Ian's Shoelace Site
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 18 reference websites by recommenders
Free, long-running site that teaches shoelace tying and lacing clearly; people recommend it for its usefulness and its old-web feel.
Free, long-running site that teaches shoelace tying and lacing clearly; people recommend it for its usefulness and its old-web feel.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 10 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Teaches knots, including the Ian Knot
“I wish I knew about this site when I was trying to teach my kids to tie their shoelaces.”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Ian's Shoelace Site” “I learned the Ian Knot from this site. I've used it ever since.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Ian's Shoelace Site” “Since then, I've very rarely had to tie my shoes :)”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot” Loved as a classic old-web site
“it's a reminder of what the internet used to be”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Ian's Shoelace Site” “the Internet's #1 website about shoelaces”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Ian's Shoelace Site” “I love this site so much.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Ian's Shoelace Site” Fun for checking how people tie
“This site made it my habit to search for granny knots on people's shoes on public transportation.”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Ian's Shoelace Site” “anybody who is genuinely interested in whether they've been tying their shoes wrong will enjoy”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “I've been writing ring buffers wrong all these years (2016)”
Other reference websites people recommend
The four most recommended other reference websites, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info | 49 | 0 | 100% | 6 | 19 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Animated Knots by Grog | 14 | 1 | 93% | 2 | — | — |
| Ian's Shoelace SiteThis page | 10 | 1 | 91% | 4 | — | Approved |
| OEIS | 9 | 1 | 90% | 6 | — | — |
| RF Cafe | 9 | 2 | 82% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
10 of the 11 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Most of these look like dogshit.”
“a very informative and user friendly website that has been continuously updated for two decades at least”
“Since then, I've very rarely had to tie my shoes :)”
“I wish I knew about this site when I was trying to teach my kids to tie their shoelaces.”
“the Internet's #1 website about shoelaces”
“I love this site so much.”
“it's a reminder of what the internet used to be”
“I learned the Ian Knot from this site. I've used it ever since.”
“This site made it my habit to search for granny knots on people's shoes on public transportation.”
“anybody who is genuinely interested in whether they've been tying their shoes wrong will enjoy”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.