Page 46 - Knots You Need to Know Easy-to-Follow Guide to the 30 Most Useful Knots
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The Monkey’s Fist
Besides being a highly ornamental knot, the monkey’s fist serves the very
practical purpose of weighting the end of a heaving line. The knot
consists of three sets of interlocking round turns, with four turns in each
set. When the knot has been completed—but not yet pulled tight—a
small weight such as a lead ball, a stone or a golf ball is inserted into the
middle. After being pulled tight, the fist can be finished off simply by
splicing the leftover working end into the standing part. In this way, the
fist becomes a permanent part of the heaving line.
Less conventional—but far more useful—is the finishing technique shown
here, in which one turn from the monkey’s fist is extended and then
seized into a permanent loop. The monkey’s fist can then be bent onto
any heaving line as needed.
