5 Strand Ring Bolt Hitching Tutorial

The logging hook handle I did a little which back has been popular according to the blogger stats, and I have had a couple inquiries about the 5 strand ring bolt hitching that was used for the project.  I made the video slide show below to show the technique.  I learned to do this hitching directly from the Ashley Book of Knots, although Ashley did not give much direction as to how to start the hitching.  If you attempt it, make sure you take your time, keep the knot snug at all times and fair it constantly.

Logging Hook 5 Strand Ring Bolt Hitching

This is a logging hook I received as a gift a few years ago.  We have a wood stove and burn wood in the winter for heat.  These hooks can be very useful for handling wood that is either split or un-split.  I covered the handle with 5 strand ring bolt hitching.  This hitch is woven creating the effect of a tight braid on the handle.    It must be kept fairly tight during the weaving process and takes some working to keep going relatively straight.  It might be easier to do out of a larger diameter cord.  The ends of the ring bolt hitch are covered with 6 lead by 5 bight turks heads. UPDATE: I did a tutorial on 5 strand ring bolt hitching.  It can be found by .

Glass Float

This is a glass float that my wife bought years ago at a nautical novelty shop. I had covered it previously, but was never really happy with the covering. To tie I first cow hitched 8 strands to a steel ring. Then I placed the ring and lines over a drinking glass and created the half hitch covering. The eye was made with ring bolt hitching around a series of the lines that were pull up through. I straight whipped the remaining lines and then tied a 3 bight long standing turks head around the whip.

Oar Hitching

We have an inflatable dinghy that we use for our boat.  The aluminum handles of the oars are often cold and uncomfortable to grip.  In order to improve the grip and the look of my otherwise un-stylish aluminum handled oars, I added zig-zag "running" cockscombing or ring bolt hitching.  This is very simple to do.  Lash three strands to the shaft, hitch all of them in one direction, and then hitch them in the opposite direct.  Simply repeat until the desired length is covered.  The ends of the hitching are covered with 3 lead by 4 bight turks heads.  I can now row my dingy with a much better and more comfortable grip.  We'll have to see how the color holds up in the sun and elements.  The hitching shown is on page 64 of the The Marlinspike Sailor by Hervey Garrett Smith.  The turks head can be found here or in most any knot book.

Bottle Opener

This is the bottle opener that I have been working on for the last week.  I bought a combination bottle/paint can opener and cut the paint can opener off.  Next I drilled a hole in a piece of 1 inch diameter dowel and inserted the bottle opener.  The dowel was wrapped in adhesive tape to help keep the string from slipping around.  The blue portion is 3 strand ring bolt hitching, also know as cockscombing.  The ends of the ring bolt hitching is covered with 6 lead by 5 bight turks heads.  The turks heads were tied by first tying 4 lead by 3 bight turks heads and then enlarging them.