Page 58 - Randy Penn Everything Knots Book

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STOPPER KNOTS

Stopper knots can be used as mallets with a soft striking sur-
face, or they can be treated with shellac to harden them. They also
use up line to make it shorter. Both the Heaving Line Knot and
the Monkey’s Fist have a number of turns that use up line.
Depending on how much shorter a cord needs to be, anything can
be used from an Overhand Knot to a long Heaving Line Knot or
even a coil. They can prevent the end from fraying, although whip-
ping the end, as shown in Chapter 12, is a neater solution. Stopper
knots are used for decoration, and a knot in the end of a cord
can be used as a reminder of something.

ALERT!

The Monkey’s Fist can be dangerous if it hits a bystander
while throwing it to a dock or a person trying to catch it. This
is especially true if extra weight is added in the middle of it.
Sometimes a small bag of sand is used to weight the end of a
line if there is risk of injury.

Multistrand Stopper Knots

Knot tyers long ago figured out that the strands of three-stranded
rope can be unlayed and then tied together to form simple or
complex stopper knots. These knots are characterized by simple
and easy-to-remember patterns for tying, and their woven appear-
ance. On square-rigged sailing ships these knots were used to stop
hands and feet from sliding on ropes. They can also be tied by
binding two or more separate cords together. Multistrand knots
are also used as a form of decorative knot tying. Some knots, like
the Matthew Walker Knot, can serve both decorative and func-
tional purposes.
Multistrand stopper knots can be made in many variations just
by using the Wall and Crown Knots (described later in this
chapter). They can be combined in various orders and can even

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