Page 263 - The Ashley Book of Knots

THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS

1395. It has been shown how sinnets can be adapted to form

TURK'S-HEADS. Elsewhere it has been pointed out that the simpler

forms of TURK'S-HEADS, BUTTONS, and LANYARD KNOTS are super-

ficially similar and that they all are related to the sinnets. The dia-

gram now to be given is far removed from the sinnet form. Else-

where it appears as MULTI-STRAND BUTTON ~922, as SINGLE-STRAND

BUTTON ~6I7' and as LANYARD KNOTS ~770 and ~772, each form

being quite different in character. To tie the diagram as a TURK'S-

HEAD requires two cords. After being projected, the knot should

be doubled and then worked very deliberately around a rope, which

is rove through the center compartment of the diagram.

The reader may find among the BUTTON and LANYARD KNOTS

other diagrams equally applicable to TURK'S-HEAD KNOTS, provided

there is no great disparity between the number of bights around

the rim and of parts around the center compartment.

Before tying either this knot, or the STAR KNOT which follows, it

would be well to place a small STANDING TURK'S-HEAD on the rope

to act as a core with which to prevent the knot's slipping.

THE STAR KNOT TURK'S-HEAD

1396. The STAR KNOT is one of the most individual and distin-

guished of knots. Normally it is a MULTI-STRAND STOPPER, and it is

not easily adaptable to other forms. It appears in both the lanyard

and the MULTI-STRAND BUTTON chapters and in the latter chapter

several variations are given. In the chapter on SHROUD KNOTS it may

be found modified to serve as a MULTI-STRAND BEND (~I582).

Each strand in the STAR KNOT proper has its individual cycle, from

which it does not depart even when doubled. To adapt it to the

TURK'S-HEAD form it is necessary to divert the line so that the cord

will progress around the diagram. The altered lead is not apparent on

the surface of the finished knot, and a particularly handsome TURK's-

HEAD results.

If tied around a three-strand rope, the material for the STAR KNOT

should be approximately the size of a single strand of the rope, and

the resultant knot will be several times the diameter of the rope.

H a TURK'S-HEAD is made with a fairly elastic cord it will con-

strict better. But if it is to be placed around a soft rope, stiff ma-

terial may be employed and the "give and take" of the rope itself

will hold it in place. If both a shiny surface and a stiff cord are to be

contended with, the shiny surface may be shellacked. Lacking these

means, a shallow MOUSE (~3499) raised on the rope will assist in

holding a TURK'S-HEAD stationary.

THE CROSS

1397. The letter T on page 253 naturally suggested a TURK'S-HEAD

in the form of a cross. The CROSS that is given here has an upright of

six bights and a crossbar of four.

The proportions of such knots can be varied and, if desired, addi-

tional arms may be projected from other compartments. An easy

way to build up elaborate knots of this sort is to cut the bights of

several knots and then tie the ends of the cords together to form a

single large knot. When completed, substitute a single cord for the

knotted cord. However, unless care is observed, more than one cord

will be required.

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