Page 207 - The Pocket Guide to Outdoor Knots

CONSTRICTOR KNOT (and with draw-loop)

Purpose

This is the acme of compact binding knots, an alternative to the strangle knot
(page 48), with such a tenacious grip that the ends can be trimmed close to the

knot without it coming apart.

Tying #1
With a working end, tie a clove hitch (pages 86–87), then take an extra tuck to

put a half-knot in the two parallel knot parts (figure 1). Pull tight (figure 2). With
tough cord and a solid foundation, such as when seizing a garden hose to an

external water source, use a couple of pairs of pliers to exert a powerful force in
tightening the knot; or attach a handle to each end (two thick wooden dowels, a

pair of screwdrivers, or any else that will improvise a T-shape) with pile hitches.
Take care—use gloves or tools—even when tying a batch of these knots hand-

tight, since repeated pulling soon rubs raw the creases between finger joints.

A constrictor knot is best removed by cutting it off. With a sharp blade, sever
just the diagonal that overlays the entwined knot parts, when the knot will fall
away in two curly segments. This way there is little chance of unintentionally

marking or scarring whatever the knot was tied around.

Tying #2
To tie in the bight, take a turn and then pull out a bight of the encircling line

(figure 3). Impart a twist and pass the loop so formed over the end of the
foundation on which the knot is being tied (figures 4–5).