How to Tie the Falconer’s Knot

The Falconer’s Knot is a knot used in falconry to tether a bird of prey to a perch. Some sources show this knot to be identical to the halter hitch, but with a specific method of single-handed tying needed when the other hand is occupied holding the bird.

If you need to tie secure knots with one hand, this is a better knot to learn than the clove hitch, but a little slower.

To Tie a Falconer’s Knot:

Pass the rope anti-clockwise around the perch or glove, with the tail end to the left.
Place the right hand, palm up, underneath the both pieces of rope and grip the tail piece(left) between the first finger and middle finger, as if one was cutting the rope with scissors. The other fingers are below not in use at the moment.
Place the thumb through the two pieces, over the “scissors” and under the second bring it to the right, as if one was hitchhiking.
Keeping the thumb in the same position rotate the wrist to the right so that the back of the hand is facing up.
The thumb will have made a loop. With the pinched first and middle finger put the “scissored” rope through the “hitchhikers’s” loop.
Pass the free end through the new loop to secure.
To untie simply pull out the free end and tug hard and it should untie.

For a more in-depth tutorial and additional information on the Falconer’s knot, check out our video!

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The article How to Tie the Falconer’s Knot first appeared on Survival World.