More Falconry Braiding Craft

More Falconry Braiding Craft

I’ve spent more time at the braiding loom (and hardware store) in order to perfect the construction of the perfect hawk leash and here are three examples of what I’ve come up with.  I’ve gathered some feedback from highly experienced falconers in the national falconry community and I am grateful for thier input and expertise. I’ve worked hard to construct leashes that are useful, functional, suitable for the intended purpose and incorporate the sage advice and experience provided by other falconers.

 

This example consists of a snap-shackle to secure the leash to the falconry gauntlet at the D-Ring.  I used two strands of paracord after I took out the center strands. I used a 4-strand braid and wove each loop end through itself in order to hide the cord and strengthen each loop-end connection. The spring snaps at the jess end are secured by a size #11 salt-water split ring and a #8 sampo swivel.  Jesses could be paracord, dacron, or kangaroo.  I’ve used similar leashes with all my red-tails and I look forward to making this one work next season.  This leash is intended for medium to large size raptors such as a female Harris Hawk or a Red-Tailed Hawk.

 

This example was originally the target leash example for a medium size raptor, such as a Cooper’s Hawk, a Goshawk, or a Harris’ Hawk.  There is a locking carabiner that affixes the leash to the falconry gauntlet to the D-Ring.  The leash is a six-strand braid I outlined in a previous post, along with the same #5 swivel and military grade equipment snap.

 

This last picture is an example of what I *might*   😉   use if I followed everyone’s advice that gave feedback to my original post on how to improve my leash setup.  There is a 16-strand triple-twist main halyard used from a sailboat.  Each end has a 23 kilo-newton locking carabiner, strong enough to pull a pick-up truck. Ignoring the fact that the D-Ring on the falconry gauntlet will give out before the locking carabiner does, I’d still need some braided metal rope or bullet jesses to make sure the hawk/falcon can’t chew it’s way through the jesses.  Of course I jest here, but the opinions very widely amongst the falconry community. I placed a quarter in each picture to provide perspective.

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