Tie: Practial Hand Tie

I sometimes find it hard to remember ties I've learned, especially if I go through a period of not playing. Often I get half-way and then get stuck. So I'm going to start writing ties down as I learn them or as I realize I need to relearn them. This is the first. I learned it from Toro at Milky Way.

1. With rope folded in half, form a lark's head with the bight and place that around the hand. The bight should be at the base of the palm, just above the wrist. The tail of the rope should be towards the thumb.
2. Wrap the tail around the wrist one time (closer to the wrist) so that looking at the back of the hand there are 4 cords. Looking from the back you should see 1 cord catching each of the 4 fingers
3. Form a loop in the tail and push it under the cords at the base of the palm.
4. Catch the first and second finger with 1 cord of rope each from that loop.
5. Catch the third and fourth finger (little finger) with 1 cord or rope each from the tail of the rope
6. Bring the tail across the palm from the third and fourth fingers and wrap it around the back of the hand.
7. Form a loop with the tail of the rope and push it under all of the cord in the palm. It should emerge between the cord around the first finger and 2 cords that went across the back of the hand in #6.
8. Pull that loop out and form a twist in the tail of the rope, placing it around the loop and pulling it tight to close it.

Check the back of the hand. You should have 4 cords near the wrist, 2 near the middle of the hand and 1 on each finger. When you pull the rope, most of the tension should be on the 4 cords on the back of the wrist.

Alternatively, for step 3, go between the 2 pairs of cords where the larks head doubles back. I feel like the original may be better at preventing collapse on the wrist.