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If you have trouble with toe nail trauma (all chipped for instance) check out heel lock lacing. It will prevent your toes to hit against the front of the shoes.

One example here [0] for running shoes but it's useful also for normal walking. Ian of course has his own entry about this [1]

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBbc6TackDQ&t=68s [1] https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/locklacing.htm

Back in 2004, while bored in my college dorm, I learned the Ian Knot from this site. I've used it ever since. A few weeks ago, my 10 year old decided it was time to learn how to tie his shoes "dad's way". I was pleasantly surprised to see the site was still up, so I used it to help teach him how to do it.

I've been tying my shoes using the Ian knot for years (decades??) now. Makes your laces sit a bit funny compared to regular, but my shoes never come untied by accident. Highly recommend trying it out if you have this problem even occasionally. Once you have the muscle memory down, it's a nice minor life upgrade.

you lot are obsessed. https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Anews.ycombinator.com+...

I haven't mastered the Ian's knot (the super fast one) yet, but I've been tying the "Ian's Secure Knot" [1] for years. I try to teach parents on my kid's soccer team as well, because in my experience, half use the "standard shoelace knot" which is mediocre at staying tied, and the other half tie the granny version of the same, which comes out in about 5 minutes.

This seems very much like the kind of thing that a kid probably learns and is drilled on in late preschool in Japan, and given how much time must be wasted daily by even grown adults re-tying shoes it makes me wish we taught kids practical skills like this. (Yes, I know scouts learn knot-tying in general, but a lot of kids don't even get to do scouting).

P.S. to be honest, I've started buying and installing the sets of elastic laces with buckles (they're only a couple bucks) every time I get a new pair of shoes, so I don't tie shoes anymore, except for things like soccer cleats.

1. https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm

I recently wrote an article about the Ian Knot, and what I’ve done with all the extra time I’ve gained from learning it:

https://blog.klungo.no/2025/12/31/two-years-of-the-ian-knot/

Some previous discussions:

2023 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37646964

"Secure" 2024 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42155457

"Ian" 2021 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27728002

"Granny" 2021 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26867300

"CIA" 2020 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24091391

Why isn't all internet like this website?

What the Internet should be.

Unlike most normal people in the world, I was never taught how to tie shoelaces. And not because my parents and siblings did not try; but because I was too obstinate and wanted to do it my way! Needless to say I implemented a complicated knot that takes way too long and and a source of mockery. But it is my knot and I like it.

I have been using the Secure variant for the last 10 years. It's effective, in that time my shoelaces have become loose precisely zero times, even though the knot is otherwise easy to untie.

A few years ago I discovered that many brands (but I like Skechers) make "hands-free" shoes, with no laces or velcro, just hidden elastic, and a stiff heel so that you can literally step into your shoes and walk away without ever touching them. They actually fit better than laced shoes.

Changed my life. I recommend highly.

My advice is to use paracord for shoelaces. It's cheap, lasts forever, can be cut to any length, ties well, etc. It lasts so long you can take it off your old worn shoes and put it on your new shoes. I find that the shoelaces that come with shoes typically don't last very long, are too short, etc.

Recently interviews by Chris Person in Aftermath: https://aftermath.site/ians-shoelace-site-is-still-the-best-...

I was like 10 years old when I learned about the Ian Knot. I'm 28 now.

I remember showing my friends at school. They were shocked how fast I could tie my shoelaces.

I don't even remember the normal way you're supposed to tie them

I guess I just googled "how to x" for literally everything when I was a kid

Ian's knot saved me some time in the past decade or so.

Is there a knot with two settings for tying and releasing? Releasing it to a point that allows taking off the shoe and pulling somewhere else to fix it firmly again?

It must be adjustable because laces get longer over time.

I love this site so much. I learned that there are two typologies of shoelace knots -- one falls apart instantly (https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm), and the other is as secure as a double knot. I also learned the fast way to tie shoes, https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm. The latter is fun, I have used it every day for decades and people are always amazed when you teach them.

I found this looking for a more secure knot (I did; Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot). What I wasn't expecting was how strange it would be to be as skilled at tying my shoelaces as a four-year-old.

It is the best way to tie shoelaces (and similarly knotted things). It takes a while to get used to, but it’s so worth it. It works! Unlike every other shoelace knot you’ve ever tied.

I’ve used this site twice, most recently last week for Lock Lacing. I had to upsize my Fuego dance shoes because they don't come in wide sizes. Consequently the heels were slightly loose; everything else was fine. Customer service recommended Lock Lacing which worked and tightened the heel ever so slightly but enough.

This site made it my habit to search for granny knots on people's shoes on public transportation.

I use the two loop knot.. The beauty of this knot is that it doesnt come undone as easily and i can remove/wear my shoes without entying shoelaces. It has come undone only 3-4 times in past 2 years for me. Very effective

The lug bowtie and lug knotted styles can be combined to leave an area with almost no pressure on it. It's useful if you find yourself with an injured foot on day two of a long hike.

I learned how to my shoes the bunny ears way, then as an adult skipped the standard knot and went straight to the Ian knot. Still can't tie my shoes with the standard knot :)

My old adidas may be long gone, but they still live rent-free on Ian's Shoelace Site since 2009.

I was in my teens when I discovered this site. I am now forty. I have been tying my shoes quicker than the average person literally for the better half of my life.

Wow, this is a good flashback! Used to use patterns on his site almost 20 years ago. Pretty sure HW Bush was in office

Reminds me of inter-dimensional cable

things like this is why the internet rocks

i love it