DSJackson Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Hi gang, I'm having an issue tying a knot found in Bruce Grant's Encyclopedia, "turk's head for covering leather holding a ring". There's 6 diagrams, three have instruction, the other three don't and I've tried to follow the patterns as per the diagrams but when I tie it, it looks good on the front and a complete mess on the back. I understand it's basically just tying a turk's head around the intersection of a "T" and I have other instructions for this but it doesnt allow for a flat leather thong, it gets flipped around, doesn't work whereas the Bruce Grant one is specifically made for a flat length of thong. Help! Bruce Grant's Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding Pg. 321 Plate 131. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwinOaks Report post Posted January 7, 2011 I don't have the book, so I can't reference it, but I've learned that when tying a TH around anything, the key is to work with more cord / strap than you need and build the knot loosely. Leave plenty of slack in it to make sure everything lays "just so" then when you've finished the pattern, go back and start tightening it, chasing the slack out as you go. A little rubber cement on the covered object will also help keep things from rolling around. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spence Report post Posted January 7, 2011 T-knots are just one of the variants of the TH. They are tough to tie in the beginning and tougher to explain. T.O. has it right about tying it loose. Some TH can be done on the tight side, but some just have to be done loose. Rubber cement is a lifesaver too. I've done a few T-knots and X-knots, but only in rope. I glean my info from Ashley's Book of Knots. Unfortunately, it's loaned out right now, but we'll see what we can come up with. Hopefully, Brian (Knothead) can join this thread. Figure 5 shows the back of the knot. Keep referring to this figure after every pass. That's gonna keep you grounded as you move on. Figure 1 is good. Figure 2 could possibly be confusing as the string goes around the back without going through the ring. This is where you jump to Figure 5 to see where it is. Figure 3 has the same action. These two figures tell me that I need to keep that knot loose for now. Otherwise, I'm gonna be moving those strings (passes) (2 & 3) into positions that they are not supposed to be in. Figure 4 is just showing you what Fig 3 looks like with string and not an arrow. Figure 5 is where you see how you've done. Tightening a TH is just as important and way more time consuming than the first pass. It can take 5 minutes to "build" the first pass and an hour to tighten it all up after 3 passes. If you hurry and make a mistake, it can look like the TH was built incorrectly when it is only a matter of a crossed pass. Also, a rule I've followed for the past 50 years is to "never cut the ends of a TH until I've closely inspected it 3 times for errors. G'luck and have patience. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miguelm Report post Posted January 7, 2011 hello, is to five-part four-bight turk head, the same you can see in the pg 365 plate 148. best regards Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roo4u Report post Posted January 7, 2011 miguel is correct this is just the same as the turkshead....these diagrams are meant only to show which bights go thru ring and which go around. if you can tie the turkshead just take it slow and you will get it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DSJackson Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Ah perfect. I can tie turk's heads I'll go back and look at page 365 and work off that first to get used to it and be sure to leave enough slack to work with, thanks for the help gang Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Hi DS. Here's a tutorial one of my members did a while back. T-Shaped Turks Head Tutorial :Hope that this will help. Brian... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DSJackson Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Hi DS. Here's a tutorial one of my members did a while back. T-Shaped Turks Head Tutorial :Hope that this will help. Brian... Hi Brian, will this method lend itself to leather thong? By this I mean when tying it, will the flesh side of the thong remain on the inside of the knot or would it twist around? Thanks, Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted January 7, 2011 Yes. It will work if you're paying attention to the thong. Just about any casa knot can be tied with lace. I mean just about any. I have only found a few that can not be tied in lace. These were modified turks heads that would not lend itself to the lace as you say. B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
