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The Basic Turkshead Knot

What is a Simple Turkshead

The simple turkshead as presented here is a cylindrical knot of the single pass form done with one thong. I will deal with it from a leather braiders viewpoint, but the same basic principles apply to any medium from cordage to barbed wire. Most of those who have written about such knots tend to do so on a basis of individual knots, but of the many, many possible forms, they all share some characteristics that allow any possible knot to be braided without using anything more complex than a simple visual inspection of the knot as we braid it. We will try to examine the structure and characteristics of the simple turkshead knot with a view to obtain the understanding necessary to braid any possible knot of this type.This will involve a study of the braid structure that makes the cylindrical flat braid possible. This is mostly a matter of observing the bight increment and braid entry and exit at the edges of the knot as defined in Lesson Two. I will also provide you with some tools and methods to aid in the braiding process such as pinned mandrels, templates, and running lists for some of the knots.

These subjects are arranged here as a series of lessons in an orderly progression from basic principles to interweaves and beyond.

The main focus of this site is to discourage the common practice of dealing with braided knots of the turkshead type as seperate entities and treat them all as having some common characteristics that allow any knot of this kind to be braided in a simple manner.

More to come

If you have been visiting this site you may notice that I have moved beyond the original premise of simple knots and presented some rather esoteric material. If you have any topic that troubles you please send any questions or suggestions to email stwood@taylortel.net>

New Stuff

I have undertaken to redo the site to make some major changes and correct some errors of long standing. On the chance that someone may be using the site on a regular basis to study these matters I will keep this one running, but you can get a "sneak preview" at New site

This is me and a friend

Copyright Sidney Wood 7/19/2009