Page 68 - Frank Rosenow "Seagoing Knots"

On board Margaret I also noticed the skipper’s duffel bag which had a

flip-over top which neatly closed with a couple of toggles.

i_2 BAc.

As it happens, lark’s heads and toggles make an interesting and useful
combination.
In the drawing, lines have been joined with, from top to bottom:

Toggled bight
Toggle and eye
Bight and eye

Either way, you have a connection that can be cast off in a moment by
withdrawing the toggle. There must, of course, be a harmony between the
size of the lines, bights, and toggles. The more snugly they can be worked,
the more reliable the arrangement.

The toggle must be carved from sound hardwood such as oak or hickory
and may be fattened in the middle to allow a groove without impeding its
strength.
The traditional sailing ships used toggles aloft and on deck but these
days even the duffel coat seems to be on the skids. The more the pity, as
many a fixed-length lashing, on deck at least, could be well secured with a
toggle or toggle-and-lark’s-head arrangement. Even “Tarbrush” would
approve, I warrant.
The name of the knot has no relevance unless you take Professor Ohr-
wall’s point of view and consider that the completed knot, viewed from the
side, is reminiscent of a bird’s head.

To give your imagination even freer rein, consider the Italian name of
the knot: “boca di lupo,” which suggests the mouth of a wolf!

SEAGOING KNOTS