Page 88 - Des Pawson "Des Pawson's Knot Craft" 2 edit.

KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 87

A Sailor’s Whisk

AILORS WOULD SWAB THE decks daily using giant swabs made
Sfrom old rope. They would wash the dishes with a miniature
version of the deck swab. The table in the fo’c’s’le would be kept
clean with a whisk made from an odd end of rope. There are a
number of ideas as to how these would look in The Ashley Book
of Knots. This design is based on a whisk brought to me from
Nova Scotia. The actual whisk is quickly tied but it takes a while
to unlay and comb out the yarns. It should be made from a hard
fibre rope such as manila or sisal. I usually use 18mm manila;
anything smaller is a bit on the mean side. I have made them
with 24mm rope but the combing time is much longer. Once
I made a giant whisk in 48mm sisal; it took ages to comb out but
looked very handsome.

MATERIALS 850mm of 18mm manila or sisal 3 strand rope

KNOTS USED Constrictor knot: page 9
Wall knot + crown knot to make a diamond knot:
diagram a

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