Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A Turk's Head knot video tutorial 16L3B

I made a video of the 16 lead 3 bight Turk's Head knot. It's just the first pass of the knot and takes about 10 minutes to watch(which is also the limit for a single YouTube video and I didn't want to do a multi-part set of videos on it). A completed project can take more than an hour, so I've just shown enough to get started.



Here's the over/under sequence separately in text:

Make 3 turns and follow this sequence: u-o-u-o-u, then around to the right of the standing end, o-u-o-u-o, then back o-uu-oo-uu-oo-u, then to the right of the standing end u-oo-uu-oo-uu, and from there you do an under and over working your way all the way back to the standing end.

From there you straighten
everything out, then double/triple or however many passes you want to make(the 20 feet of 550 paracord I used would be enough for 3 passes on a 2C Maglite).

I used the PVC pipe as a base to tie the knot, since it's easier to use something like that for making the knot first and then sliding it off the pipe and onto the object where you want to finish it. For example, it's easier to tie the knot onto a short section of PVC pipe and slide it off, than to work it on a 5 foot long walking stick. But, you may have to tie the knot directly onto an object if there's no way to slide it on, like on a lamp post.

After making three passes for the knot on the PVC pipe, I slid the knot off and onto my wrecking bar, for use as a grip. Then gradually tightened the knot, working the slack out from the start(standing end) all the way thru to the end. It's important to do this gradually, working a little slack thru the knot at least a couple of times. This helps keep everything straight, neat, and getting the twist, that can develop when tying, out of the line as you go. The finished amount of paracord I used after tightening was about 12 feet.

Making a project like the previous post of the Maglite Grip can easily take a couple of hours, from start to finish. But, the more of these knots that you make, the easier they get, and you can cut that work time down.

As shown in the video, I learned this knot from 'The Complete Book of Decorative Knots' by Geoffrey Budworth.

If this one seems too complicated, you might visit the Knot Heads World Wide website and look thru the tutorials and videos there for something to try. Or maybe even ask a knotty question in the forums and get an answer from some good folks that know a lot more about knots than I do.

29 comments:

Bcubed said...

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!! Thank you Storm! That knot really does not look as complicated as I had expected. You make it look easy. I'v got a piece of PVC pipe at home, gonna try one tonight. Thanks for taking the time to make that video. You are a great teacher! Thanks again!

baylorbear93 said...

Where do you get one of those needles?

Stormdrane said...

I got the two sizes I have from ebay. They're inexpensive, but you should shop around for the lowest price with shipping/handling.

Perma Lok Jumbo 1193-02 (fits 550 paracord - melt the end, trim to a point and screws right in)

Perma Lok 1193-01 (for smaller diameter cord)

baylorbear93 said...

Great... thanks so much!

Trip_Wir3 said...

Yes,I'm very grateful for the time you spend on our requests. Thank you very much!

Trip_Wir3 said...

I did it! Thanks Stormdrane for the video tutorial, it helped me through alot of my problem areas when figuring out the turks head.
Pics on my blog
http://tripwir3.blogspot.com/

Velu said...

Great posts storm. I doubt I'll get around to making them, but its always a pleasure to check out your creations.

Keep up the good work.

Also thanks for putting up my blog in your links. Have done the same.

Cheers,
Velu

daytribe said...

Thanks Stormdrane for making this video. I have been unable to make sense of any other online tutorial for this kind of knot but last night I successfully tied my first 16L3B.

Tomek Noslo said...

Hey Stormdrane,
Sorry to bother you with this question, but I figured you'd know best. Looking to purchase a decorative knot book for my uncle, can you make any suggestions what you think would be the best? I notice you make reference to a few different ones in our posts.
Thanks in advancem
Tom

Stormdrane said...

A couple of good ones are:

The Book of Decorative Knots by Peter Owen

Creative Ropecraft by Stuart Grainger

Tomek Noslo said...

Thanks Stormdrane,
Much appreciated.
Tom

Puerto1980 said...

thanks for the vid. I have budworth's book, but I couldn't make sense of that knot.

Anonymous said...

Stormdrane,
Been watching your blog for a while now, love it.
If you start with five wraps you come up with a 28L3B TH. I tied one the other evening. Looks neat, but it take a bit of patience

Anonymous said...

hey storm sorry to bother you but i am having a hell of a time trying to get my needles to thread on my paracord. i have both sizes. i try to melt the ends and cut to a point but the cord still frays out the sides. what am i doing wrong

Stormdrane said...

I cut the cord at about a 45 degree angle, then quick melt the end. The point should be small enough to fit into the end of the threaded needle. The hardened melted tip is easily gripped by the threads and pulls the rest of the cord up into the needle as it's twisted on, where it won't come loose while working with it.

Photo link shows both of the needles I have, used with 550 paracord and 1.4mm nylon cord.

photo link

Sherman said...

The knots are intriguing, but I really like the music in this video. Sort of sounds like Allgood, but trying to search on the lyrics, I'm not getting any hits.

Can you provide a artist and track or album name for this tune?

Thanks!
--jc

Stormdrane said...

I used YouTube's 'Audioswap' feature to find a music track that was close to the same length as the video. The track playing is Big Imagination by Garrick Davis.

Anonymous said...

Could you translate the terminology for this knot?

What's a lead and what is the bight?

I can sorta guess the bight refers to the number of strands across the weaving takes.

But I can't figure what leads refers to. What on this project is the 16 lead part?

Stormdrane said...

See this 'Knots 101" link, from the Knot Heads World Wide website, for a good explanation of the knot terminology.

Tom said...

What do you do with the standing part when finished?

Stormdrane said...

After the knot is tightened up and finished, the ends of the cord are trimmed and tucked up under the knot and out of sight.

I usually use the tip of a clay stylus or hemostats, which I use for working the slack out/tightening the knot, to push/poke the ends under.

Anonymous said...

For a first time attempting a TH, what cord/needle and book would you recomend?

Stormdrane said...

If you're just starting out, get some 550 paracord, you can try a local Army/Navy store or order online, Supply Captain is a good source.

A Perma-Lok Jumbo Lacing Needle #1193-02 works with paracord sized cordage.

A good knot book, with a few turks head knot diagrams, is Stuart Grainger's 'Creative Ropecraft'.

Anonymous said...

Thanks!! Ordering the book since no one carries it around here. In the mean time any particular TH on-line tutorial that is best for the beginner?

Stormdrane said...

For a simple turks head, try this youtube video:

A simple turks head knot

There are others on youtube and you might look around the KHWW.net website for more.

Anonymous said...

I checked Michael's for the needle with no luck and Hobby Lobby but all they had were the 02's, very small. I orderd the 1193-05. It's listed on Tandy's site as jumbo but didn't realize it's 5" in length, I'd assume that this will work or does it need th be shorter? Thanks for the advice!

Stormdrane said...

Although I haven't used one, I imagine the longer lacing needle will still work fine.

Unknown said...

Good morning Stormdrane,I went back and wanted to try the long three turk and as always your video got me there.You had made a suggestion about running a third color in the middle.For the life of me I can not figure out how?when you get to the end it will be to the right on the last bight correct? I have not run it or tightened the other.It has a weird end to it,not like the two or 4.Again your the best thanks Scot

Stormdrane said...

@Scot, If you run a second color between a 3 bight TH knot that you've made two passes on, it should follow right along side the start/end strands of that knot, all the way thru the knot. If it is not coming out correctly, you may have missed a turn somewhere in the knot... ;)