The falconer's knot is a

knot A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ...

used in

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

to tether a

bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

to a perch. Some sources show this knot to be identical to the

halter hitch The halter hitch is a type of knot used to connect a rope to an object. As the name implies, an animal's lead rope, attached to its halter, may be tied to a post or hitching rail with this knot. The benefit of the halter hitch is that it can be ...

, but with a specific method of single-handed tying needed when the other hand is occupied holding the bird.

Tying

The falconer's knot is usually tied one handed with the right hand (using two fingers to hold the end, and the thumb to hook behind the end) as follows: # The rope is passed around the perch, with the tail end to the farther side extending to the left. # The right hand, is placed palm up, underneath both pieces of rope and a middle point of the tail piece is pinch/gripped between the index and middle fingers, as if one were cutting the rope with scissors. # The thumb reaches over the main part, and over the "scissoring fingers", points first down to the right under the tail side, then upwards to hook the tail side rope with the back of the thumbnail, # Keeping the thumb in the same position hooking the tail side, the wrist with the pinched tail is then rotated to the right as if signalising "GO AWAY!" so that the back of the hand ends up facing up at the near side of both ropes while the scissoring fingers still hold the tail, and pulled now under the main part to the right. # Due to the rotation, the thumb (still over the main part) will have a loop of the tail side wrapped around. The "scissored" rope (still under the main part) is then to be put through the loop around the thumb, pushing with the fingers. The thumb may also help it through the loop. # The result is an Overhand knot of the tail, where the knot is around the main part, with a slip i.e. a

Halter hitch The halter hitch is a type of knot used to connect a rope to an object. As the name implies, an animal's lead rope, attached to its halter, may be tied to a post or hitching rail with this knot. The benefit of the halter hitch is that it can be ...

. This is achieved without involving the left hand which usually is busy holding the animal attached to the main part. The knot is then tightened towards the perch, then the free tail end passed through the new slip loop, to secure (just in case the animal has learned to untie the slip knot by pulling the end). To untie, one simply pulls out the free end, tugs hard, and it should untie. When securing birds of prey often two knots will be used as birds can learn to untie them. File:AtmacaBagi1.JPG, Falconer's knot 1 : pinching fingers from below, hooking thumb from above File:AtmacaBagi2.JPG, Falconer's knot 2 : hand rotated counterclockwise File:AtmacaBagi3.JPG, Falconer's knot 3 : Loop around the thumb, end between fingers File:AtmacaBagi4.JPG, Falconer's knot 4 : End bight slipped through loop around thumb File:AtmacaBagi5.JPG, Falconer's knot 5 : Tightened File:AtmacaBagi6.JPG, Falconer's knot 6 : Locked

References

External links

Instructional video on tying the Falconer's knot
at youtube.com

at themodernapprentice.com {{Knots Falconry

Tying

See also

References

External links