Rope Fender

Hello there... I'm back. I took some time off to do a little "production" work (tie things already published here, but for family and friends), and also to pursue another hobby. As the temperature had dropped here in Maine I've been getting the urge to get back into new knotting projects. In this case, it's more like finish a knotting project as this has been sitting in my drawer since the summer.

This is a rope fender, or more aptly a waste rope fender that I made from some dog leash left overs.It was fairly common practice "back in the day" to utilize old rope to make boat fenders. In this case I am using 1/2" poly-prop lobster pot warp line. The fender is probably only big enough to be effective on a dinghy, but it is is certainly something that could scale up. I also think in this day and age I'd stay away from mooring a fancy expensive yacht with a rope fender as I would be concerned about scratching the paint. The fenders sure can look nice though.

The project was adapted from the book The Marlinspike Sailor by Hervey Garrett Smith. It has a rope core crown wrapped in the 6 strands that come from a looped piece of 3 strand rope. At the bottom the strands are walled back up into the fender. I also whipped the loop with a 4 lead by 3 bight turks head. Could probably be a little neater, but the poly pro is a bear to work with and keep tight. A simple and fun little project. Thanks. 

Coffee Mug and Handle Wrap

I received this OXO travel mug with handle for Christmas. I really like a stainless lined travel mug and I have been interested in a "handled" mug for some time - it was a good choice. I've read about the concept of taking two turks heads and combining them into one knot at a tee. For this project, I tied a long 4 lead turks head around the cup, splitting the center of the leads around the handle. Then I ran four separate strand through the 4 lead knot and created a helix around the handle and then back weaved the knot, essentially creating a 4 bight multi-strand turks head around the handle. I could have probably used a long 4 bight turks head to give me guide to follow for the handle, but I wasn't certain how if the pattern would work and in this case it was easier for me to manage multiple strands. I had to make sure I paid careful attention to the spacing of the strands at the bend in the handle as it got really tight on the inside, similar to my umbrella handle tie a while back. The knot was then doubled, tightened and the ends were trimmed. Half and half, a little java and off we go.

Leash and the Gaucho Fan

I recently purchased a reel of lobster warp, or rope that is normally used to connect the buoy to the trap when folks are fishing for lobster up here in Maine. I bought this rope to make a wreath for a friend, and now I have a few hundred extra feet of it. This rope is light and inexpensive, but still relatively durable. There are several vendors making rope door mats out of this rope in Maine.

This is a leash I made for one of our dogs using the rope. It is simply a claw style snap hook eye spliced to one end of the rope and a looped eye splice to the other end of the rope. I'd like to get better at eye spicing so this is a good way to practice. Around the splices are tied two-color gaucho fan knots. The two-color gaucho fan knots are essentially tied the same as the gaucho knot, but the second color is weaved in after the original turks head is tied.

Pull Through Tool with Ashley's Herringbone

This is a knotting tool my father gave me a few years ago. It is simply a piece of piano wire loop inserted into a wooden handle. It is useful every so often to pull a string through a tight opening when tying knots, and you could certainly fashion similar tool out of any reasonably stiff wire. A heavy guitar or bass string might also work, for example. Around the handle I tied a multi strand herringbone knot from the Ashley Book of Knots. This knot was tied using 8 individual strands and is started in a similar manner to a standing/multi strand turks head. Note that I did not use a mandrel to tie this covering. In tying it, I had little reference as to how long the final covering was going to be and it came up a bit short. I added a bit of straight whipping to each end and then tied 5 lead by 4 bight turks head over the whipping, using the turks heads as end coverings.

Barber Pole Turks Head Bottle Opener

Hope the New Year finds every one well. It's been busy here in southern Maine with a dumping of snow, back to work, back to school for the kids, a new Homebrewing Kit and the like. I've spent most evenings since my return from visiting the family for the holidays cross country skiing which has been very enjoyable. As the snow has gotten more crunchy I finally sat down with some string.

This is a business promotional bottle opener I picked up at an open house recently. As far as business promotion widgets go, it's of fairly good quality and made of stainless steel. Around it is tied a variation of a barber pole turks head. If you poke around the web you can find some very complicated and impressive versions of the barber pole turks heads. This version is tied as a standing turks head, using 1 strand for each bight with 8 strands total- I simply zip tied the stands to the bottle opener rather than monkeying with a mandrel (I rarely use mandrels). When the initial helix of strands was made, all I did was alternate the colors and started tucking each end in the same pattern from one end to the other. There are a couple tutorials on Knot Heads World Wide for barber pole turks heads using only two stands. They can be found here and here.

Floating Fender Style Key Fob

My most recent boat purchase came with a floating key chain which I decided to dress up with some knot work.  The polypropylene cord for this project also floats and should therefore not be a detrimental addition the the fob.  The bottom covering is an 8 strand covering knot which is shown in the Ashley Book of Knots.  This is a "boxed end" knot which wraps the bottom of the fob.  I used this knot previously in a glass jar covering post and also in my umbrella hand covering post. An excerpt from the Ashley Book of Knots showing how to tie this is included in the jar covering post. I then added a straight whip to the middle of the knot, and finally a 5 lead by 4 bight turks head to the top.

Pick and Awl

Next to perma-lock needles, I'd say the knot tying tool that I use the most is an ice pick. Picks are helpful in pulling out strands when tightening a knot like a turks heads. They are used to to work in some space between two strands to insert a needle for pulling an additional strand through a knot. I use the awl above less frequently than my ice pick, but I find that the tapered shaft can be useful for working in space between two strands. It's also a little more stout that the ice pick and can be useful if the cord is stiff or a knot is really tight. At the base of the shaft is tied 4 bight turks head. Over the balance of the handle and partially covering the turks head is a pineapple knot with a 6 bight turks head base.  Take your time if you try something like this. I was little rushed, and you can see some gaps in the knot at the widest part of the handle. I included a picture of my ice pick- Do note that only some of the knot work on that handle is mine. My father did the original covering. I put the two bight turks head and the 4 lead by 3 bight turks head on the base of the pick. The two bight turks head is especially helpful for gripping the pick.

Paracord Gaucho Belt Loop

With summer winding down I've finally found some time to sit down and think about knots again.  I managed to lose some weight this summer, enough that I was having trouble keeping my pants up with my old belt.  I found this Bison Designs Last Chance belt at a local department store. It's been a good belt and I like the fact it is adjustable.  However, with my 36 inch waist there is quite a bit of extra belt sticking out of the buckle with the size large.  In order to help retain that extra material, I gutted some paracord and tied a gaucho knot around the belt. Right now it's a bit snug.  I left the ends slightly long and have them tucked in under the knot to allow for adjustment.  I also anticipate that the knot might shrink a bit if it happens to get wet.  Paracord is made of nylon, and it is common for nylon to shrink when it gets wet.  It would be a good idea to preshrink paracord for a project like this so it doesn't shrink more than desired.

Knife Lanyard

Summers are short here in Maine and there is a tendency to try to pack as much in as you can.  That hasn't left me with much time for knots.  In all the running around a managed to loose my pocket knife, so I took the opportunity to try out this Spyderco Persistence.  I have always been intrigued by the look of Spyderco knives.  I am on a budget, so I elected to go with the Persistence which is one of Spyderco's inexpensive, chinese made models. So far I am happy with it.

For the lanyard I purchased a pair of 72" boot laces from Kiwi. I made a loop using a double knife lanyard knot using one of the laces. This knot is also known as a double diamond knot, and makes a nice knob on a lanyard.  It works best if you have a relatively stiff cord.  JD of Tying It All Together did this recent video of the double diamond knot. Around the loop I tied a long 2 bight turks head. Stormdrane has a very good video for this turks head and as I've mentioned previously it is a great knot for tying around long, thin items such as lanyards.

Walking Stick with Turks Head Loop Hanger

 It's been a really busy month with real life issues and I haven't had much time for knots.  I've been working on this walking stick for a friend in the margins for the past month and I am glad to have it finished.  The stick itself is made of red oak, and it is treated with a rubbing oil.  It's always nice to do 4 or 5 coats of spar varnish on a walking stick, but the oil is much faster as all you have to do is wipe the stick down and let it sit for a few days to achieve a decent finish.

For the top of the stick I integrated a turks head loop using the same technique I used for the flashlight thumb loop I made a while back.  The person for whom I made this stick spends extensive time on a boat, and I thought it would be a nice feature to be able to hang the stick up and hence the loop. The loop is also handy for hanging the stick on a coat rack.  I will definitely be incorporating loops into future walking sticks as it has worked out well.

The larger knot is a standing, or multistrand turks head tied using a technique from the Ashley Book of Knots, numbers 1284 through 1289.  While it is very satisfying tying a large turks head using a single strand using tools such as the grid maker found on the KHWW site, I often find it much simpler to use the standing method from Ashley- I tied this knot without the use of a mandrel, simply using zip ties at the top and bottom to anchor the strands.   The strands do not get as twisted as they do for a running, or single strand turks head.  Small nails or another anchor method can be used with this method which may result in a more even layout. This technique does take some patience and organization because with 8 strands it looks like spaghetti at the start. Enjoy.

Spanish Ring Zippo

This is a Zippo lighter that a friend gave me a while back for being in his wedding.  I had previously tied a simple 3 lead turks head around it, but I wanted to try something a little different.  This knot is a Spanish Ring Knot that originated from a 3 lead by 5 bight turks head.  The tying process and construction is very similar to a  gaucho knot, but the knot is not as wide.  I've tried tying Spanish Ring Knot's it the past, and I personally find it easy to get a little lost if you don't pay careful attention to where you are within the tying process.  As with most knots, it gets easier with patience, practice and a basic understanding of the knot's construction.  The rectangular shape of the Zippo does make the knot bulge a slightly at the corners.  The Spanish Ring Knot is probably better suited for a round surface. Instructions for tying a Spanish Ring Knot can be found here or here .

Turks Head Flashlight Thumb Loop

I've been reading a bit recently about tying T shaped turks heads by taking two turks heads and running a separate cord through them.  It got me thinking of other shapes and combinations I could tie using the same concept.  This is a turks head loop I tied by first tying a 7 lead by 6 bight turks head around the flashlight shown.  I then made a loop out of paracord which I temporarily cinched in place with some zip ties.  I occasionally use zip ties to hold parts of knots in place.  Zip ties are fast, convenient, and you can really crank them down. I then ran a cord through the turks head and extended two bights on opposite sides of the turks head in a pattern similar to a two bight turks head, around the piece of paracord.  There is a hidden bight tucked up against the body of the flashlight on both sides of the flashlight. The original turks head was removed on the second pass through the knot.  Adjustment and tightening was a bit tricky- Not only did the main cord need to be adjusted, but the piece of paracord required adjustment during tightening.  The transition between the 3 dimensional form of the loop and the 2 dimensional form of the side of the turks head took some care- Too tight and the whole thing would twist.  I am going to try to work out a tutorial for this IF (that's a big if) I can simplify to the point where I think it will be easy enough to follow.  Stay tuned.

Loop Lanyard using 3 Pin Spool Knotting/Knitting

This is a loop lanyard I made using a single strand sinnet tied using a technique that I understand is sometimes used in knitting.  Traditionally this kind of sinnet has been done tied with a wooden spool and nails.  There are plastic kits that can be purchased, and there are any number of home-grown spools that folks have used make this sinnet.  To tie the sinnet I made a "spool" from a short piece of 3/4" PVC pipe, electrical tape, finish nails and a zip tie to hold the pins secure at the top of the piece of pipe.  For me this spool was very inexpensive and efficient (particularly considering all of this stuff was in my garage).  I also made two more spools, one with 2 pins and one with 4 pins so I can tie different kinds of sinnets.  After tying the sinnet, I secured it to the snap with cow hitches and ran the ends back up into the sinnet and melted them in place.  To cover the melted ends and dress the knot I used a 4 lead by 3 bight turks head around each end.  You can find Stormdrane's video of 3 pin spool knotting/knitting here.  I also attached an excerpt from the Ashley Book of Knots which shows this technique along with some other sinnets that can be tied with spools.

Multi-tool lanyard

I recently pickup up this Leatherman Freestyle CX as a daily deal on Woot.com. Despite the fact that it really only has a pair of pliers and a knife, it was a really good deal. I most often carry a larger Leatherman on my belt, but I thought this might be a good compromise when I am traveling light. To it I added a lanyard made using a 4 strand round sinnet/braid. There was no lanyard loop included with the tool, but I was able to fish a piece of paracord through a hole near the bottom. I started off using directions from the Creative Ropecraft book by Stuart Grainger for the sinnet. Those directions worked okay. After poking around the web I found that JD of Tying it All Together (TIAT) had a YouTube video where he simplified the instructions for tying the braid. So I re-tied the sinnet using JD's instructions. JD's method was very clear and simple- Just make sure you establish the pattern when making the crosses and stick to it. I then tied a 3 lead by 2 bight turks head at each end of the sinnet to hold then ends together. This turks head is a common start for a 5 lead by 4 bight turks head, and is one way to cover a thin item such as a narrow lanyard. I like the fact that it is a very simple lanyard for a simple multi-tool.

Glass Jar Covering and Tudor Rose Plug

This is a project that I have been fiddling with on and off for quite some time. It started with a caper jar we had for a recipe. I washed it best I could and soaked off the labels. The jar is covered with an 8 strand covering knot from the Ashley Book of Knots (ABOK 2224, see reference from Google Books below). The cord that I used for this knot is "bait line" that I purchase from Hamilton Marine. This cord is really stiff. I often use this cord when I am trying something new and I really want something that stays put when I working with it. The drawback with this cord is that it is so stiff that it has some spring to it which can make it hard to tighten and it sometimes leaves undesired gaps in knots.

 To close the jar I tied a plug. The decorative knot for the plug is called a "Tudor Rose Knot" that I tied with instructions from a tutorial I found on Knot Heads World Wide. The knot for my plug has 6 strands where the tutorial only uses 5. There were a few head-scratching moments getting through the tutorial, but overall it was fairly easy to follow. Because of the stiff cord I didn't get a very good "twill" from the Matthew Walker Knot that was tied around the edges. After tying the Tudor Rose knot I crowned the remaining lines around the standing ends and tied a 6 lead by 5 bight turks head around the crowning to make the plug. It fits nice a snug in the jar. Frayed Knot arts has a very nice tutorial for tying a star knot plug which is similar and an excellent reference.
 

Paracord Pineapple Knot Fob from a 2 Bight Turks Head

These are a couple fobs I made using pineapple knots. A pineapple knot is a turks head with another turks head interwoven within. Poking around the web it seems that when most folks tie pineapple knots they utilize a 4, 6 or 8 bight turks head as the base knot. I got to thinking that it would be easy to apply the same methodology to a 2 bight turks head. The first time I tried it I utilized some small polypro chord, but I had a tough time keeping it straight as I made the two bight turks head really long. After thinking about it I decided it would look much better if the knot was tied out of all paracord. You can see the two versions I made here, one in black/green, and the other in blue/orange. The knot at the base is a knife lanyard/lanyard knot. I also made a slide show video for the pineapple knot which is below. I am normally a proponent of making knots "snug", but if you attempt this I would suggest you make it "tight" so as to keep the ends tucked.

Junior Pineapple Knot Walking Stick

I gave away walking sticks to some friends at the holidays.  Our group of five year old's children expressed some interest in having walking sticks of their own, so this is the prototype.  This is a half-stick of what I usually make with an oil finish and a rubber stopper to keep the end from sliding around.  Around it is tied a type 1 pineapple knot in blue and red that originated from a 4 bight turks head. Up until now I have tied pineapple knots from instructions with diagrams and over-under instructions.  This one I tied without instructions which is an accomplished for me.  If you would like information on tying a long pineapple knot, KHWW has a tutorial.

Walking Stick with 3 Bight Turks Heads

It has been a busy month and my knot tying has suffered quite a bit.  I got sucked in to a website build which took much of my free. I hope to get back on track with a book I just purchased, The Complete Book of Decorative Knots by Geoffery Budworth.  Mr. Budworth  cofounder the International Guild of Knot Tyers and is responsible for correcting the Ashley Book of Knots, the standard to which all other knot books are held.  So far it has been a very interesting book. There is a good section about tying technique in the beginning of the book which is something that is often over looked in other knot books.  I haven't found it to be perfect though.  The second over/under sequence for the 16 lead by 3 bight turks head was off, which threw me for a loop for a while.  The illustrations are very good, and I think it would make a decent book for any one just starting out, and will also have some good ideas for the experienced as well.

The actual project is a walking stick covered in two turks heads.  When I first got back into knotting I tried selling a few walking sticks on Etsy.  It didn't work out so well.  Etsy is something you need to treat as a business to be successful and I just wanted to do my hobby.  I do enjoy collecting the sticks, stripping them, sanding them, finishing them and then tying the knots, but after all that you have to be willing to make minimum wage if you sell them.  In the end I enjoy giving them away to friends so I still make one or two every once in a while.  The stick itself is made of oak with an oil finish.  The larger knot is a 16 lead by 3 bight turks head and the second knot is a 2 lead by 3 bight turks head, both taken from Mr. Budworth's book.  If you are interested in tying large 3 bight turks heads but don't want to spend the $15 on the book, you can find good tutorials on Stormdrane's YouTube channel and one prepared by the late Bud Brewer on the Knot Heads World Wide website.  The wrist lanyard is a leather boot lace ended with a two strand Matthew Walker Knot.

Tiller Extension 4 Bight Turks Head

This is the tiller extension/hiking stick from our sail boat.  The other week it was accidentially stepped upon and the end was broken off.  To fix it I bevel sanded the remaining pieces and epoxied them back together with a scarf joint.  Scarf joints are fairly common in wooden boat construction and when made with epoxy the joint itself is stronger than then surrounding wood.  I wasn't crazy about aesthetics of the final joint so I decided to put a covering turks head over the joint.  If my count is correct this is a 25 lead by 4 bight turks head.  It was tied as a running turks head which means it was all one piece of line.  If you are interested in tying long running turks heads, I would suggest looking at "Introduction to Turks Heads" by Tom Hall which you can find at KHWW as an E book.  Stormdrane also has an excellent video for a two bight turks head which can be found here.  The 4 bight turks head for this project was enlarged from a 2 bight turks head.

Turks Head Flashlight

This is a flashlight I tied for my son.  The bottom comes off to install the batteries, so I could not cover the entire length.  To tie I first straight whipped the center section which was thinner than the top and bottom of the flashlight.  This evened out the width to roughly match the ends.  The end turks heads are 3 lead by 4 bight turks heads.  The center turks head is a 6 lead by 5 bight turks head.  For the cost the LED flashlight works well.