ones - resist any form of civilized knotting. How do you guys deal with them? A normal knot either comes untied or simply becomes a tangle within 30 minutes of wear.


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## lrd110 (Oct 22, 2008)

When I was little I would have mine tied up in "barrels" (for lack of a better term) at the ends rather than have any knot. Now I have an old pair with that style and a new(er) pair on which the laces have stayed in a traditional knot pretty well.


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## Bartolo (Mar 2, 2009)

rwjones said:


> My Topsider shoelaces - the classic yet unwieldy leather ones - resist any form of civilized knotting. How do you guys deal with them? A normal knot either comes untied or simply becomes a tangle within 30 minutes of wear.


Try wetting the leather laces, and tying them whilst wet. They will dry and maybe stay knotted a bit longer that way.


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## RomeoDandy (Apr 1, 2007)

I use a square knot, and cut the excess length off


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## djl (Feb 6, 2006)

RomeoDandy said:


> I use a square knot, and cut the excess length off


+1 on the square knot


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## rwjones (Jan 29, 2009)

lrd110 said:


> When I was little I would have mine tied up in "barrels" (for lack of a better term) at the ends rather than have any knot. Now I have an old pair with that style and a new(er) pair on which the laces have stayed in a traditional knot pretty well.


Yes, they originally came with barrels, if I remember correctly. I tried to google how to put them back in that orientation, but couldn't find any resources.


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## Mannix (Nov 24, 2008)

I just tie them normally, and then re-tie them throughout the day.


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## gtsecc (Mar 25, 2008)

a dot of cyanoacrylate


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## Ron_A (Jun 5, 2007)

djl said:


> +1 on the square knot


How to tie a "square" knot (discussed in more detail in the 'what footwear are you wearing' thread) is one of the most helpful bits of information that I have gleaned from this forum.


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## hcivic91 (Aug 29, 2006)

reprinted from the footwear thread, keep in mind the square knot is not a different knot than you have been using to tie your shoes your entire life, it is just the correct way to do it



hcivic91 said:


> I thought I would offer a bit of helpful advice I once received regarding tying ones shoes. I know similar threads have been done before but it is one of the most valuable pieces of shoe advice I've ever received so I feel motivated to pass it on. This is not a departure from how you have tied your shoes for years or a different knot it is just a very simple refinement.
> 
> Browsing though this thread I could not help but notice a number of laces being double knotted, Mac & babycatcher being two. The obvious assumption being this is done because the laces come un-done otherwise. The simple solution is to create a proper knot; the trick is to create a form of the square knot. Take account of how the laces fall when you tie the initial bow, before double knotting. If the laces fall straight across the shoe, horizontal when viewed by the wearer you have done it correctly. If the laces skew or twist, even slightly, either way they are knotted improperly.
> 
> The fix to this is quite easy; simply reverse the first step of the process, the Granny Knot. If you typically go left over right and under, go right over left and under then continue with making the bow as usual. Reversing this first step will create the square knot which does not slip and hardly ever comes undone. I can say I don't think I've had a shoe lace come untied yet this year and this simple solution is the reason.


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## djl (Feb 6, 2006)

hcivic91 said:


> reprinted from the footwear thread, keep in mind the square knot is not a different knot than you have been using to tie your shoes your entire life, it is just the correct way to do it


For boat shoes, I tie an actual square knot (rather than starting a normal shoe tie with a square knot). No bows.


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## hcivic91 (Aug 29, 2006)

djl said:


> For boat shoes, I tie an actual square knot (rather than starting a normal shoe tie with a square knot). No bows.


That is interesting, though definatly not my preference. 
The standard shoe tying method, done right, produces a square-knot which is just as slip resistant and untie-proof as the alternative. It works just as well on boat-shoe laces, I have a number of pairs. IMHO it looks better too.


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## djl (Feb 6, 2006)

hcivic91 said:


> That is interesting, though definatly not my preference.
> The standard shoe tying method, done right, produces a square-knot which is just as slip resistant and untie-proof as the alternative. It works just as well on boat-shoe laces, I have a number of pairs. IMHO it looks better too.


Yeah, it's certainly not a "stylish" way of tying them. It's just what I grew up seeing in coastal SC, so I've always done it. As RomeoDandy mentioned above, you can cut a lot of extra length off the laces, which is a practical benefit on the boat (if/when they come untied, you don't have a foot of laces to trip on).


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## Kurt N (Feb 11, 2009)

hcivic91 said:


> ..., keep in mind the square knot is not a different knot than you have been using to tie your shoes your entire life, ...


Based on the many pix I've seen online, of expensive, glossy shoes tied with granny knots, I'd say this statement is not as true as it ought to be! :icon_smile_big:

But I couldn't figure out what "tied up in barrels" would look like. Can someone explain or give a link?


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## Drew Bernard (Feb 19, 2009)

Kurt N said:


> But I couldn't figure out what "tied up in barrels" would look like. Can someone explain or give a link?


Here's a link, but where I come from only the girls did this...

https://www.planetshoes.com/brands.asp?bc=Eastland


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## rgrossicone (Jan 27, 2008)

Bartolo said:


> Try wetting the leather laces, and tying them whilst wet. They will dry and maybe stay knotted a bit longer that way.


+1...amazing what a little saliva can do!


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

Drew Bernard said:


> Here's a link, but where I come from only the girls did this...
> 
> https://www.planetshoes.com/brands.asp?bc=Eastland


There is that to consider...


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