Wednesday, June 02, 2010

T Handle Turks Head Knot...

I followed the instructions from Geoffrey Budworth's 'The Complete Book of Decorative Knots', to tie this modified 4 lead 5 bight T handle turks head knot on the handle of a walking cane. I've seen a few examples done on a ship's wheel/spoke and on a hammer.

I also used a new lacing needle when tying this turks head knot. My friend Manny made me a couple of them from hollow knitting needles. They're larger, but not threaded like the Perma Lok needles. After cutting them down to size, Manny formed a lip at the open end of the needles, so that they do a good job of holding on to the paracord after it's inserted.

For tying the turks head knot, I used some orange paracord that I bought during a visit to the Grand Opening party of the new Going Gear store in Smyrna, Georgia. Among all the neat gadgets, gear, flashlights, and gizmos, they also carry some 550 paracord that has 8 inner strands compared to the usual 7 strand core 550 paracord. I think the extra strand gives the paracord a bit more of a solid feel to it. The inner strands of paracord can be useful for those that want to remove and use them for other tasks if the need arises.

There's a tutorial for tying a T-shape turks head knot on the KHWW.net website.

9 comments:

jeatonx1 said...

I'm working in smyrna tomorrow. I'll have to check out that store.

Stormdrane said...

Going Gear will also have a booth set up at the Blade Show this weekend, at the Cobb Galleria, just a few miles away.

Anonymous said...

I have seen on the net somewhere that some cords have firm core strings and some have soft strings. This is what causes the the cord to feel firm and round and the others to feel soft and squishy.
Do you have info on this?

Davy

Stormdrane said...

Paracord can vary from different manufacturers and even different batches from the same manufacturer. The number and type of inner strands can change the feel of the cord, as can the number of strands woven in the making of the outer sheath.

Sometimes paracord can feel solid, like you'd expect from a regular feel of rope, and sometimes the outer sheath feels loose over the inner strands, and can seem to easily twist or get bunched up over the inner core strands, or even have some inner strands get kinked/twisted up under the outer sheath.

If you remove the inner strands to just use the outer sheath for knot work, the core strands are not an issue to deal with.

If you buy from different sources, you're more likely to see more differences in the quality of paracord, so if you find a source you like, stick with it.

Anonymous said...

Could you leave instructions on how to weave this please?

Thanks,

Mark

Stormdrane said...

@Mark, There is a tutorial for tying a turks head knot on a T-shape on the KHWW.net website. ;)

The Radio Guy said...

Is there any way you can tell me how your friend Manny made the lip for toy needles

Stormdrane said...

@The Radio Guy, He mentioned using the head of a nail and hammering the edge down over it. So I'd imagine using a small diameter nail head held on the inside of the needle and carefully using a small precision type hammer to work the edge down flat over nail head, probably using a vise to hold the needle while you work. Hope that makes sense.

Anonymous said...

I can't find the tutorial anywhere :(

-Ella