How to tie the constrictor knot

This tutorial shows you a very practical binding knot called the Constrictor knot.

I have recently been studying survival knots and other practical knots. In my journey I have found that most practical knots are a bit different from the decorative counterparts we use in our paracord projects. The main difference is that they are very easy to tie. This knot fits that profile. It is a knot that you can master by repetition quite fast and it will come in very handy. It is depicted as the knot number 1188 is the Ashley book of knots.

As previously stated, the knot is a binding one and I have yet to find a knot that binds as well as a constrictor. This is why I rank this knot among the most useful binding knots, although it is hard to replace the reef knot, because we were taught to use it since we were kids to tie our shoes.

Practical uses

The most important thing you need to know about the knot, other than tying it is how to apply it to an actual situation. This knot is used for securing a rope or cord to a cylindrical object.

As such the constrictor knot performs better than a reef knot for binding things together and is a lot more permanent than the clove hitch. In fact it is so good at binding that sometimes you will need to cut the rope/cord to get it off.

In relation to the bowline knot, the knot grips the object much more firmly. This knot can be used to secure cord to posts, while the bowline does not grip it sufficiently, neither can it be made successively.