If at first you should suceed

The plan is to carve that (plus some embellishments at the ends that don't translate well to string.. like a spoon bowl ;)).

In practice this is so far beyond anything I've ever done I wouldn't advise holding your breath on an end date :D It took me the better part of a day just to re-figure out how to tie the knots to begin with (and that was with staring at the Ashley book for a while).... I used multiple colors of twine under the theory that it will be easier to follow the threads as they're carved; that did make tying the knots easier on the second pass so there may be something to that.

Knots in order left to right:
  • Double Footrope knot
  • A half knot on each strand
  • A figure 8 on each strand
  • Footrope knot (single)
  • Over 2 under 1 four strand braid, I liked it better than the over 1 under 1, ends up a little rounder.
  • Lanyard knot

The knot above it is a three pass "Monkeys Fist" (actually the easiest to tie other than the half knots and figure 8's). What my rough idea is is to have the strands parted and leave a free floating ball in the center with the monkeys fist carved on it.

Yah gotta have goals even if they're unrealistic...
 
Ryan, my Dad being a veteran of the Royal Navy would be delighted to see someone doing knot work like that these days. I will mention it to him next time i chat to him. He used to tie knots like this around old Pussers rum bottles for people to make lamps out of. Also used the knot Monkeys knot on rope/string keyrings.

Check this site out for knots.

http://www.animatedknots.com/indexdecorative.php?LogoImage=LogoG&Website=

PS they have a neat app for both Android and Iphone that is worth purchasing for few $
 
Last edited:
The animated knots site is pretty nice. I've used it a few times (for some reason the mathew walker is always a challenge for me, it never seems to "look" right).

If you like knots (half as much as I like knots) you NEED the Ashley book: http://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford-W/dp/0385040253
Its actually just a really neat book even if you only have a passing interest its a nice coffee table book, its hand illustrated and was written by someone who had sailed on one of the last old fashioned whaling ships. I take it and some pieces of thin rope on vacation if we're just doing a "hanging out" vacation and try to learn a couple more interesting ones.

If you find that to easy and have worked all the way through it :eek: :rolleyes: :rofl: try this one: http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Knots-Fancy-Rope-Work/dp/0870330217

My dad does cowboy rawhide work of immense complexity so I don't try to compete there (think 16 and 32 strand braids and knots with dozens of passes). A couple of the knots in the Knots-Fancy-Rope-Work book actually stumped him, he figured there was probably no way to recreate them without having the knot in hand and being able to take it apart.
 
Get ready to knowthe exact meaning of the word "sedulously" if you want to carve that.
I carved a ropewith knots on my leek & pepperscarving and I suffered a lot, now that it is finished I'm quite satisfyed with it.
I guess that you want to make some sortof welsh lovespoon aren't you?

Regards
Toni
 
Top