CUrchin Knot

Rope Fender

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 02:52:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 22 May 2013 00:22:00 +0000

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.

Simple Key Lanyard

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 01:26:00 +0000

A quick one here- I've been out of a key lanyard for a few weeks, so I decided to whip something together. I tend to like my key lanyards to be low profile so I can get my keys out of my pocket without much resistance. For this lanyard I used a short piece of orange paracord and tied a long two strand Matthew Walker knot as a stopper using instructions from the Ashley Book of Knots. I then added four bight gaucho knots at the top and bottom of the lanyard in tan nylon line. I reference Tom Hall's "Introduction to Turk's Head Knots" to tie the gauchos.

Leash and the Gaucho Fan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 01:08:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:26:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:37:00 +0000

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.

Rope Wreath

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 22:19:00 +0000

I hope the holiday season finds you well. I took the grommet I made last month and up-scaled it to make this wreath. I started with a rope core, and then utilized the same technique I applied to make the grommet last month, only (obviously) much larger. There are a couple strands of wire fished through the back to give it some extra stiffness. For this version, there are two strands of 1/2" manila rope about 40 feet long that make the covering. It's about 18 inches in diameter. I also made a few smaller wreaths for neighbor gifts. Let's just hope my wreath hook holds because it's quite stout.

Floating Fender Style Key Fob

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:27:00 +0000

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.

Grommet with Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:30:00 +0000

This is a grommet I recently tied around a steel ring. I've always wanted to tie a rope wreath, and this is essentially a "mini-prototype" tied with waste string from my last project. The Ashley Book of Knots has a few methods shown for tying grommets, but they are somewhat difficult to follow- I decided to attempt to draw my own version which is shown to the side (double click to enlarge). Tying in two colors makes it a little easier to see what you are doing. It is also important to keep in mind that due to the structure of the knot (which is very similar to a two bight turks head), the knot will be tighter on the inside of the ring compared to the outside of the ring and you need to plan accordingly. I have some rope on order, so keep an eye out for the full sized version.

Pick and Awl

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 00:47:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 01:14:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:59:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:30:00 +0000

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.

Rope Door Mat

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 13 May 2012 00:16:00 +0000

We've had an ocean plait mat in front of our kitchen sink for over a year now. While the ocean plait is a nice mat, I have always wanted something that is a little more substantial and that is rectangular shape. There are plenty of larger mats in the Ashley Book of Knots. For this mat, I took the pattern out of Ashley (2272), redrew it using AutoCAD and created the step-by-step tying grid that is shown in the attached drawing to make it easier to follow. The redrawn grid helps to set up the mat so that the spacing is closer to the competed mat, which means less time fairing it- Fairing can be a lengthy task on a mat this large. Note that I purposely left some space between each set of passes-* Manila rope is made of natural abaca fiber. When it gets wet, the fiber will swell which will cause the strands to twist and tighten, thereby causing the mat to shrink, especially once it drys out. If I use the mat outdoors, the spaces will allow for all of that to happen and the spaces will close. I used a peg board with some peg board hooks to make it easier to create this mat and keep it relatively straight. Spring clamps and weights are helpful to keep strands in place. This mat pattern is also presented in "Knot Craft" by Des Pawson, with a similar step-by-step method for tying the mat. While I didn't use the instructions in Knot Craft for actually tying the mat, I did find a method in the book for splicing the ends into the adjacent strands. I've traditionally seized my mat ends to the adjacent strand, either with cordage or more recently with zip/cable ties. However, using a splice makes the ends minimally visible, and therefore the mat can be flipped over and used as a double sided mat. A fid makes the splicing go faster, but it can be done without. This mat was tied using a little less than 150 feet of 1/2 inch manila rope.
*A warning about manila rope- Manila rope is treated with mineral oil which may cause discoloration of the floor on which it sits. Consider the surface on which you are putting the mat, or I would suggest getting a pad.

Spanish Ring Zippo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:11:00 +0000

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 .

Letters from Gaucho

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:28:00 +0000

This is a hand carved letter opener a friend gave me a while back. He picked it up on a trip to India. It's sat in my drawer at work for a while, so I decide to bring it home and try tying something around it. The knot is a two pass gaucho knot tied from a 5Lx4B turks head. There are several tutorials for this knot on the web, including one prepared by the late Bud Brewer. Mr. Brewer also has a tutorial for a three pass version. Stormdrane did a recent video for this knot as well. It was difficult to photograph- This is the best I could do with the shinny nylon that I used to tie it.

Turks Head Flashlight Thumb Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 02:08:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:34:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:12:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 01:59:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:01:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:52:00 +0000

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.

Half Hitch Mat

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:45:00 +0000

I was reading a recent post on Knot Heads World Wide (KHWW) when I came across a tutorial for this half hitched mat. I have a bunch of sisal rope around and I thought this would make an interesting trivet or table center piece. At the end of the day it is probably a better table center as I think it's a bit to big to be a trivet. Perhaps with some smaller, softer material (I used 1/4 inch sisal) it would make a better trivet. At the opposite end of the spectrum, with some stiff material or cane this knot can be formed to make a basket or bowl. I had to use a bunch of weights to hold down the various loops as I tied this, and at one point I missed a crossing- I didn't figure that out until I was doubling the knot, so I had to back it up quite a bit. Mistakes aside, it really didn't take too long and turned fairly well. If you get this down you could probably tie it in under an hour for sure. The pattern reminds me of Celtic knotting as is referenced in the KHWW post.

Rope Trivets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:13:00 +0000

I spent the week out of state for the holidays. Just prior to leaving, I made these trivets for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. The knot for these trivets was taken from The Marlinspike Sailor and is often used a a "thump mat" for protecting the deck of a boat from the repeated banging of rigging tackle. Interestingly, I did not find the same knot in the Ashley Book of Knots although I wouldn't be surprised if it was in there somewhere. These trivets were tied using 1/4 inch sisal rope from my local hardware store. Sisal rope is relatively cheap. The draw back with it is it tends to have a bunch of fuzz hanging off of it as you can see in the picture. In the past, I have successfully run a lit match over sisal to get rid of the fuzz and clean up a mat. These took all of twenty minutes each to tie and tighten. They would also look good in cotton rope. Synthetics cannot be used because the trivet would melt if put in contact with a hot pot.

Under the Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:46:00 +0000

Season Greetings everyone. I recently got sidelined by the need to make some gifts to give away to friends. These are two door stops that I tied for that purpose. Each one has a concrete paving brick inside of it and is wrapped using a monkey's fist knot with 8 passes using 1/2 inch natural fiber sisal rope. I tucked one of the ends in and secured it to a hidden wrap with a zip tie to make sure it doesn't come loose. A friend of our had one of these and their dog pulled out the tucked end so I'm hoping the zip tie will make it more secure. In the end nothing too fancy and something I presented here before. The square paving block helps them to sit flat on the floor (or you can tilt then on the corner like the picture). They do make nice gifts and once you get the hang of it you can make one in under an hour. I have another project in the pipe line that I'm not sure I'll get in before traveling for the holiday. We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned and happy holidays.