Guild SuppliesPrice List 2001

Item Price

Knot ChartsFull Set of 100 charts £10.00Individual charts £0.20

Rubber StampIGKT Member, with logo £4.00(excludes stamp pad)

Guild TieLong, dark blue with Guild Logo in gold £8.95

Badges - all with Guild LogoBlazer Badge £1.00Enamel Brooch £2.00Windscreen Sticker £1.00

Certificate of Membership £2.50Parchment membership scrollSigned by the President and Hon SecFor mounting and hanging

Cheques payable to IGKT, or simply send your credit card detailsPS Don’t forget to allow for postage

Supplies Secretary: - Bruce Turley19 Windmill Avenue, Rubery, Birmingham B45 9SP

email 106077.1156@compuserve.com.Telephone: 0121 453 4124

Knotting MattersNewsletter of theInternational Guild ofKnot Tyers

Issue No. 73

President: Brian FieldSecretary: Nigel HardingEditor: Colin GrundyWebsite: www.igkt.craft.org

Submission dates for articlesKM 74 07 JAN 2002KM 73 07 APR 2002

Ed Morai teaching some ladies to tie his star knot jewellery - NAB

2001

IN THIS ISSUE

Inland Waterways Nostalgia 5International Festival of the Sea 8Website Review 9World’s Longest Rope 10Book Reviews 12Fewer Knots 13Lacing a Shoe With One hand 14New Knots or What? 15Knotmaster 16Anchors - A Way to Splice Rope and Chain 18Knot Gallery 22Turk’s Head Knots With Three Leads 28Fairhaven’s Ex-Whaler 32The Mooring Hitch 35A Clever Binding Method 37

The IGKT is a UK RegisteredCharity No. 802153

Except as otherwise indicated,copyright in Knotting Matters isreserved to the International Guild ofKnot Tyers IGKT 2001. Copyright ofmembers articles published in KnottingMatters is reserved to the authors andpermission to reprint should be soughtfrom the author and editor. All sourcesof quotations printed in KnottingMatters are acknowledged.

Cover design by Stuart Grainger

Notes From the Secretary’s Blotter

t seems a lifetime ago since I wrotethe last blotter, yet it is only threemonths - just where did the time go?

In real life, I work for an electricitycompany, and I have now sufferedanother pasting from the summerthunderstorms, and already anotherbashing from the first of the autumngales. The summer has now been andgone, we are now well into autumn, andby the time you are reading this I expectto be huddled up by the living room fire,drinking mulled wine.

Since I last wrote, I have arranged forKnotting Matters to be distributed by acommercial mailing house. It took a lotof setting up, but seems to have beensuccessful, and does significantly reducemy involvement. I must take thisopportunity to thank all those who overthe last decade have assisted me ingetting stuffed. When I first becameinvolved, we used to spend a couple ofevenings stuffing, and knocking back abottle or so of wine. As the membershipincreased, so this practice had to cease,otherwise we would never have finishedthe job.

My next project will be to out sourcethe administration of membershipincluding the collection of subscriptions.This will be a major change in the way inwhich the Guild is run, and although themembers should not notice thedifference, it will be of considerablebenefit to both the Treasurer and theSecretary. More details will be publishedas and when the necessary arrangements

have been made, and contracts signed.With this reduced workload, I amexpecting a stampede of applicants forthe Secretary’s job, and who knows, Imight even apply for it myself.

Whilst on the subject of subscriptions,this is the time of the year when themajority of subscriptions fall due. CouldI remind members to please make theircheque out to the IGKT, as chequesmade out to me personally cause me agreat deal of inconvenience both with thebank, and the Inland Revenue. Thetaxman seems to assume that I havesome sort of fiddle going on, and wouldlike me to pay income tax on your subs.

Should you be paying by using afriend or partner's credit card, pleasemention your own name as well,otherwise I don’t know whose account tocredit with the money. The result is thatyou will receive another reminder withyour next KM.

Finally, I must mention our President,Brian Field, who has been a little underthe weather of late, having spent sometime in hospital. As I write he is at homefor some postoperative recovery, andalthough feeling a little delicate he islooking forward to the BirthdayCelebrations next May. He also wishesto thank all those members who haveexpressed their good wishes.

I must hurry and finish these notes as Iam late again, the presses are starting toroll and I am still busy typ...

Nigel Harding

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Col’s Comment

hen you read this, some threemonths will have passed sincethe atrocities committed in

America on the 11th September. It ishard to think that given the scale of thedisaster that it will not have affectedsome of our members somewhere,particularly in the USA. What the futureholds, only time will tell.

Whoops, it’s happened again. The ea-gle-eyed among you will have spottedthe mistake in the Ossel knot in the lastissue of KM. A correction is issued as aseparate sheet with this issue for you topaste over the offending page. To ensurethat these mistakes are not repeated, wehave employed the services of ahawkeyed member to vet future issues ofKnotmaster before they go to press.

Now that the cost of digital camerashave come down, many of our membersare using these versatile devices. Can Imake a plea however to those of yousending in photographs taken on digitalcameras? Please when you send a picturethat is taken with a digital camera, canyou send the file on a floppy disc or CDand not as a print. I have to scan prints,and the little dots that make up the pic-ture appear as a grainy pattern. While Ican get rid of most of it, some detail islost in the process. It is far better if I startoff with the file and the larger the better.That way I can ensure the detail is re-tained when KM goes for printing.

May I wish you and all your families’peace at this time of the year?

2K2 Birthday Knotted Piece.

nstead of a birthday card please senda knotted piece, either a bellrope or amacrame patch, the same size as KM

that is A5. If you have a burning desire tomake a piece the size of a bed spread, goahead and make it, but please do not sendit to me!

A designated area will be part of the2K2 display, to show the BirthdayPieces. Please attach a nametag andsmall flag of your country or state, Irequest you control your patriotism andrestrict the flag size to one smaller thanthe item.

The reason for all the size limits areease of storage and subsequent shippingon to the next venue. This displaybelongs to the Guild and if you know thenext place in the world that will be agood venue, please write to the secretary.

Ken Yalden

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Letter from a President

must start with an apology for nothaving visited as many groups as Iwould have wanted to. I have been

awaiting a liver operation on a short callbasis and this has made forward planninga little awkward. I am writing this from abed in the Royal Free Hospital and by thetime KM is published I should be well onthe way to recovery (deo volente!) Atleast the enforced rest will allow me timeto do a little doodling, and I may evenfinish a booklet on flat knots that I havebeen thinking about for the last couple ofyears.

Earlier in the year a researcherpreparing a programme for the BBCapproached me. He was involved in thereconstruction of a third century BCchariot found in a grave in Yorkshireearlier in the year.

He needed advice and practical helpon the lashings needed to construct thechariot and found my name from anearlier BBC arts programme. I askedIGKT member Richard Hopkins toundertake the task as he had the requisiteskills and enthusiasm, and lived near theplace where the project was centred.

The finished chariot will hopefully bedisplayed in the Great Court at theBritish Museum. I look forward to seeingthe finished programme and to Richardand the IGKT appearing in the list ofcredits. It is pleasing to see the Guildbeing consulted as an authoritativesource for information on knotting.

Finally many thanks to all those whoreplied to my request for comments onthe Guild, it’s growth and future needs. Iwill reply to all letters eventually - butnot for a while yet!

Brian Field

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Inland Waterways Nostalgia

he 2001 IGKT half-yearly meetingwas held at the Boat Museum,Ellesmere Port in Cheshire. For

those not familiar with this part of theUK, it is located across the water fromLiverpool and was once a very busy portwhere ships from the Manchester ShipCanal transferred their cargoes tosmaller craft of the inland waterwayscanal system. We were housed in theexhibition hall, with plenty of spaceamong the exhibits from the bygone ageof canal craft.

Accommodation for those intrepidsouls who arrived on the Friday nightwas a short distance away at the SeaCadet HQ for Ellesmere Port, TSForward. For the less hardy among usthere was hotel accommodation and weeven had two members arrive by narrowboat, who moored in the basin.

Saturday morning found more Guildmembers arriving and renewing oldaquatances. As usual, our chairman, Ken

Yalden started proceedings at the strokeof eleven in the adjacent lecture theatre.Brian Field was unable to attend thistime due to his recent surgery and thewelcome was made by past Presidentand founder member GeoffreyBudworth. News about Brian was thatalthough his operation had not gone toowell, he was recovering which was goodto hear.

Our Hon Sec. Nigel gave a briefreport, and this was followed by Kengiving a brief outline of plans for the20th birthday party next year at Farehamin Hampshire. Geoffrey Budworthproposed a vote of thanks to ColinGrundy for his work in editing KnottingMatters, and two members gave a Profileof a Knot Tyer.

After the business part of the meetingbroke up, we were free to browse boththe members’ displays and also view theexhibits from the museum. As usual atthese meetings, a lot of informal teaching

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Guild members gathered in Joe Skinner’s “Friendship” the last of the horse drawn boats. Photo - Gordon Perry

was undertaken with, “How did youdo that,” or “Have you seen this?”

Saturday evening found us back at TSForward for the Knot Tyer’s Supper,where the only rule is “No cord on thetable until after the meal.” Following thesupper, we were treated to a musicalinterlude by the Sea Cadet band. Theygave an excellent display and are a creditto their unit.

On Sunday, the formula tried out atthe AGM at Farnham was repeated,where formal instructional workshopswere held on a range of knottingsubjects.

Yet again a successful event in awonderful location. Well done to DavidWalker for his organisationPhoto’s - Ken Yalden

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International Festival Of The

Sea 2001.by Gordon J Perry

he largest gathering yet of “TallShips”, small ships, warships,boats and a host of other attractions

drew people in their thousands toPortsmouth during the August Bankholiday. And no less than 20 IGKTmembers played some part in theproceedings over the four days. TheIGKT stand was manned by GordonPerry, Bob Pearce, Charlie Tyrell,Willeke van der Ham, Ken Elliot, DenisMurphy, Nick Wilde, Ian Schofield andEddie Bentley. Des and Liz Pawsonwere assisted by Terry Barnes in theFrench Quarter - I wonder if “le cap” hadanything to do with that! Ken Yalden,Jeff Wyatt, Richard Hopkins and Tony

Dorran were alongside HMS Victory intheir “Starbolins” guise. Charlie Smithwas onboard the “Grand Turk”. DerrickBabington and Colin Perry in the Victorycutter crew. Don Bellamy, disguisedhimself as an ancient mariner to draw thecrowds with splicing and rope tricks inAnchor Lane while John Hayes andTerry Meaden no doubt both earnedtheir daily crust as usual.

A constant flow of visitors and avariety of demonstrations kept us allquite busy on the IGKT Stand, togetherwith visits by several members,including Nigel and Sylvia - who chosethe only day that it rained! There were agood number of enquiries about theGuild, from all corners of the globe,especially from the Tall Ships crews andtrainees; it remains now to see how manycome and join us.

Charlie Tyrell explaining to BobPearce that it is all in the wrist!While Stuart Keyte (Gordon Perry’sgranddson) is engrossed in one thatCharlie showed him earlier.

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Website ReviewTexas Branch

his site is straightforward tonavigate with buttons at thebottom of each page and links to

other knot related websites. Apart froman annoying pop-up banner from theirhost ISP, Tripod, that opens each timeyou click a new link, the pages loadfairly quickly and the sight is free offrames and graphics that can turn yoursurfing into a trial.

There are e-mail links to the IGKT,Texas and North American Branches. Anice feature is the branch newsletter onPDF format, so those with AcrobatReader can obtain their own printed or

electronic copies, thus saving on printingand postage costs to the branch.

The Knot Links page takes you to anumber of interesting knot related sitesand also includes a pre-set Alta Vistasearch to knot or knotting sites. TheMember’s Gallery is still underconstruction, but does contain some half-dozen animated knots.

Despite the irritating banner, this siteis pleasant and easy to navigate. Wellworth a visit.http://texasknot.tripod.com

CG

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by Bruce Turley

ne June day I was sitting mindingmy own business, when I receiveda call from one of our members up

North. He asked me if I would beinterested in attending a national SeaCadet event at TS Weston inBirmingham, which involved 564 SeaCadets tying 1-metre lengths of ropetogether with a reef knot.

We were greeted with the sight ofnumerous rows with alternated bundlesof blue and red cord. This event was heldto see if the Sea Cadets could establishthemselves in the Guinness Book ofRecords for tying the longest piece ofrope. After contacting Sea Cadetheadquarters I was asked to send a CV ofmyself and a brief history as to what theIGKT did. Much to my surprise theyaccepted me and I became one of theIndependent Witnesses to ensure that theknots were all tied correctly. It took theSea Cadets five minutes to tie these knotsand join them to the next persons pieceof rope, then came the hard work, goingup and down the lines first to see if therewere any breaks which unfortunatelythere were. We then decided where tostart measuring fortunately the other two

witnesses were Surveyors and took careof the technical side of measuring. Wehad two pieces each measuring 250metres but we finally achieved a piece intotal of 1374.50 metres. We then had tountie the rope and count how manypieces of rope were used which was 1866pieces. This information was given toLucy Hudson who was the eventorganiser, who then had to write thereport and forward it to the GuinnessBook of Records and await theirdecision. There is no existing record soin fact they have already made one. Ifsuccessful this will be included in theirbook in 2002.

We were made very welcome,supplied with food and drink and alsomet Admiral Todd and Lady Todd Thetelevision cameras were there and theevent was shown on Carlton TV onSaturday and a little snippet on Sunday,which had my good self on it.

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BOOK REVIEWSHOW TO DRAW CELTIC KNOT WORK by Andy Sloss

First published by Blandford (a Cassellimprint) in 1995; reprinted 1996 (twice),1997 and 1998. 2nd edition published byCaxton Publishing Group in 1998 and re-printed 2001. ISBN 1-86019-8597

Retail price: UK £17-99, but nowselling in some discount bookstores for£5.99

In Part I of this hardback book thenovice quickly learns to draw intricateCeltic-style knotwork. A comprehensivePart II- about two thirds of its 190 pages- then acts as a source book of patternsfrom which experienced students canpick-’n’-mix to create their own imagi-native patterns for use as a basis for knit-ting, embroidery, etc.

The author, who is based in Galloway,Scotland, developed his unique systemwhen trying to write a computer programfor knot designs. It is based upon a set ofeight basic curves, which can be assem-bled in any sequence that complies withthe logic of just three simple rules.

Owing little to the methods of classicCeltic manuscript illustrations, the meth-od is wholly appropriate to the needs oftoday’s knot designs. Concerned withmore than mere passive geometry, how-

ever, Andy Sloss considers briefly therole of pen, brush or pyrography; in-spired freehand versus ruler, compassesand dividers; and even mentions thecopy, rotate, paste functions of comput-ers and the place of the photocopier. In-deed, a computer design package called‘ProScribe’, created as a companion tothe book, is also available (details avail-able from: CDD, The Crofts, Marketplace, Abbots Bromley, Nr. Rugeley,Staffs. WS15 3BS) ... but has not beenseen by the reviewer.

With a respectful nod at the traditionalmethods of construction typical of earli-er books, such as the 1977 publication byGeorge Bain, the author of this latestwork prefers to look ahead rather thanback with his fresh and original approachto a traditional subject. For, as he writes;‘We are here to be as creative as we canbe, and it is up to us to make the most ofthe tools available.’

The Guide AssociationKNOT BOOKby Wendy GoodhindPublished (1988) by The Guide Associa-tion and reprinted 1999Price: £10.00 (UK)ISBN 0-85260-146-8

Within the soft covers of this attrac-tive, one centimetre (0.4 inch) thick bookare contained 144 pages, each 210 mm x210 mm (8.3 inches x 8.3 inches) square,with sections headed: Introduction -Knots - Hitches - Bends - DecorativeKnotting - Tricks - Splices - Whippings -Lashings - Camp Gadgets - Pioneering -Caring for Materials -Glossary - FurtherReading.

The comprehensive contents meet aGuide’s needs for all stages of her Knot-

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ter badge, some other awards, and alliedactivities such as first aid, craft, campingand outdoor pursuits; while the author’ssimple explanations are aimed at thiskind of young reader - although the ab-sence of references to gender make it, Ithink, as suitable for boys as for girls -and the lucid text is enlivened by the su-perb step-by-step sketches of WendyHesse.

[I have only one mild quibble. Burieddeep in the preliminary small print is anacknowledgement to family members ofthe late Harry Asher IGKT for their kindpermission to reproduce the GrandpaKnot and Pedigree Cow Hitch. A simplecourtesy, no doubt, but the implicationthat access to these knots is somehow orother restricted is misleading, when infact there is no copyright on ideas butonly on the means of portrayal. Providedtext and drawings were not slavishlycopied from original work by Dr. Asher- and this book is, to the best of myknowledge and belief, the genuine un-aided work of author and illustrator -then surely no such permission was re-quired. My caveat, however, should nei-ther detract from the book’s appeal nordeter Guild members from buying it.]

Containing more than 70 ties, tricksand techniques and well over 300 draw-ings, it is an excellent starter manual forany youngster.

Geoffrey Budworth

Fewer Knots

xtract from a Volume of boundcopies of Yachting Monthly andMotor Boating magazine

(November 1931 to April 1932),discovered by Geoffrey Budworth, whogratefully acknowledges the cooperationthe current editor, Sarah Norbury, inallowing him free access to YM’sarchives for research purposes.

Sir, - Might I put in a plea, throughmedium of your columns, for thepreservation of those fancy knots whichthough common in the days of sail in theNavy are now steadily being lost. Onlythe other day a Naval pensioner wasshowing me some of these knots andplaits, and many a time he added that hethought there were few left now whoknew how to make them. There is not, tomy knowledge, any book which dealsthoroughly with the subject, presumablybecause to put most of these plaits intowords is an impossibility. But whilethere are still some who live who knowhow to make them, could not theirknowledge be collected either inwritings or in practical examples andpreserved? I am sure there must be manyyachtsmen who would enjoy makingfancy gaskets in their spare time andcoach whipping their stanchions, if theyonly knew how it is done; or is thismechanical world too busy for this sortof thing, and must it pass away likeeverything else?

J.W.R.S.

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Lacing A Shoe With One Handby Dianne Bright

ollowing on from the meeting of theEast Anglian Branch, when weenjoyed a workshop presented by

Des Pawson on “Mankind’sRelationship with Knots and Shoes,”several members brought to light manyinteresting aspects on this topic, not theleast being the subject of shoe lacing forthe disabled i.e. one-handed persons andstroke victims.

The photograph speaks for itself andthe diagram depicts the lacing method ofknotting one end and finishing with asimple slipped half hitch.

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New Knots or What? - An Answer

By Heinz Prohaska

n KM 66 Sten Johansson showedsome knots published by GiovanniMarco Sassu in his book Il Mondo Dei

Nodi and claimed them to be new. StenJohansson wanted to find out the opinionof IGKT members in the matter.

I can contribute to that, but before Iwill go into detail I must state that thequestion of novelty, if it is easier to solvea knot is good, and less easy if it is poor.Poor knots come usually in the wastebasket, and we cannot look into thewaste baskets of knot tyers who test theirideas themselves.

The knot shown in fig.138 of Sassuisn’t new. I developed it about 25 yearsago through a deformation of themountaineering knot shown in fig.1 seenin a German mountaineering manual.Other climbers may have had the sameidea.

The knot shown in fig.64 of Sassu is avariation on the un-seized standardversion of the Carrick Bend and with thatdoubtless known for a long time. The flatversion of the knot, shown in fig.2, canbe seen in macrame. Moreover, I testedthis knot not knowing that it belongs tothe state of the art in the course of a knotdevelopment in the seventies. Tests instiffer material showed a great tendencyof the knot to come loose. Loaded in thiscondition, it can be parted between thehands. The tightened knot can also beparted; just the critical load will behigher. Further development led to thestandard version of the Carrick Bend and

other knots, some probably new, butthat’s another story.

If an invention is to make sense, theresult of the invention must be betterthan the state of the art. Knot inventorsshould always explain the problem thattheir knot is supposed to solve. For lackof such information by Sassu it isn’tpossible to make corresponding tests.Subjectively, as a mountaineer whospent half of his life for mountain safetyresearch, I couldn’t recommend 90% ofthese knots for a use in this field.

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Contradictions in the drawings seemto indicate that some of the shownsolutions are too difficult andcomplicated even for experts.

Finally it’s to point out that a knotdevelopment isn’t finished with theresult of a new structure. The work mustbe continued through optimizing of tyingand untying techniques and optimizingof description and presentation.

References:i]Johansson, Sten: “New Knots or

What?” Knotting Matters 66, pp.30-34,March 2000

2]Eidenschink, Otto: RichtigesBergsteigen, pp.55-56, Munchen 1951

TIMELESS TIESI wish I had the rhymes of Horace* To sing of Tom and Dick and Doris, Those ancient folk (real names forgot)Who bequeathed us knowledge of the knot.

I would also praise, extol, applaud Those artful souls with rope and cordWho still today do such a lotTo cultivate knowledge of the knot.

And when I’m dead, mere ash and bone, I trust some scribbler yet unknownWill in her turn rejoice they got Our legacy... knowledge of the knot.

Anon

*HORACE - Roman lyric poet andsatirist, whose work is distinguished byits style, wit and good sense.

KnotmasterSeriesNo. 11

“Knotting ventured –knotting gained”

Sheet bendsThe common sheet bend (fig. 1a) will jointwo lines of somewhat dissimilar size orconstruction, provided the difference isnot too great. For trivial tasks – and aquick release – incorporate a draw-loop(fig. 1b). When used to attach a line to aseized eye or other permanent loop it isknown as a becket hitch. Tied adifferent way (not illustrated) it is theweaver’s knot. For extra security, wrapand tuck the working end a second timeto create a double sheet bend (fig. 2). Tostreamline the knot, re-tuck the workingend (fig. 3a) and tighten this one-waysheet bend (fig. 3b). For a bridle to join atrio of converging lines, try a three-waysheet bend (fig. 4) first published by theSwedish yachting writer FrankRosenowIGKT.

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Anchors - A Way to Splice Rope and Chain

by Tim Weil

hat are the elements of asuccessful knotting project?Having recently completed an

‘anchor wrap’ job for a friend’s 40’trawler, I would suggest the followingcriteria -Challenge - “Is this harder than it

looks?”Opportunity - “I’ve never tried

something like this before!”Partnership - “I’ll bet the two of us can

figure it out”Exchange of Information - “The Internet

was invented for projects like this”In short - COPE. Deal with it.

Surprise yourself and with some amountof luck and skill you may have a productthat your customer will appreciate.

CHALLENGE - What do you know about rope andchain splicing?

My friend Earl knew of my interest inknot craft. I’d told him of pioneeringprojects with our local Scout troop,membership in the International Guild ofKnot Tyers, and had shown him some ofmy handicraft - key fob lanyards, andTurk’s head bracelet piecework. In hismind, it would be an easy step up to helphim with splicing thee-strand nylon ropeto an anchor chain used for mooring hisboat. In ‘boat speak’ here was theproblem to be solved.

“I have a 34’ DeFever Trawler Sedanpower boat moored at the MinnesoftBeach Yacht Basin off the Neuse Riverin Arapahoe, North Carolina. My anchorchain is gathered using a Simpson-Lawrence power windlass with Rope/Chain capstan.

The 3-strand nylon rope (14-16 mm)and G4 ISO chain (6-8mm) will hold a35 lb. Simpson-Lawrence Delta anchor”.

He left me the 40’ of rope and of chainin a pair of plastic holding tubs. If I wassuccessful with this effort, he suggestedI might even get a boat ride for my effort!

OPPORTUNITY - Branching out from Turks Headbracelets

My New Year’s resolution for 2001has been to master the Turk’s Headbracelet as a commodity product in myknotting kit bag. Towards that end I hadbought Tom Hall’s Introduction toTurk’s Head Knots from the KnotStuffweb site founded by Martin Combs(http://www.knotstuff.com). I also gotinto the weekly KnotChat group onYahoo run by Dan Callahan (akaknottyer) in which we correspondedfrequently about 4/5/6 lead Turk’s headknots, expansion techniques, andassorted weaves (Casa, Gaucho,Herringbone, etc.). By mid-March it wasobvious that one year would just get me

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started with Turk’s head technique andthat frankly, I needed more variety in myknotting practice. Splicing methodsseems like a welcome change of pace.

PARTNERSHIP - Let’s have an IGKT meeting onanchor wraps!

Through the KnotTyers club (http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/knottyers)Sunday night chats I found a localresource for investigating the rope/chainsplice challenge. Ed Morai (akaknotslipstick) works as an engineer herein the Washington DC area where he isoften called upon by his NavyResearcher bosses to come up with aknotting solution for practical problemsolving experiments. When I put theanchor wrap problem in front of him, Edwas quick to rise to the occasion. Hiswork running the North American IGKTwebsite (http://www.igktnab.org) andhis long-time knotting interest haveresulted in an excellent library ofknotting books. After we met up for aTGIF happy hour discussion, the nextlogical step was to organize a two-personchapter meeting of the Maryland IGKTclub and tackle the problem accordingly.

Ed had found a chapter from BrionToss’s book The Rigger’s Locker (ISBN0-87742-961-8) which was dedicated tochain splices. We agreed that this wouldbe the approach we would take and Iagreed to get the rope prepared for a

workshop the following weekend usingToss’s recommended solution.

“Prepare the rope by soaking 6’ of oneend in a solution of 16:1 water andlaundry starch (or use the bottled liquidstarch full strength). When the ropedries, the individual strands of nylon willhold their spiral shape, or ‘lay better’while you splice”.

It required two attempts to get thisstarching method to work. First of all,locating the starch was a bit of achallenge. Local grocery stores carriedmostly aerosol starch for laundry use. Ahardware store stocked the powderedbrand that is what I eventually used. Edclaimed that fabric stores are a goodoutlet for the liquid starch. Be that as itmay, I didn’t quite understand themethod Toss described so that I first triedunbraided the rope and soakingindividual strands in the starch solution.This turned out to be the wrongapproach. Nylon rope does not lenditself easily to splicing techniques.When working with nylon I found itdifficult to cut, frequently unraveled andnever willing to “hold shape”.

On the second attempt I discoveredthat Toss was suggesting to soak the 3-strand work en masse so that theunbraided ends would hold shape duringthe back splice technique.

Ed and I decided on using two ofToss’s rope/chain splice techniques - thethree-braid chain splice and the “shovel

Chain Splice

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Shovel Splice (with Crown Knot finish)splice”. In shorthand notation, here arethe descriptions of the two differentmethods. We’ll let the photos fill in thedetails that are omitted from the BrionToss text.

Three-strand Chain Splice “Unlay the strands about 2 1/2 feet and

pass two of them through the end link,pulling them through until you reach thejunction of the third strand.... beginunlaying the 3rd strand, leaving a vacantgroove to be filled with the nearer of thetwo other strands”.

Shovel Splice“Apply a Double Constrictor or other

seizing about 2 1/2’ from the end of therope, then separate the three strands (ordouble-braid core and cover) into fourequal bundles of yarns. Weave twobundles back and forth through everyother link and the other two bundlesthrough the intervening links,endeavoring to pull all yarns evenly tightas you go”.

The example (with Crown Knotfinish) is probably inappropriate for aworking shovel splice. Since this splicewas named for “the amount of mud itwould bring up from the bottom”, the

extra finishing knots would probablymake it unusable for practical boating.In our workshop, it still seemed a niceaesthetic touch.

At the end of our IGKT - Marylandsession, Ed and I had two differentexamples of the rope/chain spliceworked out. While both the three-strandchain splice and shovel splice techniquesappeared equally strong, the finaloutcome appeared to rest on the size ofthe rope/chain capstan entry which wason the customers boat.

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION - Knotting Leads on the Internet

While both the three-strand chainsplice and shovel-splice methodsproduced secure, loose-fitting anchorwraps, the discriminating differenceappeared to be in the girth of the finishedsplice and the aesthetics of the finalproduct. In the end, Earl liked the three-strand chain splice because it seemed theleast obtrusive technique (and also morelikely to fit through the chain/ropecapstan passageway.

Several other research interestsemerged in this exercise. Whippingtechniques, constrictor knots, wall andcrown finishing knots and specialty

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equipment (like Toss’s Fid-obacksplicing tool) added to the researchinterest of the rope/chain anchor spliceproject. A few of the related Web linksare listed here -

Jimmy Green Rigging (Devon, UK) -Chandlery and AnchorPlait Spliceshttp://www.jimmygreen.couk/newsite/Home.htm

Marlow Ropes Nylon-to-Chain SplicingPoster (free with every purchase)http://www.marlowropes.co.uk/yachting/default.htm

Brion Toss - The Complete RiggersApprenticehttp://store.yahoo.com/tfguild/comrigap.html

Correspondence on the topic also camefrom the following sources -Rec.Crafts.Knots (Usenet Newsgroup)FootRope Knotshttp://www.bigwig.net/knots/pawson.htm

Final ThoughtsIn the vernacular of KnotCraft it is

true that “one thing leads to another”. Inthis case, some interest in knotting areasled to the assumption that I could domore than I’d tried in the past. With a bitof research, and some help from IGKTcolleagues I was able to deliver the rope/chain splice for anchor wrapping whichI’d never attempted before. My friendEarl was quite happy with the finishedproduct. I’m still waiting for the boat-ride invitation. Along the way I foundmany Internet resources which made this

a project worth attempting. And as afinal bit of irony, I found several localmarine shops that would do this job forunder $20!

Be inventivecreate your own‘Bug Collection’

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Knot Gallery

Above - A magnificent Turk’s Head mat by Rod Orrah.

Left - Sphere in wire rope by Harold Scott.

Overleaf - Stampede strings by Geert “Willy” Willaert.

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Above - Jonny Ekdahl busy making gifts from wood and hemp rope.

Right - A beautiful knife for a sailmaker with hitched sheath by Yngve Edell.

Overleaf - Medicine bag drawstrings in braided leather by Mike Storch.

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Turks Head Knots With Three Leads and 3, 6, 9, ... Bights Tied as Mats

by Jesse Coleman

n a previous note, I discussed how totie the 3L X 6B Turk’s head knot. Inthis note, we will see how to tie other

Turk’s head knots in the family ofTHK’s with three leads and bightsnumbering 3, 6, 9, 12, etc., or B = 3n,where n = 1, 2, 3, etc. I provide drawingsin this note for the 3L X 3B, 3L X 9B,and the 3L X 12B THK’s, shown asmats. The drawings for larger knots inthis family become too difficult for me todraw. Besides, there are an infinitenumber of knots in this series and I hadto stop at some point.

The rule of the greatest commondivisor states: “The number of cordsneeded to tie a THK is the greatestcommon divisor of the number of bightsand the number of leads in the THK.”The number of leads in this knot is three.Three is divisible by the integers 1 and 3.The number of bights is 3n, n = 1, 2, 3,

etc. This number is divisible by theintegers 1, 3 and n. The largest numberthat is in both of these two sets ofnumbers (1, 3 and 1, 3, n) is three.Therefore, three is the greatest commondivisor of 3 and 3n. Thus, three cords arerequired to tie the knots in this series ofTHK’s.

The 3L X 3B THKCords of any colour may be used.

Let’s call them red, white and blue. Webegin with the simplest THK in thisseries, the 3L X 3B THK. First, lay around loop of red cord on the table, asshown in figure 1. Surely this is the 1LX 1B THK, the simplest of all THK’s.Next, lay a loop of white cord over thefirst cord, as shown in figure 2. Now,weave the blue cord through the first twocords, as shown in figure 3. The finished

II

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knot is shown in figure 4. When I workup a THK in mat form on the table, I use

tape to hold cords in place while I addmore cords.

The 3L X 9B THKTo tie the 3L X 9B THK, lay a

triangular loop of red cord on the table,as shown in figure 5. Next, lay a similartriangle of white cord over the redtriangular loop, as shown in figure 6.Now, weave the blue cord through thefirst two cords, as shown in figure 7. Thefinished knot is shown in figure 8.

The 3L X 12B THKTo tie the 3L X 12B THK, lay a square

loop of red cord on the table, as shown infigure 9. Next, lay a similar square ofwhite cord over the red square loop, asshown in figure 10. Now, weave the bluecord through the first two cords, asshown in figure 11. The finished knot isshown in figure 12.

Each cord in each of these completedTHK’s follow the usual over-and-underpattern of all THK’s.

You can see how this is easily beextended to the next THK in the series,the 3L X 15B THK. Use five sided loopsof cord and proceed as before. Lay thefirst loop on the table. Lay the next oneon top of the first, being sure that thecorners overlap properly. Then weavethe third cord in the first two, being sureto maintain the over-and-under weave. Ihope that extensions to larger THK’s inthe series are evident, because I can’tdraw the tedious figures.

All Turks head knots with three leadswill have bights numbering: B = 3n, or B= 3n + 1, or B = 3n + 2, where n = 0, 1,2, 3, etc. Those THK’s with B = 3n + 1or 3n + 2 are single-strand THK’s

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because the greatest common divisor of3 and 3n + 1 or 3n + 2 is one. Thus, theonly multi-strand THK with three leadswill be tied with three cords and may betied with the method described in this

note. (OK, OK, I can tie a 3L X 1B THKand a 3L X 2B THK, but I don’t think a3L X 0B THK exists, but I had to findsome formula to express all this.)

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The following article is an interviewwith Clifford W. Ashley by the BostonTraveler on Thursday, June 13, 1929.Ashley’s daughter, Phoebe AshleyChardon, found the article recently andgave this copy to Brian Field. It isreprinted with permission of the BostonHerald.

Ashley Astonishes Experts by Accomplishing the

“Impossible”

He talks amiably, is a genius withcanvas colors and can tie a knot such asyou never saw before; he has written allabout whalers after having served hisapprenticeship on the rolling deepaboard a far-famed old veteran of thechase, the whaling bark Sunbeam.

COLLECTOR OF ANTIQUESHe smokes a well tanned pipe, drives

a racing car, has invented a machine thatbraids a kind of triangular shaped ropethat experts said never could be made,and is a collector of antiques that many aconnoisseur would go half round theworld to see.

He is the single youngster (at 47 yearsof age) who perhaps more than any otherperson has served to keep theatmosphere of whaling, the whaling shipand the whaling port of New Bedfordalive and dramatic and interesting.

His name is Clifford W. Ashley and alot of his marine and particularlywhaling canvases are hung in museumsthat the antiquarians swear by.

But more than that, if you are a sailor-minded in the least, you will stop and

overstay the ordinary visitor’s welcomein the beautiful but ancient studio wherehe works summers at 2 WashingtonStreet, Fairhaven, a studio that overlooksNew Bedford harbor, to see him tieknots.

EXPERT ON KNOTSFor the painter is something of a

Houdini too in his magical skill withstrands of rope.

He will tie you a knot out of a clear skysuch as no one among all the fraternityever dreamed of and it will prove afanciful, a fantastic or an artistic knot -for he carries imagination also into thisphase of his abilities.

The world listened and wonderedwhile Luther Burbank crossed fruits andobtained new hybrids.

It is perhaps not less magical towitness this wizard of knot-tyingdeveloping hybrid knots.

Without boasting in the least he tellsyou: “I am a person who makes knots‘synthetically’.” He does, a brief visit tohis studio disclosed. You may be an outand out tyro at knots. Yet there can be nomistaking the wizardry of this man’sfingers and brain.

He takes three, 10, or 100 strands andweaves them into flat, round, square, oroblong knots and braids; he makes abraided rope where the many strandsweave in and out in almost unendingseries - makes a flat, a triangular, around, a four-sided rope at your behest.

HYBRID KNOTSSome of the samples that lie round the

generous-sized studio and litter a large

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pasteboard box required hours of patientattention and painstaking effort to deviseand create.

The painter-knot-tyer will tell you thatthe hybrid knot comes as naturally as thehybrid flower or fruit.

“You get one of the old-time standardknots like the Turkshead, for instance,and ‘cross it’ with another old-time knot.Then you have the start of an entirelynew series of knots.”

He dips into one of his receptacles forrope and twine and pulls out a quartet iflittle knots - knot heads you might callthem - “Chinese button knots!” headvises. “You perhaps call them pajamaknots. These four were crossed with theso-called manrope knots and I obtained anice new series of button knots andanother of manrope knots.”

The knot-tyer will advise you thatback of the act of tying a knot is amathematical principle. Starting withone or the other of the list of sailor’sknots you cross with one or the other ofthe list and at each crossing, followingthe principle always, you have sproutedan entirely new family of knots.

STARTED YOUNGAshley developed his new science

from a very early boyhood.He will tell you that he was tying

knots when he was 4.He sailed from New Bedford on the

Swan Song voyage of the whaling barkSunbeam, beautiful Maverick of theonce magnificent whaling fleet. Hehelped with the sextant, he stood a tricknow and then at the wheel and in thecrow’s nest; he studied whaling and

sailoring aboard the whaler under themicroscope.

A shellback may have grinned at theyoungster with his camera, his habit ofsquatting on deck with a lot of rope onhand sizing up varying shipboard knots -or making notes in a small book.

He went out in the whaleboat with theveterans and manned an oar. He eventried his hand at hurling the harpoon andthe keen edged lance as the closing inand death of the animal.

ACQUIRES FAME AS ARTIST

Then he materialized in New Bedfordonce more; startled the town and thewhaling world with his book on whaling- became a figure because of his

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canvases produced in rapid-fire orderrelative to a 1000 scenes of the chase ofthe mammal.

Eventually, however, his namebecame to knots.

At exhibitions his baffling genius inknot creations and the braiding greatnumbers of strands into harmoniouslywrought shapes drew marked attention.

Today he says: “I am always gladwhen any one gives me a new purposefor a knot. I have something to work toand the desired knot can certainly bemade.

“Every once in a while I run out ofideas for knots. Then I get a new idea andI start out on a whole new series.”

Recently a New Orleans expert wrotea lengthy essay on braids, explainingwith great care the impossibility ofmaking a triangular braid. It simplycould not be done - was outside thehuman skill.

In 20 minutes the Fairhaven artist tyedone of eight strands. Shortly there afterhe made a long braid of 100 strands, aperfect triangle in shape, and laterdevised a machine that would make justsuch a rope.

“I spent several nights,” he said,“deciding whether I would go into therope making and manufacturingbusiness, as I was urged to do, or stick tomy painting and knot-tying. Painting andknot-tying at home won.”

Ashley makes his headquarters part ofthe year at Wilmington, Del. This fallanother of his books, “Whaleships ofNew Bedford.” will be published.

The Mooring

Hitch

By Brian Jarrett

hen tying a hitch used formooring a boat, one of thepreferred hitches is the Clove

Hitch. It is popular because there areseveral ways of tying it.

If you are tying up to a vertical postthe quick and easy way of tying a CloveHitch is by forming two vertical loopsand placing this formation over the post.A method we all know!

For some time, I have demonstratedthe tying of a Mooring Hitch (Ashley#1191) using the method in the AshleyBook of Knots. One of the limitations inits use is that the two ends of the ropehave to be pulled through the formedbight. Ask any yachtsman? Pulling allthat rope through is impractical.

Herewith then is another method oftying a mooring hitch without pulling therope through the bight.

The mooring post is fitted as shown in‘C’ with the double-ended arrow.

W

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A Clever Binding Method by Thomas Simpson

ack in Victorian times when plugtobacco was a popular custom, aship’s company (to save costs)

would club together and buy bales ofcured, premium graded, Virginia leaf.Certain seamen within the ship’scompany were recognised “high rollers”,they would roll the plugs for all handsand their payment was an extra tobaccoshare. The tobacco was so tightlycompressed that commercial plugmaking machinery, supplied to thetobacco trade, couldn’t better theseamen’s plugs.

This clever binding method (now onthe very brink of extinction) was shownto me fifty years ago by a Board of ofTrade acquaintance - an old bath wallahfrom Bombay. It’s very adaptable andlends itself to other binding tasks - itcertainly doesn’t deserve to disappearfrom use. All that’s required to set it upare two anchor points (about three feethigh), between which tension isintroduced. I’ll describe it in its familiarshipboard setting.

Run off a length of suitable bindingmaterial from its source (no need to cutit). Pass the end under and then back overthe top of a ship’s rail, back off the railabout six to eight feet, holding the twoparts of the binding material - leaving abight around the rail.

With the end of the binding materialpass three turns around the object to bebound (as though starting a whipping).As this strand is coming from the top of

the rail make sure it winds on over theton of the object to be bound. With theother part of binding material (comingfrom under the rail) make a round turnleadint under the object to be bound. Atthis time it’s a good idea (if workingsolo) to wrap a narrow strip of papermasking tape around the fragile initialbindings, this holds the turns in place andprevents them spilling, whilst carryingout the next step.

Run the strand (from the round turn) ina straight line to a convenient anchorpoint, which should be roughly three feetabove the deck; make a bight fast, insuch a manner, that the overall run fromthe rail is hanging in a slight sagging arc(not tensioned).

Now straddle (stand astride) thebinding material, facing the object to bebound, remove the masking tape,carefully readjust and tighten the turns,take the slack out of the sagging arc bymoving the object to be bound a littlefurther from the rail (towards the anchorpoint). Lift the binding object up towardsyou so that the binding material tensionscarefully and comfortably into yourcrotch. It’s quite surprising how littletension is required to obtain a tightbinding. You can face either way whenstraddling, I’m under the impression thatI have more control over the bindingwith my back to the rail (straddling thebight) - try it facing both ways.

Whilst lifting the binding object uptowards you, to increase tension, twist it

B

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(in a circular motion) to advance thebinding. Ideally the two windings shouldbe close to each other, the round turn is asurging turn (a slipping turn) - adding abraking effect - controlled by the amountof tension applied.

On reaching the required bindinglength, tape up, more securely thanearlier (to hold everything tightly inplace), disconnect the anchored bight,and carefully maintaining tension, dc-tape, remove the round turn, and finishoff as though completing a whipping -winding the last 3 or 4 turns, welltensioned, on a bight

Looking around your own environsyou will soon identify a suitable workingsite. For a first, tentative “hands on”rehearsal, you can work with the anchorpoints closer than normal - as close as sixfeet apart. You will only require 12-15feet of binding material, a short piece ofbroom handle, and paper masking tape.The entertainment value is increased bythe absence of a drawing (believe me) -an interesting hour is guaranteed.

BranchLines

FranceA meeting for the French branch has

been organized for the 16-17 March2002. This is the third weekend ofMarch, like last year. Hopefully this willbecome an annual event held at the sameperiod every year. The site for themeeting will be in Douarnenez.Accommodation has been organized forunder 200 francs (it will be Euros in fact)a day full board, reservations in advance.A big knot dinner will be held on theSaturday evening, let’s hope there willbe a lot of knotters. Contact GrahamMacLachlan on tel/fax (00 33) (0) 2 3307 67 04.

Graham MacLachlan

Texas BranchSome members of the Texas Branch

(TxB) recently attended the NAB-2001in Rockport, Texas. The Texasdelegation included:

Ed BakerRob HigginsCharlie HolmesWayne and Kay Lewis

ROPE ENDSROPE ENDS‘I am not sure but it would be safe

to state that the real differencebetween civilized and savage manconsists largely in the knowledge ofknots and rope work ... Columbushimself would have been far morehandicapped without knots thanwithout a compass.’

(A. Hyatt Verrill, Knots, Splicesand Rope-Work - New York, 1912)

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Sam and Missie LanhamGary and Barbara SessionsThe weather was nice, that is to say

not too hot and the Texas MaritimeMuseum was an excellent venue for theour displays. We were never overrunwith visitors but the few who did appearwere appropriately appreciative. JohnBurke had arranged for a hospitalityroom at the Best Western Motel, whichwas the event headquarters, and weconvened there whenever we weren’t atthe Museum or eating some of the finesea food available in the Rockport area.

Congratulations to John and KayBurke and all of the NAB crew on a jobwell done.

Gary C. Sessions

‘Old Tar’ Lee Johnson of Brighton MI

East Anglian BranchOn a pleasant autumnal Saturday

afternoon 22nd September, sixteenstalwart members of the East AnglianBranch gathered once again at theEducation Room of the Museum of EastAnglian Life for our half annual meeting.

We enjoyed a convivial ‘hands-on’workshop about ‘net making’ and‘hammocks’ which I presented ablyassisted by our knowledgeable memberwith the ‘red beret’ Des Pawson whommost other members world wide, know.

We rigged a jackstay across the roomwith hanging jig/frames there-from andindulged ourselves in creating differingknot meshes e.g. the traditional meshknot (sheet bend), overhand bends andgranny knots. We made a few tiers ofmeshes for effect, to satisfy ourselvesthat we could do-it.

Des produced an excellent example ofa ‘netted hammock’ that he had collectedfor his museum and I produced my firstever effort at ‘netting’ in the form of ahammock 6’x 3’ made of 3mm bluepolypropylene with 8mm head; foot andside ropes. Not the best material to usefor the finished job, but economical fortraining purposes. As an old fishermansaid to me “All you are doing is makingholes in rope!” I must admit that myefforts need honing and refiningsomewhat.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday23rd March 2002 at the same venue. The‘hands-on’ workshop topic will be‘Needle Hitching’ presented by Liz andDes Pawson; details of which will, bepromulgated in the next member’scircular letter confirming that meeting.Regards from our members to allworldwide.

John Halifax

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West Country KnottersIn early July the West Country

Knotters put on a static display ofropework in the library at Burnham onSea. This is the third time we have put ona display at the library and it seems tohave generated moderate interest. I say‘moderate’ because people make allsorts of favourable comments but leave itat that. The object of the exercise is to tryand motivate an interest in ropework, butpeople seem to shy off for some reason.The display was in the front window ofthe library and was on view for twoweeks.

At the end of July some members ofthe Branch took part in the BurnhamArea Rescue Boat annual gatheringcelebrating the building of the lifeboatstation by Anneka Rice in her‘Challenge’ programme. This year wehoped to give a good representation ofthe Guild with a ‘hands on’demonstration of practical anddecorative ropework and this wecertainly did! Richard Hopkins broughthis six-knot challenge and Europa ChangDawson was helping in own inimitable

way of drawing visitors to the displays,and teaching them bits and pieces ofropework. ‘Jumper’ Collins, aided by hisgood lady Babs, was in fine fettle withhis superb display of decorative work,including lampshades and sea chesthandles.

Another addition to our gathering wasa display by Dan Hillman. He has built,into a car trailer, a replica of a twomasted brig. The replica is fully riggedand is used to help teach youngsters thebasics of tall ship sailing.

We have recently held a branchmeeting and among the formal matterswere a couple of items that may be ofinterest to readers of Knotting Matters.The first concerns Denis Murphy who iswell known in knotting circles. Themembers of the West Country Knottershad agreed that Denis should be made anHonorary Member of the branch. VernonHughes, our chairman, presented Deniswith a framed certificate of HonoraryMembership saying that it was inrecognition of Denis’s long interest in,and support of, knotting at local andnational level.

The second item was a report fromRichard Hopkins saying that he washelping in a reconstruction of a chariotusing rawhide knotting for the BBCprogramme ‘Meet the Ancestors’. Heshowed members copies of photographsof the knots used and of the chariot. Theprogramme he thinks will be broadcaston BBC 2 during March 2002.

Dave Pusill & Tug Shipp

Pacific Americas BranchOn The weekend of September 8th

and 9th the PAB attended the Tall Ships

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Festival at Dana Point Harbor here inSouthern California. This is the highpoint on the knot calendar and we try tomake it there every year. The OrangeCounty Marine Institute is undergoing achange and growing into the OceanInstitute. There is a lot of constructiongoing on and so this year the Festivalwas held across the harbor on the grassnext to the Baby Beach. This made itvery nice being under the trees andeveryone enjoyed the change of venue.Lindsey Philpott did the yeoman work ofmanning the display for both days aswell as carrying on the Knot TyingContest. A number of the sailors gave ita good try and it was unbelievablewatching how fast they could form thosesix knots. The winner was BobbyNelson who first beat the time thatJennifer Spearel set last year of 17.14swith his first time of the day at 17.12s.Not satisfied with just beating her timeby two hundredths of a second, he wenton to get a crowd-pleasing time of16.28s.

Charlie Bell showed up both days withhis Bell Rope display. This is a very eyecatching collection with a complete lineof bell ropes made by Charlie over thelast several months. They are both thecontinuous and the covered type of bellrope. Everyone admired theworkmanship; it would have madeCaptain Harrison proud. JoeSchmidbauer showed up to help out onSunday and helped to answer the manyquestions about marlinspikes andmanrope knots.

Yvonne Chang, one of our residentexperts in Chinese Knotting, will appearon the satellite station DIY Network onWednesday, October 3rd and 7th. Shewill appear on the show “Crafts FromAround the World”. The idea is to show

viewers how to do any craft project in oraround their home. They also have acompanion web site at www.diynet.comthat will also show a sampling ofYvonne’s work.

Our regular monthly meeting wasinterrupted on September by theamazing events taking place in NewYork City. Hopefully we will be able toresume them again to begin sharing ourknot knowledge. Lindsey Philpott hasstarted a new venture of caning seats anddoing rush weaving. His first smallproject will be footstool in rushwork andthen his dining room chairs will be hisfirst caning project. It will be interestingto see it all when he shares it with us at afuture gathering.

The next event for our knot display isthe Cabrillo Aquarium Festival of theSea on October 21st. We will tell moreabout this in the next issue.

Joe Schmidbauer & Lindsey Philpott

Solent BranchPerhaps the most significant

achievement of the Solent Branch in thelast year, has been the increase in GuildMembers in the area. Now just one yearold the branch has had four well attendedmeetings, the latest in early October tookthe form of a short semi-formal meetingfollowed by a “Show and Tell” for oneminute on the subject of unusual orhandy tools, materials or hints by eachattendee. From hand held vices toclothes pegs, rug hooks to wire loops,breaking small line to tool rolls, handmade netting needles and bamboofids.This was followed by groupworkshops on Bell Ropes, Braiding anda Pot-pourri of knots, bends and hitches.

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Ken Yalden with children trying the six knot challenge at Queen

Elizabeth Country Park.

A busy summer season saw Solentmembers, out and about at a local school,WI meetings and a luncheon club, all ofwhich raised funds for both the Guildand the Branch. Recruiting shows,where we were often supported by thestalwarts from other branches, included aNautical day in Fareham, the QueenElizabeth Country Park Fair, the Earl ofSouthampton’s Show, Fareham GalaDay, the International Festival of the Seaand a Victoriana day at BurseldonBrickworks. Bob Pearce also had a five-minute spot on local television. Just twomore events are planned for this year, theJunior Shell Club and Lymington SailingClub. We are now looking forward tonext year and meeting you all at theAGM and 20th Birthday Party.

Gordon J Perry

Kent & SE areaThe third gathering of Guild members

in this region, organized by Derek

Chipperfield, took place on Sunday,23rd September 2001,at ChathamHistoric Dockyard beside the tidal RiverMedway, in one of the 18th centurybuildings attached to the workingRopery.

A total of 15 enjoyed the free-&-easyatmosphere, along with a looselystructured programme of activitieswhich included: a review of knot booksand booklets since 1982 (by GeoffreyBudworth, decently excluding his own);tying Turks’ Heads (Europa Chang,Albert Southerden and Bob Stroud);braided picture frames (Jeff Wyatt);Spanish hitching (Geoffrey again); andblocks-&-tackles (Derek).

Those present also had a chance to see- and take away printed instructions fortying - the unorthodox folded, stepped orwrapped Matthew Walker knot recentlydiscovered by Sam Lanham ofFredericksburg, Texas, USA.

But, as always, just as much fun washad from the contents of individualplastic carrier bags which, when emptiedout, became the subjects of numerousinformal show-&-tell sessions.

Reported by our Stringer in thesouth-east

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PostbagThe views expressed in reader’s letter do notnecessarily reflect those of the Council. The Editorreserves the right to shorten any letter as necessary.

Response on Two ArticlesConcerning the article in KM71 p4 byRichard Hopkins on the subject of Knotsin Heraldry. Readers interested in thissubject are commended to refer to BrianLamb’s article in KM33 (Autumn 1990),my follow up article in KM35 (Spring1991) and of course the result ofRichards own researches in KM55(March 1997).

Query on the article by Olivier Peron(KM 71 p14) first column, what or whois a palm tree braider?

Roger CarterPlimmerton, New Zealand

Ropewalk ExhibitionIn North Lincolnshire, at Barton onHumber right under the southern end ofthe Humber Bridge lies the old HallsBarton Ropery a magnificent longbuilding which closed in 1987. Thisbuilding has recently reopened theROPEWALK art gallery and craftcentre. There is a small display onropemaking as carried on at the site andit is worth dropping by if you are in thearea to see this and the very finebuilding.Ropewalk Contemporary Arts and CraftThe Ropewalk,Maltkiln Road

Barton on HumberNorth LincolnshireDN18 5JTPhone 01652 660380www.the-ropewalk.com

Opening hours Tuesday - Saturday10am-5pm

Sunday & Bank holidays 10am-4pmIn Barton there is also the Baysgarth

House Museum that has I am told a smalldisplay on ropemaking as well.

This museum is open Thursday,Friday and bank holidays 1030am -3.30pm Saturdays and Sundays 1030am-4.30pm.

Des PawsonIpswich, England

Ashley gives me the humpI was recently reminiscing of my days asa young seaman on board the ORIENTLiners and the CASTLE boats during thelate forties and early fifties, and wasthinking of the times when we had to rigawnings for the passengers dances on theafterdecks. We spread the awnings outover the wooden mainframe or wire,unfurled the awning sideways, andlashed the awning to the tensioned wirespreviously rigged.

Each eyelet set along the awning edgehad a rope tail spliced in about a yardlong (measured in feet not centimetres).The rope tails were lashed to the side-wires using an awning knot. I decided tocheck out this knot in Ashley’s book butof all the knots marked awning knot,namely #19, 304, 310, 325 and 411, none

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showed anything like the hitch I wastaught as a youth. Moreover, none of hishitches/knots shows an awning attachedto any of the knots.

Searching through his book I found asimilar knot #215 called a CAMEL knot.If you can imagine the rope tail beingpassed over the wire and back throughthe eyelet a couple of times, then hovetight (like a tackle) then over the wireand back up and across the lashing and aslipped half knot placed on the wire stayto hold the lashing tight. When it wasrequired to let go the awing in a hurry allwe did was pulled on the free end of theslipknot and everything collapsed takingthe strain off the awning immediately.

Looking through the Manual ofSeamanship (1901) 1 see my awninghitch in a clear diagram. Whilst in theManual of seamanship, I looked up twoother hitches. The midshipman’s hitchwhich is used instead of the blackwallhitch around a cargo hook and not assuggested by Ashley as a companion tothe rolling hitch. And I looked up therolling hitch itself that is often mixed upwith midshipman’s hitch in Ashley. Theabove Manual and the BoatswainsManual (1944/46) both show the rollinghitch quite clearly as knot No 1735 not1734.

I have hung my life on the Navyrolling hitch and would use no other. Iwas also examined on this knot by aboard of trade examiner for my EfficientDeckhand Certificate.

The rolling hitch is different from theMidshipman’s hitch or Magnus hitch orindeed the camel hitch.

Incidentally, has anyone out thereblacked down the main forestay of apassenger ship? I did just that on BoxingDay 1948 in Naples aged eighteen. Whatan experience.

As for Gordon Perry (Old saltsPostbag KM 70) Yes I’ve helped set up abull rope to a derrick. And madeSNOTTERS.

Yours with the small hump.Peter Hughes.... Ex AB.EDH.

Erith, U.K.

Little Bo-PeepI know this is not a knotting matter, butcan anyone confirm the followingversion of the nursery rhyme “Little Bo-Peep” to be fact.

In an article in the Oregon CoastMagazine, it is claimed that the rhymehas a seagoing connection. The articlecomes from a review of the book Jargonof the Sea. They say that a short distancefrom Hastings, England lies a smallseacoast area known as Bo-peep, whichwas a favourite landing spot forsmugglers.

Customs officers hiding in theshrubbery waiting for the smugglers,because of their bobbing and peepingover obstacles became known as Bo-peepers.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe what Iread.

Clint FunkMcMimnville, Oregon

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New Knot?Can anyone help me? Is there a name

for this knot, as I cannot find it in anyknot books that I have seen.

R. G. RobertsonLerwick, Shetland Islands

On early Ropemaking ToolsThere is a good deal to be said about thetool discussed in KM72 by RichardHopkins.

Another Egyptian representation of itwas announced in E Mackay’s Note on anew tomb (No 260) at Droh Aba’l Maga,Thebes, J Egypt Arch III (1916) p125-126 and plate XV. Mackay observed thesame tool in use by contemporaryEgyptians and a photograph isreproduced there.

More recently Emily Teeter reviewedthis and other evidence of Egyptianropemaking in Techniques andTerminology of Ropemaking in AncientEgypt, The Journal of EgyptianArchaeology Vol 73 p71-78 (TheEgyptian Exploration Society London1987). Emily Teeter took the view thatthe early tool differed from the morerecent photograph in having a heavyweight and cord rather than the bar ofWilkinson’s description.

I have experimented with both theseforms of the tool. Both work, but thecord and weight version is considerablymore awkward to use and I would needsome convincing that it was used inpractice.

The best illustration I have seen ofMackay’s find is in T.G.H JamesEgyptian Painting and Drawing, BritishMuseum 1985, which reproduces awatercolour copy of the original.

On the other side of the world,Pioneering. Boy Scouts of America MeritBadge Series shows the tool and says itwas used around about AD 1200 byNative Americans. I would be interestedto know what evidence there is for Pre-Columbian use. The situation isconfused because the tool survived onthe Iberian peninsular until modern

45

times. Des Pawson has photographed thetool in use to make three-strand rope, inPortugal. It seems likely that the toolaccompanied the Spanish to the newworld.

As evidence for this, the tool survivesin Texas as the ‘tarrabee’. I have seen areference on the Web to its adoption byNative Americans, from the Spanish, tospin hair moss. There it was called thetarabi.

The tool appears again as the ‘taravia’in Making Horsehair Rope by DianeGadway and Richard Schneider (1993).This is a booklet with accompanyingvideo that shows the taravia in useMexico for spinning yarn and formingstrands in the making of horeshair rope.

I have not found ‘taravia’ in a Spanishdictionary. However a plausibleetymology would be from the Latin‘terebra’ meaning a gimlet.

There are a number of similar tools.The one found in Britain and Irelandseems to have been the wimble. This wasthe subject of articles by R U Sayce in1939 ( in a Swedish journal Folkliv) andagain by Alexander Fenton in Gwerin in1961. Sayce was unable to find thewimble used on continental Europe, sothere seems to have been a good deal oflocal variation in this type of tool.

Murray PeakeBendigo, Australia

A Knot by any other name.....Some knots are known by more than onename, and some names are used for morethan one knot. When you combine this

with geographical and dialectdifferences, illustrators inadequacies,and vocabulary variations, you have theperfect recipe for confusion and errors inknotting literature.

It seems that even Knotmaster mayhave fallen victim to this multiplicity ofknots and names! I feel that the “OsselKnot” shown in Knotmaster Series No10 in KM72 would be better described asa Net-Line Knot as shown in The KnotBook by Geoffrey Budworth anddescribed in The ABOK as a Net-LineKnot (and hitch!) from Looe.

The Ossel Knot is illustrated in KnotsTies and Splices by Chas. L. Spencer, inNets, How To Make and Preserve Themby G.A. Stevens, and also in TheUltimate Encyclopedia of Knots andRopework by Geoffrey Budworth as wellas in other books. These publications allclearly show an additional turn aroundthe headline on the other side of thestanding end of the ossel from the firsttwo turns, before the working endcrosses over and tucks beneath the firstturn.

To further add to the confusion Osselsmay also be called Ossils, Osils, Ossles,Norsals, Norsells ,Nossles, or Daffins.They are defined by John Garner as:

1.Short lines connecting the top edgeof a net (especially a drift net) to theheadline or leadline and

2.A Gangen as used in long lining mayalso be called a Norsal and vice versa.

The Ossel Hitch shown in KnotmasterNo 10 is as illustrated in most otherreference books and does not appear sosubject to variation in form anddescription other than sometimes beingreferred to as an Ossel Knot!

Maurice SmithWheaton Aston, UK.

46

Rope Making MuseumThere is a small museum about ropemaking and the traditions around it in thecentre of the Netherlands.

It is a small museum, aimed at peoplewho know nothing about rope. Theexplanation texts are in Dutch andEnglish, and there is a good video onhow rope used to be made. It is a nicelittle museum, worth visiting if you arenear.Stichting Touwmuseum DEBAANSCHUURReijersteeg 4 OudewaterThe Netherlands, +31 (0) 348-56 78 32

Open 1 April - 1 November, Tuesday- Saturday 10.00 - 17.00 Sunday andHolidays 12.00 - 17.00.

Entry adults fl 3.00 (1.36 Euro).Willeke van der Ham

Noord, Holland

Jumbo FendersLiz and I were sailing in the Baltic

with Sten Johansson and took this photo.

It is a jumbo fender on the stems of themost modern of icebreakers in Helsinki.

The purpose of the fenders is toprotect the stem of the icebreaker and thebow of the ship it is towing, should theicebreaker come to a sudden stop inheavy ice. It always pleases me to seetraditional practice in a modem situation.These could be call giant sword matsusing the heaviest of mooring ortowropes as the warp with a weft ofsmaller ropes or wire rope.

Des PawsonIpswich, England

Do You Make Knives?I would be interested to hear fromanyone who has an interest or would liketo have a go at knifemaking?

Yngve EdellGavle, Sweden

47

Knotting DiaryAGM’s & 1/2 YEARLY MEETINGS

IGKT 20th Birthday CelebrationsFareham, Hampshire20th - 25th May 2002Contact Ken YaldenTel: 023 9257 8603E-mail: kennethyalden@lineone.net

IGKT Half-yearly Meeting Hanover International Hotel,Bromsgrove, Worcestershire11th - 13th October 2002Contact: Bruce TurleyTel: 0121 453 4124E-mail: 106077.1156@compuserve.com

BRANCH MEETINGS

French Branch16th - 17th March 2002DouarnenezContact: Graham McLachlanTel: (0) 233 076704E-mail: ile.tatihou@cg50.fr

East Anglian Branch23rd March 2002Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket, SuffolkContact John HalifaxTel: 01502 519123

EVENTS

Knotting ExtravaganzaLiverpool Maritime Museum16th - 17th February 2002Contact: David WalkerTel: 01244 682117

SECRETARY:Nigel Harding16 Egles Grove,Uckfield,Sussex, TH22 2BYTel: 01825 760425E-mail: nigel@nigelharding.demon.co.uk

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Full page £32 £49Half page £19 £22Quarter Page £10 £15

48

Guild SuppliesPrice List 2001

Item Price

Geoffrey BudworthNotlore a miscellany of quotes from fact and fiction £2.50The Knot Book £3.99Plaited Moebius Bands £2.50

Brian FieldBreastplate Designs £2.50Concerning Crosses £1.50

Eric FranklinTurksheads the Traditional Way £1.50 *Nylon Novelties £2.00 *

Stuart GraingerKnotcraft £3.60 *Ropefolk £1.30 *Turks Head Alternatives £2.20 *Creative Ropecraft (Hardback - 3rd Ed.) £9.95Knotted Fabrics Hardback price includes UK postage £9.00

John HalifaxSomething Different with over 50 Button Knots £3.20

Colin JonesThe DIY Book of Fenders £9.95

Harold ScottOn Various Cruxiform Turks Heads £2.50Sliding Template Method for Designing Cruciform Turks-Heads Vol. 2 £3.00

IGKTKnotting Matters copies of past editions £2.50

(Some past editions available - contact the Secretary for details)*bulk purchases of these items available at a discount - phone for details

Cheques payable to IGKT, or simply send your credit card detailsPS Don’t forget to allow for Postage

Supplies Secretary: - Bruce Turley19 Windmill Avenue, Rubery, Birmingham B45 9SP

email 106077.11 56@compuserve.com.Telephone: 0121 453 4124

Printed by Gipping Press, Needham arket. Tel: (0449) 721599. Fax: (0449) 721372