What's a good method for making sure the ends of your tie are lined up perfectly?

Scissors

@elijahsuicide Just changed the question a bit because, unless you were being sarcastic, I was talking about the two ends lining up, rather than being frayed, etc. Thanks though.

No, I know. I was just being funny. Sorry.

I had always thought that the length of the large end was all that actually matters. In other words you just try to get that end to fall right (just touching the belt line) and let the small end fall where it may. I’ve never heard that the ends should match.

@Harp is precisely right. With most ties, you get the ends to line up and you’re gonna have a very short tie.

I’ve never tried to get the ends to mach.
Most ties aren’t long enough to do that, in my experience.

@elijahsuicide Sorry, thought you might have been serious if you were trying to remedy frayed ends… :)

Thank you all. What, then, do you do with the thin end if it’s too long? Tucking it in the shirt in between buttons doesn’t hold for very long.

If the thin end is too long, you need a shorter tie. or scissors

Or make a different knot.

If the thin end is too long, I just retie the whole damn thing.

You might want to try the Tie-Matic Twist Tie Machine. Or The Why Knot? tie-tying machine. I have used the Tie-Matic with great success, but I think you can’t go wrong withe the Why Not, either. You won’t be disappointed.

I generally try to buy ties with the label going horizontally across the back.
Then I can tuck the shorter end into the longer one and avoid flay away.

If you don’t have a tie like that, then you can go with a tie clip or tie pin.
Or just let it fly.

@Mr_M was correct on varying the knot to take up the space.
A simple knot can give you a longer than desired thin side.
A half-windsor (‘small windsor’ in the link below) will shorten the thin side considerably.
A full-windsor will shorten it a lot.
Tie Knots

I usually tie it to the desired length then put the slim end through the label and tuck it in my pants behind the belt buckle. This hides the longer end, allows me to have the tie reach the tip of the belt buckle and lastly keeps the tie from flying around as I move.