Monkey's Fist: Final Paper

For many years, knotsmanship was passed down from one generation to the next. It was basic knowledge for every man to know growing up. Knot tying was and still is an essential skill that everyone should know just in case of emergencies. Knot tying can be used in many different occasions like fishing, hiking, mountain climbing, boating, camping, house hold, rescue, rope care, and splicing, medical, military, or just plain decoration. The seven basic knots that were considered basic knowledge of knot tying is the square knot, the bowline, two half stitches, taut line, clove hitch, figure eight knot and sheet bend. I will be explaining some of these knots.

One of my favorite knots is a monkey’s fist. A monkey’s fist is a type of knot, and named it because it looks somewhat like a small bunched fist/paw. The United States Navy is known to use this knot quite often. Monkey’s fist were also commonly used as melee weapons by sailors embroiled in street fights during the 19^th century and the use of the monkey’s fist as a slung shot became common in the street gang in the 19^th century as well. The knot is usually tied around a small weight such as a stone, marble, or a piece of wood. Although it had a different meaning back then, it is used for a different reason nowadays in the military. But now, a monkey’s fist is commonly used as the weight in heaving line. The line would have the monkey fists on one end, an eye splice on the other with about 30 feet of line in between.

Instructions on How to Make a Monkey’s Fist:

Step 1. Make three turns around the hand.

Step 2. Start making turns passing outside the middle of the first three turns.

Step 3. Complete the second three turns.

Step 4. Make three more turns passing inside the first set of turns and outside the second set.

Step 5. Tighten up the knot around the core. Splice or whip the end to the standing part.

Square Knots

A square knot is common knot in which the loose ends are parallel to the standing parts, most often used to join the ends of two cords or lines. This type of knot is the most commonly used and is the most easiest to learn. Here are the steps on how to tie a square knot:

Step 1: Start with two strands of line.

Step 2: Make an “X” by crossing line one over line two.

Step 3: Loop one under two.

Step 4: Bring line one back over line two to form a half knot.

Step 5: Place the top of line one over the top of line two.

Step 6: Bring line one back underneath line two to form an overhand knot.

Step 7: Pull tightly on both all four “parts” emerging from the knot.

Step 8: Make sure the knot looks very neat…

Bowline

This knot is an ancient and simple knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of the loop. It has the virtues of being both easy to tie and untie; it is even easier to untie after being subjected to a load. The bowline is considered the King of Knots because of its importance. The structure of the bowline is similar to the sheet bend knot, except the bowline forms a loop in one rope and the sheet bend joins two ropes. Along with the sheet bend and the clove hitch, the bowline is often considered one of the most essential knots.

Taut Line

It is an adjustable loop knot for use on lines under tension. It is useful when the length of a line will need to be periodically adjusted in order to maintain tension. It is made by tying a rolling hitch around the standing part after passing around an anchor object. Tension is maintained by sliding the hitch to adjust size of the loop, making it change the effective length of the standing part without retying the knot. The adjustable loop forms of the rolling hitch and magnus hitch, in addition to being called either of those two names.

Conclusion

There are so many tactful ways of using knots. Some knots are easy to tie and others are a little more difficult. But either way, knots come in handy on an almost every day basis. Knot tying can be very relaxing and can be a hobby to some people. Knots are something that you can use in any situation if needed.

Works Cited

“Clove Hitch.” 2013. Web. 20 June 2013

http://www.netknots.com/rope_knots/clove-hitch

“Monkey’s Fist.” Wikipedia 16 May 2013. Web. 20 June 2013

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey's_fist

“Knot.” Wikipedia Web. 5 June 2013. 20 June 2013

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knot

“Square Knot.” The Free Dictionary. 2013. Web. 20 June 2013

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/square+knot

“Bowline.” Wikipedia. Web. 11 June 2013. 20 June 2013

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowline

“Taut line Hitch.” Wikipedia Web. 06 June 2013. 20 June 2013