28643165 Knots and Ropework

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ifhe Shell Combined Book ot


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Yarns

Fibres

Tail End(3 hawser la id strands)


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The Shell Combined Book ofKnots and Ropework(Practical and Decorative)

EricC.FryPhotographs by Pe ter Wilson

mavid & Charles


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A list of all Shell Books can be o btained bywriting 10:-Department UOMK/622Shell U .K . OilP.O. Box No 148Shell-Mex HouseSt randLondon WC2R ODX

First published as The Shelf Book of Knots an d Ropework in 1977 andThe Shelf Book of Practical and Decorative Ropework in 1978British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataFry, Er ic C.,The Shell comb ined book of knots and ropework(practica l and decorative) .

1. Knots and splices2. RopeI. Tit le II. Shell book of knots and ropeworkIII. Shell book of practical and decorative ropework623.88'12 UM533ISBN 07 15381970 Eric Fry and Peter Wilson 1977, 1978, 1981First published 1977Second impression 1978First combined edition published 1981Second impression 1983Third impression 1985Fourth impression 1991Fifth impression 1992Sixth impression I S94All r ishts reserved. No part of this pub lication may be reproduced, storedin a retr ieval system, or t ransmitted, in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical , photocopying, record ing or otherwise, wit houtthe prio r permission of Dav id & Charles picPrinted in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Willsfor David & CharlesBrunei House Newton Abbot Devon


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Contents

Introduction 26 Stage or scaffold hitch27 Lighterman's hitch

PART ONE 28 Square knotKnots 29 Ba rgee's eye spliceOverhand or thumb knot, ha lf-hitch, 30 Monkey's f istround turn and two ha lf-hitches

2 Double thumb knot Rope Spli ces3 Figure of eight 31 Eye spl ice4 Continuous fi gures of eight 32 Short splice5 Reef knot 33 Long splice6 Carrick bend (two types) 34 Back splice7 Diamond knot 35 Cut splice8 Sheet bend, doub le sheet bend 36 Eye splice in middle of rope9 Binder turn 37 Flemish eye10 Tom Fool's knot 38 Single tuck eye splice with wall knot

11 Man harness (chair knot) from Fool's finishknot 39 Chain splice

12 Sheep shank from Fool's knot.pinned sheep shank Decorative Kn ots13 Sheep shank 40 Shroud knot14 Shamrock knot 4 ' The untiable knot15 Bowline, runn ing bowline 42 Wa ll knot16 Bowl ine on a bight 43 Crown knot17 Clove hitch (cast ), clove hitch 44 Man-rope knot from conjoined wall(turned) and crown18 Rolling hitch 45 Turk's head19 Fisherman's bend or bucket hi t ch 46 Ocean plait and/or mat20 Timber hi tch21 Cat's paw Wire Splices22 Backwall hitch, midshipman's 47 Admiralty eye splice

hitch 48 Liverpool eye splice23 Thief knot or draw hi tch 49 Flemish eye splice24 Jury mast head knot 50 Long splice25 Rope ladder knot 51 Grommet


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PART TWODecorat ive Knots52 To wa ll any number of strands (fourillus trated), double wall, continuouswalling, wall pla it53 To crown any number of st rands (fourillustrated), double crown,continuous crowning, crown plait(spira l) crown plait (s traight) wa lland crown plai t54 Diam ond knot, on four st rands,double diamond knot, diamondhitching, diamond plait55 Star knot, six stranded56 Pin eapple knot, four st randed57 Ro se knot, four stranded, wall andcrown, manrope knot, stopper knot58 Tack knot59 Sing le and double Matthew Walker60 Turk's head knot, Turk's hea dPlaits61 Chain plait62 Double chain plait63 Square pla it64 Tw ist pla it65 Overhand knot plait, four stranded66 Overhand knot plai t, eight st randedSennits67 Common sennit. three stranded68 Common sennit, seven stranded69 Round sennit, six stranded70 Square sennit, eight stranded

71 English sen nit seven stranded72 French sen nit, seven stra nded73 Po rtuguese sennit, spi ral74 Po rtuguese sennit, flat75 Spanish hitching, overhand andreversed76 Ru ssian sennit, six st randed,Russ ian mat77 Cockscombing, single stranded, cowhitch78 Cockscombing, three st randed79 Thrum sennit80 To form a spindle eyeMats81 Oc ean mat square82 Carrick mat83 Jury matOther knots and t wo toggles84 To 'point' a rope's end85 Blood knot86 Constrictor knot87 Waggoners' hitch88 Heav ing line bend89 Decorative sha mrock knot90 'Three t' knot91 French bowl ine92 Spanish bowline93 Small bell toggle. single stranded94 Large bell toggle, six stran ded95 Suggested layout of multi-un it ma t

GlossaryIndex of knot numbers


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Introduction

We are na turally gratif ied that the success of our two Shell Books of Knots andRopework and Practical and Decofative Ropework has been such that th iscombined volume is ca lled for. A few basic knots were necessa rily duplicated inthe separate books and these dupl ica tions have of course been removed .Otherwise text and photog ra phs afe unchanged. Unl ike boat des ign, there havebeen no sensa t ional developments in ropewo rk but presentation can beim proved and our sty le. seems to be popu lar.Part One comprises the basic knots and spl ices with a few of the decorat ivetype thrown in for good measure. Part Two is devoted principally to thedecorative work practised by the old sai l ing -ship seamen whose craftsmanshipapproached art. Certainly it is on the level of macrame. Much of it is indeedmacrame.The difficu lty of teaching knotting without the pupil viewing the work'backwards' or the tutor becoming a contortion ist is obvious and many bookshave been produced illustrating the art with sketches, diagrams an d writteninstructions which can be equally confusin g.This book invites the pupil to learn from that wh ich he sees, regarding thehands as his, or he r, own as the case may be.In fact there are ve ry few true knots, only four accord ing to some schools ofthought, the great majority of so called knots being ei ther bends or hitches.Nevertheless all are formed from a se ries of bights and tucks in association wi ththe all-i mportant twisting of the rope to ma intai n the lay and ensure nounwan ted turns in unexpected places.'To go against the gra in ' is essentially a carpenters' expression, subsequentlyassociated w ith human nature. So it is wi th rope. Although rope does not havea grain, it most certa inly has its equivalent in its lay, which if mi shandled willbecome more cantankerous than any grain - timber or human, Someunderstanding of this lay - th is life which is born into every rope. during itsmanufacture in the rope-wa lk is necessary.With the exception of bra ided, or plaited rope, all ropes consist of fibres, yarnsand strands. Du ring manufacture, fibres are twisted to form yarns, yarns twistedto form strands; and strands tw is ted to form the fi nished rope, the wholeoperation being ca rried out simultaneously and progressively, under tension.It is the refore in the nature of the rope to permit itse lf to be further twisted inth e di rec tion in which it was made, but to rebel against being twisted in theopposite direction, ie against its lay,


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Anyone attempting to coi l a right-hand laid rope left-handed will soon discoverthis, whereas, when not on ly coiled 'with the lay' but also w ith an additionaltwist for every turn of the coil the rope will be most obedient. and almost coilitself.Similarly, when tying a knot it is sometimes necessary to deliberately put a turninto the rope, or more often take out an unwanted tu rn. The bowl ine (Knot 15)is an ideal example of this and if the rope is not tw isted as shown, an unsightlyturn will be found in the f inished bight. When working w ith unla id strands, as insplicing, it is obvious that each strand must be twisted as it is drawn tight, tomaintain the lay and there are occasions when the rope is deliberately forcedagainst its lay to advantage as in the 'eye splice in the middle of a rope'(Knot 36).Different ropes, dependent on whether they are hard or soft and pliable, willreact in varying degrees and it is only wi th practice that it becomes possibleto 'get the feel' of any rope.The majority of rope in common use, whether it be of vegetable or man-madefibre is the three-strand, right -hand, ha wser- laid rope, which is used throughoutPart One of the book.Some knowledge of the terms employed is also necessary and the frontispieceplate, apart from showing the construction of the ro pe, also indicates thestanding part, the bight and the tailor tail end.Whippings, the use of sai l twine (or similar) to secure a rope's end from frayingare not shown in detail; suffice to say that there are three main types, Common.West Country and Sailmakers' (or palm and needle).A whipping should always be applied to the individual strands when workingwi th an unla id end of rope, but as this is a temporary measure, a few turns ofsa il twine finished in a reef knot is all that is needed . The applica tion of alighted match wi ll effectively sea l the ends of any man-made fibre and wi re willnot unstrand if cut w ith an oxy-acetylene torch instead of with a hammer andchisel.Other types of rope comprise the fou r- st rand shroud-laid rope wi th a central corealso laid right-handed and the nine-strand cable- laid, the latter being threecomplete three-strand, hawser- laid ropes, laid up together left -handed, thusforming a nine-strand rope. The comparatively new braided (or plai ted ) rope isbe ing increasingly used, particularly by the yachti ng fraternity.No ma tter how uti litarian a knot or piece of ropework may be, by long ma ritimetrad ition it has to be seen to be good as well as being efficient. Hence thefamiliar Turk's head that enhances the appearance of a t iller and gives thehelmsman a firmer grip. There has. though. never been any question ofdecoration for its own sake because, whether it was an elabo rate working knotor plaited cordage, each had its purpose an d place in the overa ll scheme fromtack knot and high ly ornate sea-chest handles to tiddly mat.


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The majority of the knots in Part Two are of the 'tidd ly' kind. Tit-ley was theoriginal word but, by the early 1900s, 't idd ly' had become the acceptedsea faring expression for practi ca lly anything and everything wh ich was 'fancy','out of t he ordinary' or, by d ictionary definit ion, 'simple perfection'. Whateverinterpretation was given and in whatever context the really old-time sa ilormanused the original word may be left to the imagination but his son's best go ingashore clot hes became his ' tidd ly gear', he was sa id to look 'tiddiy' when sodressed and even the pride of the Roya l Navy, the Royal Sovereign, became theTiddly Quid, (For the benefi t of younger readers, a 'quid' was a co lloqu ial termfor a sovere ign wh ich was twenty sh ill ings in old currency.)As before, each knot is illustrated step by st ep including photographs of thehands manipu lating the rope, thus the reader shou ld have no d iff icu lty infollow ing any sequence.Four ind ividual strands have been used, even for knots wh ich can be an d very oftenare made on the three strands of an unlaid rope. To avoid repetit ion such knotsan d/o r plaits are ind icated th roughout with an asterisk. Others, such as thetack knot, wh ich wou ld be made only on stranded rope, are shown according ly.In case the who le may appear awesome, t wo th ings may be sa id . Firstl y, anunderstanding of Knots 7, 53 and 55 is all that is needed to complete the bell toggle(Knot 94) . Second ly, however compl icated any piece may appear to be it isin fact on ly a mu lti plici ty of simple twists (turns ) and bends (bights)locked into position . The star knot is an ideal exa mple as it looks d ifficult. yetthere are only six basic movements, repeated on each of as many strands as areemployed .As fa r as usage is co ncerned one does not have to be a seaman or yacht ownerto appreciate the appl ication of 't iddiy' ropework, even in the home. Trycovering a queer-shaped bottle to ma ke a standard lamp, for instance. Natura llyit has more appl icat ions, certa inly too numerous to specify, aboard even thesmalles t of boats. The onus must be left to the imagination of the owner, butto say the least, any meta l handle provides a more secure and warmer grip ifcovered, parti cu larly if it is a quest ion of hang ing on to it hour after hour inheavy weather, wh ilst hand grips on shrouds, rails etc can be very use ful-sowhy not make them ' t iddly'?


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1Overhandor ThumbKnotHalf-Hitch,RoundTurnandTwoHalf-Hitches

PART ONEThe overhand or thumb knot (F igs 1 and 2) is notparticularly useful in itself, other than for tying upparcels or a most un-seaman like stopper knot .The slightest re-arrangement however (Fig 3) givesit the appea rance of a half-hitch, the basis of manyot her knots.Fig 4, the round turn, followed by Figs 5 to 8 comp letes theround turn and two half-hitches, an accepted method of ma kingany rope's end fast .


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5 6

7 B


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2DoubleThumb Knot

A decorative, but not particularly stable method of jOining tworopes of equal size. It would mainly be used on sma ll cordage,fish ing tackle and the like.

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4


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When deliberately arranged as in Fig 4, it forms a quick,decorat ive and somewhat un-seamanlike stopper knot.More generally, it was used, in se ries, at given centres throughoutthe length of the lifelines, hanging from the wi re connecting theheads of the lifeboat da vits to the waterline.

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3Figure ofEight


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4ContinuousFiguresofEight

Figures of eight knots are made at given centres, usually aboutthree feet apart, for the full length of the lifelines, which hangfrom the lifeboat davits to the waterline. obviously to facilitateclimbing down .The job of formi ng each knot separately and hauling through,perhaps sixty feet or more of standing part, each time may wellbe imag ined and the il lustrations show the method of forming thisseries of knots in one movement.The distance between each knot is governed by the length of thelower bights shown in Fig 4. For the purpose of photography, onlythree emerging knots are shown, but the principle holds good andany number of knots may be made, dependent on t he length ofthe rope.See Knot 3 fo r the formation of the initial figure of eight knot .


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3 4 ..


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5ReefKnot

3

By far the most well known of knot s, it is usefu l to f inish off twoends, but should not be used to join two ropes, if such ropes areto be subjected to strain, as it will undoubtedly jam solid.It is invariably associated w ith the useless granny knot (a reefknot 'gone wrong' w hich w i ll never hold).The hallmark of the reef knot is the standing part and the tail ofboth ends laying together as they emerge from opposite sides ofthe knot. Best remembered by the mnemon ic 'left over right,right over le ft', or vice versa .

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4


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There are two methods of forming Ihe Carrick be nd and the first,Figs 1 to 3, is in many ways simi lar to the reef knot, even to theextent that a mi nor error will result in a granny knot. It is a usefulknot for joining two ends, particularly of large ropes and will notjam.The tai ls should be se ized to their respect ive standing parts and,although the knot has been shown flal for photographic c lari ty,the two bights will take up positions at right angles to each other,when under load.Figs 4 to 6 show the alternative Carrick bend, which being a'f lat ' knot by its nature. will not take up the right-angu lar posit ion,and is used as the basis for the Carrick mat, when it is doubledand fo llowed around as many times as re quired.It is also the basis for the decorat ive diamond knot shown inKnot 7.

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6CarrickBend


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7DiamondKnot

This is a purely decorative knot and would be used to form theeye of-a lanyard or perhaps the commencement of a bell rope .It is a natural progress ion from the second type of Carrick be nd,made in the centre of a line with a small bight, which eventuallyforms the eye.The two ends are 'followed around' and brought up th rough thecentre of the original Carrick bend, after wh ich the knot is workedtowards the eye and all parts are drawn tight . See alsoKnot 54.


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.= - - 9


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8SheetBend,DoubleSheetBend

The most commonly accepted knot for joining tW O ropes togetherand probably the best. particularly if the ropes are of dif ferentsizes, when the larger rope provides the bight and the smalle r, thebends or turns.The only difference between the sheet be nd and the double sheetbend is that two turns are taken around the bight of the main ropefor the latter, wh ils t the former has on ly one turn. Figs 1 to 5illustrate the sheet be nd and 6 to 8 the double s heet bend.Th is knot is even more efficient if both ropes are of the same size.


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7


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9BinderTurn

One of the lesser known knots and a va riation of the sheet be nd,it is used for the same purpose and the same rule appl ies forropes of different sizes .The fact that both tails emerge on the same side a nd lay togetherwith the one standing pa rt, makes it sui table for working close upto a block, or even for pass ing over a large sheave when hauledin the one direction, ie, with the lay of the ta i ls.

2


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Not particu la rly useful in itself, a Irick knot, as the name imp lies,it does form the basis for other, more practical knots (Knots 11and 12),It is undoubtedly the best knot to illustrate the essentialhands/rope relationship. It should be t ied with one cont inuous.sweeping movement of the hands, mee t ing and parting, thusemphasising t he understanding of 'the lay ', use of the fingertips.and the sensitivity of the hands necessary to aU successfulknott ing.

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10TomFool'sKnot


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11ManHarnessfromFool's Knot

The fool's knot (K not 10) with two ha lf-h itches. combine to formthe harness, sometimes known as a chair knot, suitable forlowering a casualty over a sh ip' s side or down the face of abuilding.Th e foo l's knot is made at the centre of a rope which must be atleast tw ice as long as the descent with the bights adjusted so thatone is twice the s i ~ e of the other; the ir sizes also being governedby the size of the casualty, eg a child or an adu lt .For photographic purposes the bights have been formed inminiature and would be considerably larger than illustrated, evenfor a child .A half-h itch is turned and cast on from both ends to complete theharness, which is then arranged on the casualty w ith the sma llerbight around the chest and under the armpits, the larger bightunder the thighs, and the knot itsel f in front of the casualty, justabove chest level. One half of the rope is retained for loweringand the other end thrown down to an assistant. The casualty islowered in a sitting position with the we ight of the body taken onthe thighs. The assistant below hau ls of f with his standing part,keeping the casual ty clear of the sh ip's side.


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12SheepShank fromFool'sKnot,PinnedSheepShank

There are several ways of making a sheep shank but the pu rposeof all of them is to shorte n the rope w ith out cutting it. In t hisinstance, the fool's knot neither adds to nor detracts from theefficiency of the completed knot. but. at best, in a long shank,does hold the three parts together at the centre, the fool's knotitself not being under load.As illustrated, the knot is completed by turn ing and casting ahalf-hi tch over the bights at the extreme ends of the foo l's knot ,on both sides of the centre.In the p inned version, Figs 6 10 8, further bights of the stand ingparts are raised at both ends, through the exis t ing end bights of theknot and secured by the insertion of marlin spikes or sim i lar pi ns.The pins must be secured in position with a lashing (not shown)and the whole has no especial purpose or use , other than as anelaborate means of ensuring that the end hitches do not worktheir way off, particular ly if the rope is subjected to a fluctuatingtension.Under these conditions it would suffice to seize the end bights tothe stand in g part s after the initial toad has been applied.


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13SheepShank

The common sheep shank is simply two opposite bights, theirlength being the amount by which the rope is required to beshortened, laid parallel and half-hitches , turned and cast overboth ends.Th e finished knot should be held in position until th e rope hasla ken the strain, whilst if subjected to fluctuat ing loads, theprot ruding bigh ts shou ld be seized to their standing parts, afterthe knot has bee n first stretched to its limit.The strength of the rope is obviously increased between thehitches . but this is of no value as the standing parts are thego verning factor.

2


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This almost comes under the heading of a decorative knot and isof the same fam i ly as the jury masthead knot . Its practical use islim ited. but with the tails jo ined with a shan splice and the bightslengthened and adjusted. i t could provide an ideal sling fora spherical object .

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14ShamrockKnot


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15Bowline

This knot can be tied by forming the loop shown in Fig 4separately and poking the tail end up through aftelWards, but it ismore professional to reach the stage shown in Fig 4 with onecontinuous movement. The tail is held across the standing part,Fig 1. and the right hand rotated clockwise, through almost180e, whilst the le ft hand lift s the bight over the tail en d, Figs 2and 3, resu lt ing in the loop being formed wit h the t8i l auto-matically 'up through' all as Fig 4 . Th is will put a turn in the bightwh ich is allowed to escape by a twist of the fingers of the righthand.The knot is completed by passing the tail around the back of thestanding part and returning it down through the loop, Figs 5 to 7.Running Bow l ineTh e running bowline is simply a bowline, t ied as above but aroundits own standing part. thus forming a noose as in Fig 8.


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16Bowline ona BightThe initia l movements to form this knot are as for the bowl ine1Knot 15, Figs 1 to 4), except that a bight of the rope is used(Fig 1),The variat ion occurs from this point onwards, sufficient of thebight being drawn up through the loop, before being passed downover the two main bights and re turned up the back of the knot toits position around the standing pa rts and/or tail end. This knotcan be used as a man harness similar to that shown in Knot 11,by making it in the centre of a long rope, with two standing pa rtsand the sizes of the bights adjusted as previously described.If the init ial bight of Fig 1 is passed around the standing part andbac k down through the loop (as with the tail of a bowline), theknot becomes a double bow l ine (not illustrated ).


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5 6


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17Clove Hitch(castJClove Hitch(turnedJ

A clove hitch is turned when it is t ied around an endless object,e9 a ra il or mooring ring. Figs 1 104, It is cast when the twobights are formed in the hands and the knot dropped over a postor the like, Figs 5 to 7. Proceeding from Fig 5, the right hand bightis placed over the left hand bight to arrive at the virtuallycompleted knot shown in Fig 6.If subjected to continuous tugg ing this knot tends to work looseand if made fast around an object which can revolve, it may winditself off. It should therefore, always be finished of f wi th at leastone hal f hitch.


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18RollingHitchThis is simply a clove hitch with two (or more) initial turns insteadof one, la id back towards the standing part and over its owninitial turn(s}, thus jamm ing it, Figs 1 to 4. In the illustrations thetail end has been deliberately kept short to clearly show the lay ofthese initial turns, particularly in Fig 4, but in practice a longer ta ilend wou ld be emp loyed and indeed would be essential tocomplete the knot as may be seen in Fig 6.As with the clove hitch this knot should be finished off with atleast one half-hitch. It wil l wi thstand be ing hauled at right anglesto its turns without sliding along the object to which it is tied,however smooth that ob ject may be, provided it is hauled againstthe init ial two or more turns. In Fig 6, it will only hold if hauled tothe right.When a rope or wire is hauled t ight over a winch drum or capstanit is necessary to temporarily secure it wh i lst the end is removedfrom the drum and made fast permanently to bollards or the like.A short length of rope or light chain, called a stopper is used, oneend being made fast to a deck fitt ing or even around the bolla rditself and the other end made fast to the rope or wire in question.The wire is then slackened back unt il the load is taken by thestopper. when the wire is said to be stoppered off. A rolling hitchwould be used to make the stopper fast. in such a case. whilstother uses of course depend on circumstances.


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19Fisherman'sBend orBucketHitch

1

The f isherman's bend is the correct name for th is knot, but it ismore commonly known as a bucket hitch and as the nameimpl ies. it is ideal for making a lanyard fast to the handle of abucket, or for any similar purpose.


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A quick and easily made temporary hitch, recommended fordragging a plank or spar rathe r than lifting it, for, although it willnot s lip, provided a steady strain is maintained, there are other,more secure knots if the load is to be raised to any height.20TimberHitch


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21Cat'sPaw

The most efficient method of attaching the bight of a rope, or asling to a hook, provided that both stan ding parts are under load.It will prevent the hook sliding along the rope and t hus ensuresthat the load. ego a spar, will be l if ted horizontally. Conversely, bycarefu l selection of the posit ion of the eat's paw in relation to thelength of the sling, the load may be lifted at any required angle.


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3

A quick and ef ficient method of attaching the ta il end of a rope toa hook, provided a constant strain is maintained ; the knot be ingheld in position du ring the init ial application of the load, Figs 1and 2.M idshipman's HitchThis is a variation of the Backwall hitch, used for the samepu rpose, and somewhat more secure, part icularly when wo rkingwi th a slippery rope, Figs 3 and 4.

4

22BackwallHitch


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23Thief KnotorDrawHitch

This is an acknowledged and perfectly efficient knot, but it can beda ngerous when used by amateurs as a lifel ine. The purpose ofthe knot is to provide a quick release by s imp ly tugg ing the tailend, whilst the standing part is capable of su pporting a load.It can be used, with a short tail, whenever it is necessary to s lip aload. But it is more often associated with the fi re service whereits purpose is to provide the means of escape, as a lifeline,coupled with the advantage that the rope is retrievable . Shou ldthe buildi ng be higher than ha lf th e length of th e rope, theprocedure is repeated from one conven ien t level to the next, untilthe operator reaches the g rou nd. In this event the hitch is formedwith the bight at the centre of the rope, and both ends hangingdown. The operator, having shinned down the sta nding partretrieves his rope by tugging the other fa ll, hence the alternativename of thief knot.It is apparent from the illustrations that one fall of the rope willsupport a load (the left fall in Fig 6) whilst the other will not andas the two falls lay side by side. confusion between them, whi lstunderstandable. could prove fatal.NoteThe danger of confusing the two falls cannot be too highlystressed. even to professionals much less to amateurs. It was notlong ago that such a confusion resulted in a highly t rained andcompetent man falling to his death. w ith his rope on top of him.


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24JuryMastheadKnot

As the name implies. t his knot is used as a temporary measure inthe emergency rigging of a jury mast. The centre of the knot isplaced over the top of the mast and the twin standing parts formthe backstay. Forestay and shrouds are made fas t to t heremaining three bights and the grea ter the s train se t up in therigging. the tig hter the knot will grip the mast.It is made at the ce ntre of a rope lo ng enough to provide thebackstay(s) and it is usually more convenient to make the secondbight slightly larger than the fi rs t an d third bights. Particularattention must be paid to the re lative positions of the three bightswhen they are interwoven, after which the knot becomes almostautomatic.


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25Rope LadderKnot

The rope ladder 'knot' is actually the rung of a true rope ladder asdistinct from a pilot ladder which has rope sides and timber rungs.It is efficient and most useful aboard small boats as it needs solittle stowage space.It can be made w ith tw in ta i ls at the top for making it fast. or asillustrated, made on the bight of a rope with an eye, seized inposition.The il lust rat ions commence with the top of the ladder and thefi rs t rung completed, and proceed to show the formation of these cond rung. Th is is repeated fo r as many rungs as required, the'5 ' formation be ing made in alternate side ropes to keep thefinished ladder symmetrical.The length of the rung and the number of turns employed is amatter of choice and also depends on the size of the rope beingused. It is advisable to make the rungs only slightly w ider than thehuman foot . If the ladder is w ider tha n is strictly necessary theremay be excessive sag in the rungs.


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26Stage orScaffoldHitch

The sale purpose of this knot. made at both ends of a plank ofwood is to support the plank, or stage as it is call ed when usedin this manner, not only horizontally, but also in such a mannerthat it w ill not twist or can t.The horn is the smalle r piece of timber, nailed at right angles tothe stage. on the underside. Its purpose is twofold. Firstly, toprevent the whole knot from slipping of f the end of the stage andsecond ly, the one s ide being longe r than the other, to provideroom for a person's legs, w hen sitting on the stage, workingagainst a ship's side.The knot may be formed w ithout the horns, bu t when used, asillustrated, the first comp lete turn is taken on the inside of thehorn and t he second on the outside, the rope crossing the horn onthe underside. The fi rst turn is th en not only l ifted overthe second. but its bight is also passed around the long end oft he horn. resulting in tw o parts of rope crossing the underside oft he horn diagonally.The origina l second turn is then lifted completely over the firstand third turns and this bight placed downwards over the end oft he stage. the resulting bights formed at each edge of the stagebeing suitably adjusted. In this manner, the horn is effectivelysecured to the stage without ha ving to rely on nails.The who le may be formed on the end of a rope with a sufficientlylong tail to make fast in a bowline. to the standing part somedistance above the stage, as illustrated. Otherwise and preferably,the knot is made on the bight of a rope, giving two standing parts.each of which can be indiVidually adjusted to keep the stage level.when made fast overhead.The photographs have been taken using a min iature stage and asmall rope fo r the sake of convenience, but in p ra ct ice the size ofthe stage wou ld be in keeping with its load and span.


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27Lighterman'sHitch

1

This is another qu ick and simple method of forming a temporaryeye in the end of a rope, perfectly stab le when under constantstrain, but otherwise suspect.The instab il ity cou ld be overcome by seizing the tail to thestanding part, but this would defeat the object of ease and speed.It is most easily made by forming the initial movements of abowline and repeating the procedu re further along the standingpart.For bow line see Knot 15

4


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There is little that can be said about th is knot. its uses are limi ted,unless as a sling or the l ike, but i t does produce four sta ndingparts, neither of wh ich w il l render on the other.28SquareKnot


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298argee'sEye SpliceWith apologies to all bargees, a rough and ready, ratherun-seamanlike but otherwise effective way of making an eye inthe end of a rope.


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30Monkey'sFistMade in the end of a heaving line, w ith a me tal ball or similarweight, inserted into the weave. its pu rpose is to give carryingqua lity to the line.Measure of f nine hand turns of l ine and work from th is point backtowards the ta il end, inse rt ing the we ight before completing thelast three turns. Work the knot t ight and to shape, cutting off andburying the ta il end.As heaving line is a comparat ively expendable item a separate f istcan be made of a better quali ty cordage, w ith a prot ruding eye, towh ich the heaving line is made fast . By this method the fist canbe re-used w hen it becomes necessary to replace the line. To dothis an eye splice is first formed in the end of the line and thesplice buried in the f irst turns.


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2

3 4

5 6

8


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31EyeSpliceWith strands wh ipped and unlaid fo r the required distance, it isessentia l to carefu lly arrange them as in Fig 1, with the centra lstrand on top, the left hand strand emerging from below the rope,and the remaining strand laying to the right of centre.This central strand (subsequent ly referred to as B) is alwaystucked first. be ing tucked against the lay under any strand of thestand ing part, the required size of the eye bei ng the onlygoverning factor, Fig 1.The left-hand strand (A) is always tucked next, being passed tothe left of B. over the strand under which 8 has been tucked andunder the next, Fig 2, the who le being hauled t ight as in Fig 3.The work is now tu rned over; the back of the spl ice appears asFig 4 and the rema ining strand C is found, laying on the le ft.It is essential that strand C be brought over to the right beforebe ing tucked towards the left under the one remaining strand ofthe stand ing part as in Fig 5.When hauled t ight the back of the splice appears as Fig 6 wh ichalso completes the f irst fu ll tuck, when one tail should emergefrom between each pair of strands. Tucking over one/under one,aga inst the lay is continued until three fu ll tucks have been made,Fig 7. At this stage the splice is virtually comp leted and the tai lsmay be cut off, allow ing a sma ll amount to offset the tendency ofthe splice to 'draw' . Alternatively the tai ls may be cut slightlylonger, ha lved and each half of the one strand whipped to theco rresponding half of the neighbouring strand, as a safeguardaga inst the sp lice draw ing,By far the neatest method is to taper the sp l ice as i llustrated. Thestrands are halved and one half of each strand is cut of f fairlyclose to the third tuck, after which the rema in ing ha lf strands aretucked in the usual manner for a fu rther three full tucks, and thefinished splice appears as in Fig 8.


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32ShortSpliceThis is a method for permanently joining two ropes provided thesplice does not have to work over a sheave.Sufficient length of strands to provide th ree full tucks(approximately four times the circumference) are un laid from theends of both ropes and a whipping put on each. These are interwoven as in Fig 1 and brought tightly together, Fig 2, which pointbecomes the centre of the sp lice.The ends of the right-hand rope are best temporarily w hipped tothe le ft -hand standing part and the three rema ining st rands aretuc ked in turn, over one/under one ag ainst the lay, into thestanding pa rt of the right-hand rope, the f irst full tuck appearingas Fig 3 . This is cont inued until three fu ll tucks have been made,Fig 4 .The whipping is now removed and the who le operation repea tedto the left of centre, three fu ll tucks be ing made with the ends ofthe right-hand rope in to the sta nding part of the left, when thecompleted splice appears as Fig 5.The ends have been left long in the illustration to show theirrelative positions, bu t these are now either cut off (allowing alitt le for the sp lice to draw) or finished off as described for theeye sp lice, ie halved and whipped or tapered.


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5


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33LongSpliceThe purpose of the long splice is to join tw o ropes in such amanner that there is litt le or no increase in the size of the rope, atthe junction, whilst the finished work, having the appeara nce andlay of the or iginal rope, is su itable for working over a sheave.The spl ice relies solely on friction for its stability and so is ofconsiderable length, but for the purpose of photography, it hashad to be made much shorter than it would be in practise.Whilst the lengths referred to la ter are important, there arevarying opinions regarding the recommended length of a longsplice, suffice to say that the longer the splice, the more secure itwill be. Twenty times the circumference of the rope has beenadopted in th is case.The unlaid tails are interwoven as if to commence a Short Sp lice(Knot 32). except that their length is t w e n t y ~ f i v e times that of thecircumference of the rope. Fig 1.One strand of the r i g h t h a n d rope is unlaid away to the right for adistance of twenty times the circumference. Fig 2. and i tsimmediate counterpart, from th e l e f t ~ a n d rope is laid back in it splace, Figs 3 and 4.At the point where the replacement and unlaid strands meet. theta il of the replacement strand should be approximately f ive timesthe circumf erence in length and the previously unlaid strand is cu tto th is same length.The process is repeated on the h a n d side, one strand of theright-hand rope replacing its counterpart in the l e f t ~ h a n d rope, Fig6, and the end of the un laid strand being cut to length as before.This leaves tw o untouched strands at the centre, Fig 6, which arecut to the same length as the other two pairs of tails. When layingup the rep lacement strands it is essential to twist the strand withevery turn of the lay.The splice is now put under load and well stretched, prior totucking away the three pairs of tails. This has not been illustratedas there are several methods wh ich can be used :Each strand is separated into thirds, an overhand knot made witheach counterpart third and the who le beaten down into the lay.be fore tucking each set of three ends under one strand only ofthe standing part.0 'The th irds may be tucked with the lay around the threecorresponding standing part strands, tapering as the workproceeds.0 'The overhand knot is made with the full strands, which aretapered and tucked with the lay around the ir counterpart strands.0 'The overhand knot is made with the fu ll strands, wh ich are thenhalved and tucked with the lay around the tw o adjacent strandsof the stand ing part, tapering as before.0 'The overhand knot may be dispensed with in the last twovariations.


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2

3 4


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34Back Splice

3

The sale purpose of this splice is to prevent the end of the ropebecom ing frayed. Eff icient, though not very elegant. it can replacethe neater whipp ing. It is usefu l in ropes subjected to roughusage, as whippings do come off in time.With strands un laid and ends whipped, a crown knot (Plate 43)is formed in the end of the rope, Fig 1. Each strand in turn istuc ked over one/u nder one against the lay, the first full tuckappea ring 85 Fig 5, after wh ich two more full tucks are insertedand the ends trimmed short.It can be tapered by halving the strands, as in t he eye splice, andinserting three more tucks, which improves its appearance .

6


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3

This is essentially two eye sp lices, made by the ends of two ropesinto the corresponding standing part of the other, the distancebetween the splices governing the length of the cut .W ith strands unlaid and whipped, the two ends are offered up asFig 1 and the required length of the cut is established.The tucking required is identical to that of the eye spl ice (Plate3 1) and the first full tuck of the left-hand end into the right-handstanding pa rt is shown in Fig 2 after which two more full tucksare made and the right-hand splice finished as Fig 3. The processis repeated. the right-hand end being eye spliced into theleft-hand standing pa rt when the finished work appears as Fig 4.The ends have del iberately been le ft long in Fig 4, to show theirrespective posit ions and to illustrate that they may now befinished of f in one of the three ways described for the eye splice.

2

35Cut Splice


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36EyeSpliceinMiddle ofRope

This Is an instance when the rope is deliberately forced against itslay by tw isting it in opposite directions. Once th e disturbed layhas accepted its posit ion, Fig 1, it will be found to ru n quite easily,forming three, two-stranded laid bights , Fig 2.A bight is made in the standing part to the size of the requ iredeye, Fig 3 and t he laid bights used as tails to make a normal eyesplice (Plate 31 ), the first full tuck of which is shown In Fig 4.At least two more full tucks are inserted in the normal overone/under one , against the lay manner and the completed sp l iceappears as Fig 5.It may be noted that the two -s trand laid bights conjoin perfectlywith the single strands under which they are tucked, when anythree assume the lay of the original rope. whilst the completedsplice has the appearance of a nine-strand cable-l aid rope.


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2

3

5


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1

4

37FlemishEyeOne strand is carefully unlaid and the whole offered up, with thestrands crossing at the extremity of the required eye, Fig 1.Care must be taken to ensure that the single strand marries intothe vacant lay of the other two, after which it is continuouslypassed down through the eye filling the vacant lay until it reachesthe throat of the eye, Figs 2 and 3. Similarly the double strand iscontinuously passed up through the eye, being wrapped aroundthe single strand, again filling the vacant lay, unt il it also reachesthe throat of the eye, Fig 4 .The three strands having aga in met, the single strand is laid backin its original position, to form the tail end (Figs 5 and 6). whichis then firmly seized to the standing part.


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This is essentially a decorative eye sp l ice but it can also be usefulif the eye is expected to work close up to a sheave.The first full tuck only of an ordinary eye splice is made,(Plate 31, Figs 1 to 6) as Fig 1. A wall knot (Plate 42) is nowformed around the standing pan, above the tuck, and hauledtight, Fig 2. This is fo llowed around once more, hau led t ight andthe tails cut of f close to the finished knot. Fig 3,

3

38SingleTuckEye SplicewithWallKnot Finish


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39ChainSplice

The purpose of the chain splice is to join II rope pennant to anormal small link of a chain in such a manner that rope and chainwill pass freely through a fai r-lead. The eye of the sp l ice is itsweakest part, its strength being les5 tha n that of the stand ingpart and undoubtedly less than that of the ch ain to wh ich it isattached. It is most often used in conjunction with a mooringchain, w hen the pennant is only ca lled upon to lift the slack of thechain inboard .The principle of both the norma l method of l ucking (overone/under one) and that of the long splice /the laying up of onestrand to replace another) afe conjoined in its forma t ion.For the purpose of photography it has been necessary to makethe splice much shorter than would be the case in practise andtherefore the lengths, referred to be low are important.Unlay one strand only (ma rked A) for a distance of twenty-fivetimes the circumference of the rope and se t aside, reeving theremaining two strands (B and C), still laid together, through theend link of the chain, Fig 1. Hau l Band C through the link, ba ck tothe standing part and separate them, leaving only sufficient la idrope (two strands) to pass through the link an d fo rm the actualeye, Fig 2.Unlay strand A for a fu rt her d istance of twenty times thecircumference of the rope, Fig 3, replacing it w ith st rand B, laidinto the vacated lay in the same way as described for t he longsplice, until B and A meet as in Fig 4 , when the tail of B should beapproximately f ive times the circumference of the rope. Cut A.leaving a tail the same length as that of B.These tails are now tucked away using any of the methodsdescribed for the long splice (Knot 33) to completi on as shown inFig 5 which also shows the remaining unused tail C. This strand Iscu t to a length suitable for four or five tucks, w hich are insertedover one/under one against the lay, work ing around the rope. Thef inished sp lice appears as Fig 6.


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3 4

5


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40ShroudKnot

3

This is essentially a decorative method of joining two ropesalthough it is said to have been the accep ted way ofrepai ring shrouds in the olden days, w hich may well be true inview of its name .It is certainly nicer look ing than a short splice fo r such a purposeand al though it does not requ ire as much material it does nothave the s t rength of a short splice .The ends of both ropes are unlaid and interwoven as in thecommencement of a short splice (Knot 32, Figs 1 and 2). A wallknot (Knot 42), is formed around the standing pa rt of the upperrope with the st rands of the lower, above the junct ion, bu t agai nstthe lay, Fig 1. The procedure is repeated below the junc t ion,w it h the strands of the upper rope formi ng a second wall knotalso against the lay, Fig 2. All ends are unravelled, thinned out totapers, and firm ly secu red at intervals w ith sa i l twine, Fig 3,before being served 10 produce the f in ished knot shown in Fig 4.


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1

This consists of a bowline on a bight (Knot 16) with one shortstanding part spliced around one of the eyes. The other standingpart is made fast and the challenge is, to untie the bow line on abight, without hauling the stand ing part th rough or releasing t hesplice. It is not impossible and a clue to the method used is givenin the introduction.MethodThere are no set movements to be made . The knot is kept looseand with the standing part taut, the whole is tumbled over andover towards the end of the rope. In this manner the tums ofwhich the original knot was composed are transferred to thestanding part and the last turn, into the eye of the splice itself.

41The UntiableKnot


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42Wall KnotMore often simply referred to as '8 wall', this knot is formed bypassing each strand in turn around and under its neighbour, withthe lay, the end of the third strand being passed upwardsthrough the bight formed by the first, Fig 4. It is hauled tight andif made correctly. a ll three strands emerge from the top of theknot as Fig 5.The ends have been left long in Fig 5, f irstly, to clearly indicatethese points of emergence; secondly for comparison with theemergence of the ta i ls of a crown (Knot 43 ); and third ly tosymbolise that a wall is seldom jf ever, used on its own and inpractice these tails would continue to be used.Even in the case of the single tuck eye splice with wall knotfin ish, Knot 38, where it is bui lt around a standing part, il isfollowed around.II is usua lly associated with the crown knot (Knot 43) wh i lst thecombined wall and crown is in turn, the basis of the man-ropeknot (Knot 44).A slight variation of the wall itself, passing each strand arou ndtwo neighbouring strands instead of one and it becomes aManhew Wa lker (Knot 59).


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2

3 4

\


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43Crown Knot

3

The crown is very sim ilar to the wall except that each strand inturn, is passed around and over its neighbou r, the th ird strandbeing passed downwards through the bight formed by the first,Fig 3. As distinct from the wall, the three strands emerge fromthe bottom of the knot, Fig 4. In keeping with the wall, the crownis seldom if ever used on its own and the ends in Fig 4 have beenleft long for the same reason as descri be d for the wall. In thiscase the crown. being the commencement of the back splice,would probably have its ends tucked away accordingly (Knot 34\,It is more usually associated with the wal l. To form a stopper knotthe wall is first formed as in Knot 42 , after wh ich it is 'crowned'as shown. thus forming the waif and crown. This is shown ingreater detail in the commencement of the man-rope knot. Plate44, where Fig 1 shows the completed wall and crown, prior tobe ing followed arou nd.

2

4


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This is simply a wall (Knot 42) w ith a crown (Knot 43) formed onthe top, Fig 1, mak ing the wall and crown previously referred to.It will be found that the tails emerging downwards from thecrown, lay neatl y alongside the strands of the wall below andthese strands are followed around with the working tails, Fig 2 .Now the tails emerging upwards from the doubled wall re-a lignwith the strands of the original crown and these are also followedaround comp let ing the man-rope knot as Fig 3.As may be expected with any crown the tails emerge in a downwards direction and they have been left long in Fig 3 to illustratethis point. In practice they would. of course, be cut of f close 10the knot.

44ManRopeKnot


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45Turk 'sHead

The Turk's head is a purely decorat ive piece of ropework,invariably made around an object such as a guard rai l.It has been commenced on the hand, only to show what happensat the back of the work, as i llustrated by the rotation of the hand.In prac t ice, It would be made direct onto the chosen object.Similarly. for photographic purposes and clarity, the working endhas been kept short and again, in prac t ice, su fficie nt length of endwould be employed, to comp lete the work without renderingaround.The rope is arranged as Fig 1 and the working end tucked as Fig2, thus forming the first cross over, at wh ich time the turns at theba ck of the hand are laying paralle l. Fig 3.These are now crossed over each other. Fig 4, and the worldngend tucked between them from right to left, Fig 5. One openingwi ll be found to remain, Fig 6, Into which the work ing end ispassed from left to right. On viewing the wo rk from the otherside, Fig 7, the wo rking end w i ll be found to have returned to thepoint of origin, laying alongside the other end and leading in thesame direction. (The work was, at this point placed over acylindrical object, as the remainder is automatic and there is noreason to view the reverse side.)The working end is now passed over and under around the knotfor a second time follow ing exact ly the course of the first tu rns,on the completion of which i t will return to the point of origin inits correct lay and point ing in the right direction for a fu rtherfollow around, Fig 8. The procedure is repeated and thecompleted wo rk appea rs as Fig 9, after w hich the ends are cutshort and buried under the turns at the point of origin.The ill ustrations show the most simple of Turk's head. Moreelaborate versions are possible by Increasing the parts and turns,whilst the number of times the knot is followed around is amatter of choice.


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3

4


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46Ocean Plaitand /or Mat

A considerable length of cordage is required to form this plait andthe rope which, from time to time disappears out of the pictureand returns, is in fact the bight of a long rope.The rope is laid up as Fig 1, after which the part in the left handof this figu re is brought over the other ta i l and up under the onebight as shown in Fig 2. The par! now held in the left hand in Fig2 is the one end which remains in th is position and is not usedagain.The other end is worked over one/under one as shown in Figs 3and 4, the first full circuit of the plait being completed as Fig 5,the work ing end meeting the other at the point of origin, layingalongside it and pointing in the correct direction to continuewith the fi rst follow around.Th is is completed as Fig 6, when once again the work ing endre turns to the point of origin. ready to commence the third ..Ifcu it.after which the whole is worked l ight and to shape. the ends cutoff and buried under the mat . The completed work appears al'shown in Fig 7.The mal may be fo llowed around more than three times. ifrequ ired. bu t then the whole te nds to become unwieldy and thestrands beg in to ride up over each other.It is usually used as the centre p iece of a larger mat. perhapsbeing surrounded by several turns of simp le plaiting. before theintroduction of a circle of ot her, smaller mats ( ' f a differentdesign. the whole being sewn together with sail tw ine.


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7


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47AdmiraltyEye Splice

The regulations governing the use of wire eye splices in industryare necessarily strict and whilst the following eye splices,Admiralty and Uverpool (Knot 48) are considered to be adequatefor normal usage, the reader, if considering either splice from thepo int of view of insurance and/or the regulations must refer backto the reg ulations, in force at the time.The main feature of the Admiralty eye splice is, that after the firs ttuck, all strands are tucked away Oller one/under one, against thefay of the standing part.There are also, Slleas! three methods of completing the first fu lltuck, the one illustrated being the 1-6-2 -3-5-4 order of tucking.The required size of the eye is established and a seizing put onaccordingly, after which all strands are unlaid, ensuring that theyare in their right order, the heart being always associated with thefirst tucking strand, Fig 1. Diagram A shows the relative positionsof the tucking strands to the standing part and strand No 1,together with the heart is the first to be tucked, from left to right,Fig 2, and hau led tight, Fig 3.The heart is now cut out and Diagram B shows the seQuence ofthe next tuck, when strand 6 is tucked, also from left to right asFig 4, before be ing hauled tight.In accordance with the seQuence and Diagram C, strand 2 is thenext to be tucked from right to left, around the same strand ofthe standing part as strand 6, but in the opposite direction.prov iding the locking tuck. as shown in Fig 5. after which it ishau led tight. Strand No 3. as shown by Diagram D and Fig 6follows suit and as previously. this shows the point of entry anddirection of the strand. It is of course, as wi th previous strands,hauled t ight, but is not shown as such, since this wou ld make theillustrations unintell igible.Strand 5. Diagram E is the next to be tucked and it must benoted that whilst all previous strands have been tucked under onethis strand is tucked under two . Diagram E also shows strand 5be ing tucked from left to right. whereas Fig 7 in association w iththis diagram appears to contradict the fact. The reason for this isthat Fig 7 (for the first t ime) is a view of the back of the splice.(Note the reversal of the long leg of the seiling.)Still viewing the back of the splice, strand 4 (Diagram F) islUcked between the same two strands of the standing part asstrand 5, but under one strand on ly, all as Fig 8.The completed first tuck appears as Fig 9 and has beendeliberately left slack fo r clarity. In practice each strand ishammered down with a mallet as it is lUcked. All strands are nowtucked over one/u nder one, against the lay, ea ch beinghammered down in turn, w hen the finished work appears as Fig10, which shows five full tucks.If the splice is to be se rved. it is necessary to taper it and this isdone by halving all strands and inserting three further tucks withthe halved strands, similar to that shown for the eye splice in rope(Knot 31).


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A

B4


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c5

D 6.1__11.- "w----r j;; - --I II '_ . _ ~ 6 2 - -4 3,

1 E 7


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FB


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48LiverpoolEyeSplice

The 1- 6-2 -3-5 -4 method (Knot 47) of inserting the first tuckcan be used in this splice, but an alternative is ill ustrated. inwhich five of the six strands enter the standing part between thesame two strands and the sixth forms the locking tuck.The Liverpool splice is not as efficient as the Admira lty and shoulddefin itely not be used when the wire into which it is formed isl ikely to revolve under load.All strands are unlaid, care being taken to maintain them in theircorrect order, 1 to 6, which is the order of tucking and strand 1 isestablished (Fig 1) whilst Diagram G indicates its tuckeddirect ion and position. The spike is inserted between theappropriate strands of the standing part, li fting one strand only,under wh ich strand 1, together w ith t he heart, is tucked fromright to left, Fig 2. and hauled t ight as Fig 3. after which the heartis cut off. The sp ike is partially withdrawn and re-inserted undertwo strands. Diagram H and strand 2 is tucked as Fig 4 .As it is almost a question of repetition, strands 3. 4 and 5 aretucked by again pa rtially withdrawing the spike and re-insertingunder three strands, Diagram J, to receive strand 3; four strands.Diagram K to receive strand 4; five strands, Diagram L to receivestrand 5.At th is stage, strand 6 is the only one remaining untucked and thefront of the sp li ce appears as Fig 5. with the back as Fig 6, strand6 be ing on the right .Th is is now tucked under the same strand of the standing part asstrand 1, but in the opposite direction, Diagram M and Fig 7. Oncompletion, the finished first full tuck appears as Fig 8.A ll strands should be hammered down with a mallet as they aretucked, but all have been left loose so that the i llustration is asc lear as possible. From this point onwards, the weakness of theLiverpool splice becomes apparent.The spike is inserted under anyone strand, above the first fu lltuck and the corresponding ta il. in professional jargon iscont inually tucked under th is strand. with the lay; more simp ly.the tail is wound around and around this one strand. Onceinserted, the sp ike is twisted around the w ire ahead of the tailend. The first ta il. completely tucked is shown in Fig 9. Theprocess is repeated w ith each tai l in tum being wound around itsappropriate strand of the standing part to complet ion as in Fig 10 .The heart must not be disturbed when tucking strands 4 and 5,which are laid on the opposite side of the hea rt to the first three,and maintain the position of the heart in the middle of the wire.


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I

- - - ~ \ - - ----.-r.l6 1 I~ I--- 5 ~ C 2 \ - - W 'i H

\

1/ 1~ / . . . /I I /- - - . ~ _ - - - - - / J - ~ ' f , - - -\ ~ . \i \ . \~ ~ \ ~ \---(sIT 2 t---- --, 5 2 ~ -43/ \4 3 /'t/ ,-' ..../K T L


86/177

I- - - . ~ \ - - -

1Ite'\. J ~ ,~--W---I M 7


87/177


88/177

49FlemishEye Splice

This is an easy method of producing a long eye in the end of awire for gene ral purpose work, as no too ls afe required. It is no tas efficient as a normal eye splice and therefore should not beloaded to the same degree .The wire is ca refully halved, with the heart remaining laid with thethree strands on the one side, for a length of approximately twoand a half times that of the required eye.The two sets of strands are crossed at the extremity of the eye,Fig 1, ensuring that the one set fi ts snugly into t he vaca nt lay ofthe other and both are married by tucking t he left-hand set underand up through the eye and the right hand set over and down,Figs 2 to 5.This tucking is cont inued, re-establishing the original six-strandlay until the two sets of strands meet at the throat of the eye, Fig6. These strands are now re-Iaid together to form a single sixstrand tail, Figs 7 and 8, which is firmly seized to the standingpart. The use of a bulldog grip instead of a seizing obviouslyincreases the strength of the eye.


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50Long SpliceIWirel

The long spl ice in wire is made on the same basic principle asthat of rope and for the same reason, namely to join tw o ends insuch manne r that the d iameter of the wire is not increased at th ejo in and it is thus suitable for working over a sheave.It may be said that it consists of two stages : the un laying andreplacement of corresponding st rands. which is comparative lysimp le, once the principle is understood; and the tucking away ofthe tail ends, which is the secret of good long -splicing. Theformer is shown in Figs 1 to 6 and the latter (which also app liesto the grommet, Knot 51), in Figs 7 to 14 .Again, as with rope, the spl ice depends solely on friction for i tsstability, but a much longer splice is required when working wit hwire.The accepted standard for the total length of th e splice is 10ft forevery one eight h of an inch of the diameter. This does not providefor the tail ends, for wh ich a further 6in per one eighth ofdiameter is allowed.It is assumed that the wire illust rated is one inch diameter, inw hich case the total length of the splice would be 88ft and as it isimpossib le to photograph such lengths without a comple te loss ofdetail, the splice has been done in miniature and the reader mustenvisage the true lengths involved.A temporary w hipping is put on each of the two wires 44ft fromtheir respective ends, all strands are un laid back to th ese pointsand the hearts cut out, Fig 1.The strands are interwoven on the same principle as those of ropein the short spl ice (Knot 32, Fig 1 L until all are meshingalternately, when the two wires are brought to gether until theends of t he hea rts meet and the six pa irs of strands are married,Fig 2, when the whipp ing is removed.As with the long splice in rope (Knot 33L one corresponding pa irof wires is selected, that of the right hand w ire un laid for adistance of 40ft and that of the left, carefully laid back in its place,when 4ft of its length remains at the 4 0 ft mark.The un laid right-hand st rand is cut to the same length and thefirst pair of t ails, each 4ft long, established 40ft away from thepoint of marry (the cen tre of the spl ice) as Fig 3. The nextadj acent, corresponding pa ir of st rands are now worked in thesame manner and the second pa ir of ends, both cut to 4ft long,established 28ft from the marrying point, Fig 4 . The process isrepeated w ith the third pa ir of strands, resulting in the third pairof tails, cu t to length as before, 16f t from the centre, Fig 5.The whole process is repeated to the lef t of centre resul t ing in afurthe r three pairs of tails being established and the wholeappears as Fig 6, wi th six pairs of tails, each 4ft lon g and thedistances between them being 12, 12,32, 12, and 12ftrespectively. This completes the basic splice and it only remains10 tuck away the tail ends.Each tail is served for its full length wi th marline or soft wi re toincrease the d iameter of the strand to approximately that of theheart, Fig 7.Aga in for photographic purposes the ta i ls are shown in miniatureand the reader is rem inded that they are in fact 4ft long.The heart is exposed and lifted, Fig 8, cut at the crossi ng po intand worked out through the lay for a distance exact ly equal to thelength of the ta il wh ich will eventually replace it, Fig 9, where it iscut off.There are special tools, designed for tucking the tails namely a


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tee needle and tucker, but it can be done with a pair of smallspikes or the li ke. The stand ing part is opened and working aroundthe wire, with the lay, the tail is gradua lly \,'Jorked into the centreof the wire, replacing the heart. Figs 10 to 13. The remaining tailis tucked in a similar manner when the finished work appears asFig 14 and the w hole is repeated for the remaining five pa irs ofta ils.It is important that there is no gap between the end of the buriedtai l and the continuat io n of the he art.

F1E


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3

7

9

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13


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51GrommetIWirel

In making a grommet the principles of the Flemish eye (counterlaying three st rands with three corresponding strands and a heart)and the long sp lice are combined and when the circ le of thegrommet itself is completed sufficient length of ta ils must remainto proceed wit h the long splice, Fig 4 .A length of wire, approximately nine t imes the diameter of therequired grommet is needed and three adjacent strands are care-fully unlaid, leaving the heart intact w ith the remaining th reestrands.The un laid st rands are discarded and the heart is removed forequa l distances from both ends, leaving a length of heart equal tothe circumference of the grommet in the centre of the workingstrands.The circle is formed and the two sets of three strands married atthe po int where the two ends of the heart meet, Fig 1. The right-hand ends are brought under and up and the left-hand ends overand down through the circle, fe form ing the six-strand lay asFigs 2 and 3 and continued until the ends meet and the basicgrommet is comp leted Fig 4.The tails are now unlaid. Fig 5 and as illustrated in Knot 50. along splice is formed w ith the three pairs of strands, which arethen cut 10 the required lenglh, Fig 6. It only remains 10 tuckaway the ends as shown in Knot 50, Figs 7 to 14, and thecompleted grommet appears as Fig 7.


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4 5 6


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52TOWallAnyNumberofStrands

PART TWOPass each strand around under its neighbour, workinganti-clockwise, Fig 1, and pass the last strand up throug hthe bight of the firs t (held on the thumb), Fig 2. In acorrect wall all strands emerge separately from the top.pointing upwards. Any number of strands may be usedand it can be made backwards (ie clockwise),Double WalloThe emerging strands, Fig 3, lay alongside previous bightswhich are 'followed around' until all again emergesepa ra tely from the top, pointing upwards as in Fig 4. Theknot has been shown 'flat' bu t when hauled t ight itassumes a vertical form, the ' followed around' strandsresting on the wall below .

Continuous WallingSuitable only for covering any cy lindrical object due tothe hollow cent re which develops. Strands are whippedto the objec t and walls made one on top of another,Fig 5A.Wall Plait'A reasonably tight plait can be made by continuouswa l ling without a central heart provided not more thanfour strands are used, Fig 58 .

'nd icatl!s l hroughOUllc.nots using four individual strands that can bemade on three strands o f an un laid rope (see Introduction ).


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53ToCrownPass each strand around over its neighbour workinganti-clockwise, Fig 1, and the last strand down throughthe bight of the first, Fig 2, All strands should emergeseparately fro m the bottom, pointing downwards, Fig 3.It can also be ma de backwards (clockwise) and anyAny Number number of strands used.of Strands Doubl e Crown 'Form the crown as shown in Fig 3, pull back anyonestrand and make a clockwise turn around the strand it haspassed over, returning it to its original position. Fig 4.Repeat w ith the other three strands, the last passingthrough the double bight of the first, Fig 5.Continuous CrowningThis is another method of covering any cylindr ica l object,by fo rming one crown on top of another, Fig 6A.

Crown Plait, Spiral 'This is made by continuous crowning, anti-clockwise,w ithout a central heart, not more than four strands beingused, when a spiral effect will result, Fig 68 .

Crown Plait, Straight*A straight, cha in - like pattern will resu lt if the crowns aremade al ternately anti-c lockwise and clockwise, Fig 6C.

Wall and Crown Plait *This is made by forming alternate walls and crowns, usingnot more than four st rands, Fig 60.NoteFou r strands when crowned also produce a square knot.


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54DiamondKnot,On FourStrands'

A bight is formed in all strands, Fig 1. Each strand is thentaken anti-clockwise past the adjacent bight and upthrough the next, Figs 2 to 6.Double Diamond KnotFrom the sing le diamond, each strand is 'followed around'until all aga in emerge from the top. Because the orig inalknot was made by passing one bight be fore going upthrough the next, each 'fo llow around' stra nd passes undertwo parts, the last under two doub le parts, Fig 98 .Diamond HitchingContinuous diamond knotting can be used to cover anycylind rica l object, and consists of one diamond knot ontop of another, Fig 9A.Diamond PlaitThis can be made w ith one diamond knot on top ofanother bu t a tighter pla it is obta ined if crowns are madebetween the diamonds. Fig 9C shows sing le and doublediamond knots with crowns between.


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1 3

4

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55Star Knot,SixStranded

Al l strands are looped backwards. Figs 1 and 2, and thet8ils brought up through the next loop working anti-clockwise, Figs 3 and 4. All are next crowned backwards,Figs 5 and 6. Reverti!lg to anti-c lockwise working, eachstrand is brought back around and up under its own partFig 7, forming six more loops above the originals, Fig 8.Each strand will be found to lay alongside a previoustuck, po int ing directly to an appropriate pair of loops downthrough which all are tucked, Figs 9 and 10. The knot isturned upside-down, Fig 11, all strands aga in follow inga previous tuck, over two and down through the centrewhen they all emerge together, Fig 12.The more strands used the better the result, six beingshow n to do the knot justice whilst ensuring photographicclarity. Any fewer will be unsatisfactory, especially four,which will result in a glorified, un-starl ike square knot,ideal however if that is the requirement.


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56PineappleKnot, FourStranded

Form a crown (Knot 53), pass each strand over the adjacentbight, under its ne ighbou r and down through the nextbight Figs 1 and 2. Turn the work up!'ide-down andmake a backwards crown, Fig 3, which, when tightened,leaves each strand laying alongside a previous tuck, Fig 4.'Follow around', as in Figs 5 and 6, then return the workthe right way up and cont inue IQ 'fo l low around', Fig 7,until a ll the ends emerge sepa rately at the bottom,pointing downwards. Tuck all the strands up through thecentre when they emerge together, Fig 8. If used as aterminal knot the ends can be cu t short or combed into atassel.

2


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,

7 8


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57Rose Knot,FourStranded"

Form a wall (Knot 52) and crown (Knot 53) as shown inFigs 1 and 2. Completely 'follow around' the wa ll , Fig 3,but only partially 'follow around' the crown, Fig 4. Pass allthe strands down through the centre, Fig 5, to emergeseparately as shown in Fig 6. Form a further wa ll, Fig 7,then a diamond kno t (Knot 54 ), Fig 8, wh ich is 'fo l lowed'around', Fig 9, and all ends taken up through the centreand cut short, Fig 10.W a ll a nd Crown This is a knot in its own right Fig 2, at which stage theends would be cut short.

M anrope Knot *If, after completin g Fig 3, the crown was comp letely'followed around' and the ends cut short, the resul t wou ldbe a manrope knot .S topper KnoPThis is made by forming the crown first . followed by aw all and both then being "followed arou nd " (notillustrated) .


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58Tack Knot*

The tack knot is a real old-timer and though l ittle usedtoday is nonetheless a usef ul decorative knot. A modernsa il still has its 'tack' even if it is no longer secured by atack knot. It is invariably made on a rope's end and caneasi ly be mistaken for a manrope or stopper knot.As distinct from either, it is a double wall (Knot 52), doub lecrowned (Knot 53). Fig 1 showing the double wall andFig 2 the double crown on top. The ends are then tuckeddown through the knot, Fig 3, tapered as Fig 4, andfinally served, Fig 5.


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59Single andDoubleMatthewWalker'

Single and double Matthew Walker knots are usually ma deon laid rope at some position throughout its length, therope then being made up again as shown. However, theycan be made on an end which is then whipped or evenmu Iti -st randed.To make the single Matthew Walker any strand is takenaround, under the other two and a bight reta in ed , Fig 1.The second strand is taken around, passed up through thisbight and a second bight retai ned, Fig 2 .The thi rd strand is next taken around, up through the firstbight, Fig 3, and on, up through the second bight, Fig 4,the finished knot when worked tight appearing as inFig 9A.Double Matthew Walker In this case any strand is taken around, under the othertwo and brought up through its own bight Fig 5. Thesecond is brought around, up through th is bight. Fig 6and on up through its own bight. Fig. 7. The (ast strandis brought around, up through both these bights in turnand on up through its own bight, Fig 8, the fi nished knotwhen wo rked tight appearing as shown in Fig 9B.NoteThese knots would norma((y be made 'in the hands' buthave been shown ' f la t ' to ensure maximum cla rity.


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5 6

A7 9


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60Turk's HeadKnot

One of the most versatile decorative knots, usually app liedto any cylindrical object, occasionally flattened into aturk's head mat or, as shown, tightened into a knot.The most simple version is illustrated (ie min imu m turnsand parts) made 'on t he hand ' to show the reverse side byrotation. The rope is set up as in Figs 1 and 2, then thehand rotated, Fig 3. The b ights are then crossed, and theworking end tucked right to left, Figs 4 and 5, then back.left to rig ht as in Fig 6, at which point the working endmeets the standing part in paralle l for the first time, Fig 7.The work is 'followed around', Fi g 8 showing the firstand Fig 9 the second full circuit, the who le then beingworked into a tight knot, Fig 10.

Turk's HeadThis is complete in Fig 9, and may be transferred to anycylindrical object, being worked tight in the norma lmanner.


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1

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61Chain Plait

3

Sometimes called a drummer's plait when it was used todecorate such instruments, it is commenced w ith anoverhand (or thumb) knot except that one side is a bight,not an end, Figs 1 and 2.Thereafter it is simply a question of raising bight throughbight, Figs 3 and 4, for the required length of plait whichis then finished off by reev ing the end th rough the lastbight as can be seen in the completed work, Fig 5.

4


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The figure of eight is a knot in its own right and this plaitis simply a series of such kno ts all interwoven. Figs 1 and2 show the initial figu re of eight, Figs 3, 4 and 5, thesecond, afte r wh ich the process is repeated unti l the plaitis of the requ ired length.The am ount of tension is a matter of choice, the comp le tedwork, Fig 6, having been left loose for clarity. It could be'followed around' indefinitely if so desi red, by passing theworking end back and fonh, when it could become anelongated section of a mat.

62DoubleChain Plait


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63Square Plait

This plait has the appearance of square senni! w ith theadvantage tha t it is made on a single strand much morequickly and easi ly,A 10m tool's knot (Kn ot 10) is made, rig 1, after which abight o f the standing part ISdrawn tnrough the right-handloop, w here it is gripped by pul ling back on one strand ofthe left-ha nd loop. Fig 2.The process is repeated with a bight through the left-handloop, Fig 3, hauled tight by one strand of the right-han dloop and so on for the req uired length. working alternatelyfrom side to side, Fig 4.To finish off the plait in such manner that it will notunravel, the end instead of the bight is passed through thelast but one loop and back through the last, Fig 5, thefi nished plait appearing as in Fig 6.


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1 2

5 6 " \


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64Twist Plait

1

The length of the plait is estab lished by the s ize of thebight, Fig 1, which is then twis ted in a clockw isedirection, Fig 2. and the end passed through to the left,Fig 3. The bigh t is then twisted ant i-c lockwise. Fig 4 andthe end passed through to the right, Fig 5, the wholeprocess being repeated unt il the requ ired leng th iscomp leted, Fig 6.

2


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4


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65OverhandKnot Plait,FourStranded

This plait can be made from four separate strands wh ippedtogether or, as shown on two strands, crossed atright -ang les at their centres.An overhand (thumb) knot is made on the lower strandtrapp ing the upper strand, Fig 1. The upper strand is nextknotted in the same way around the first knot, Fig 2, andso on, alternately to complet ion of the requi red length,Fig 3.This is undoubted ly one of the most simp le of plaits but tomaintain a constant , symmetr ical pattern every knot mustbe made in the same direction, ie, if the knots are startedleft over right all must be ma in ta ined so. A variation ofpattern can be made by alte rnating the left over right/rightover left sequence, but this must be regular and becomesa matter of practice and cho ice .


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As with the four st rand version th is pl ait may be made onthe ends of eight strands or, as shown, on the bights offour , Thereafter i t becomes a doubled version of the fou rstrand, using pairs o f overhand knots, care being taken tokeep them symmetrica l .

66OverhandKnot Plait,EightStranded


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Sen nits

1

Whether they be f lat, round, square or spira l, common,English, French, Portuguese or Russian, sennits may bebroadly divided into three groups: those that can be madew ith any number of strands; those that can on ly be madewith any odd number ; and those that require an evennumber. The square sennit is an exception , fo r althoughit requires an even number, it can be made only on eight ,twe lve or sixteen strands or a multiple, eight being themin imum.A bas ic principle may be appl ied to the odd number group.in that the strands are divided w ith one more on one sidethan on the other, result ing in odd and even sides.Thereafter the outs ide strands each time, starting with theeven side, are brought across to the centre and laidinside the previous odd number ; thus the odd and evensides al ternate as the work proceeds.NoteAs ill ustrated, a plastic binder such as is used to secureloose leaves of paper makes an ideal 'former" to secure anynumber of strands when making a sennit.


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3

Obviously one of the odd number group, th is is the mostsimple of all the sennit fami ly, being most usefu l inmat-making when made up in long lengths. Strands arearranged. two to the right and one to the left. then theoutside right is brought across to the inside of thele ft -hand strand, Fig 1. Outside left is next brought acrossto inside right, Fig 2, and the new outside right returnedto become inside left, Fig 3.Al l three strands have now been moved for the first time,Fig 4, show ing them drawn tight, after which the processis cont inued to completion of any required length, Fig 5.

67CommonSennit ,ThreeStrandedFigs 1 and 2 opposite


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68CommonSennit ,SevenStranded

Again one of the odd number group, it is a more elaborateversion of the three strand, the same principles beingapplied. Figs 1 to 4 show the movements of the first fo urstrands after which the 'lay' becomes automatic, all sevenhaving been woven loosely in, Fig 5, and completed,Fig 6.


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69RoundSennit,SixStranded

Four strands being the minimum, this sennit is made wi thany even number of strands and although it wou ldnormally be made vertica lly, it is shown 'flat' for maximumclarity.It consists of laking alternate s trands an ti-clockwisearound and over t heir immediate neighbours, the firststrand, Fig 1, and al l t hree strands, Fig 2, after which eachis drawn down, Figs 3 and 4, leaving three strands 'up'.The 'up' strands are nex t taken c lockw ise over each of the'held down' strands (wh ich are re leased in passing), Fig 5,showing the first and all three in Fig 6, before theclockwise strands are in turn 'held down', Figs 7 and B.The first three are again taken anti-clockwise and thewhole process continued, when the sen nit begins to ta keshape, Fig 9, a completed leng th appearing as in Fig 10 .


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1


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70SquareThis must be made, not only w ith an even number ofstrands but with multiples, either eight twelve or sixteen,the minimum being shown to ill ustrate the basic pr incip le.The strands are separated equally, as in Fig 1. the outsideright -hand strand brought under its fellows and on, upSenn "lt E"lght through the centre of the left -hand four, Fig 2, drawn, tight Fig 3, before being returned to its own side , whe reS d d it is laid on the inside of the existing three, Fig 4 . Thetran e outside left -hand strand is treated in the same way,emerging in the centre of the four right -hand st ra nds,Figs 5 and 6, before be ing returned to its own side, Fig 7 .Working alternate outside strands the sennit is continued,Fig 8, drawn t ight in Fig 9, and to comp let ion of anyrequired leng th, Fig 10.


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71EnglishSennit,SevenStranded

Seven strands have been used for no particular reason asthis senni! can be made with any number, odd or even,with a minimum of four (three reverts to being a commonsennil).Each outside right strand is used in turn, being reevedunder ona/over one until it emerges on the opposite sidewhere it is laid parallel and becomes the extreme left-handstrand. Figs 1 and 2 show the first and second strandsso treated. all seven strands having been reeved for thefirst time in Fig 3, whilst Fig 4 shows a completed length,suitably t ightened.

7/28/2019 28643165 Knots and Ro

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28643165 Knots and Ropework