Although it is a bit off topic, the Melzer knot actually works best as drawn above, rather than with a clove hitch for the terminal wraps.
I see exactly a
clove h. in the tail end of this
knotting above!?
As a general *tactic*, how might this work:
1) form a broad loop in the pulled-on part,
and
2) knot variously around this, SUCH THAT
3) this knotting of the "working" end will enable
initial tightening of the knot as desired,
AND THEN
4) the tail end can be drawn through the
"1" loop which is then drawn down upon
it to nip/hold it.
In short, IMO this is the point of the
Stevedore knot--a stopper knot knob that is hardly much bulkier
than simpler knots (for pulling through a hole),
but whose wraps can provide gripping against
the straight-through-tuns SPart whose turn
nips the tail : with tight wraps the SPart's hard
nip on the tail (which terminates those wraps)
can be sustained.
SO, in general outline, this is a tactic to try to use
for designing some of these surgical knots, it seems.
(A general way to form a stopper is to fashion
some noose and then *noose* the tail
--
Ashley's stopper does this from a
slip knot.)
Oh, the breadth of my conjectured initial loop
above is to leave ample real estate on that line
for gripping and pulling and setting the knot
(without tightening the loop, until ready).
--dl*
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