Page 362 - The Ashley Book of Knots

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CHAPTER 29: THE MONKEY'S FIST AND

OTHER KNOT COVERINGS

He sball caste Ye a Knot, Whipstich [sic], in a Twillckling,

as intricate as the Gordian one.

NED WARD: The TVoodell World, 1707

The J\10NKEY'S FIST is a spherical covering with six surface parts

presenting a regular over-one-and-under-one weave. This weave is

commonly doubled or tripled to present an appearance that super-

ficially resembles a TURK's-HEAD. Like the TURK's-HEAD, the knot

is tied with a single strand, but here the resemblance ceases. The

TURK'S-HEAD diagram consists of a single line; the common MON-

KEY'S FIST diagram has three separate lines, which are best repre-

sented by three interlocking circles, in the best Ballantine tradition.

To tie a knot on this diagram with a single strand, it is necessary to

complete each circle in turn-that is, to double or triple it, as the

case may be-and when this has been done to deflect the strand into

another circle which is completed in turn before commencing the

third and last circle.

The first person to picture and name the "MONKEY'S FIST" was E.

N. Little in Log Book Notes (New York, 1888). But no directions

were given for tying. It was adequately described for the first time

by Dr. Cyrus L. Day in 1935.

The knot is used on the end of a heaving line and is commonly tied

over a small heavy ball of stone, iron, tinfoil, lead, marble or glass.

This heavy core is required to carry the weight of the heaving line

when it is cast in a coil from ship to wharf, or from ship to towboat

or lighter.

At sea the knot has been tied in three ways as shown in 'II> 2 200 and

~2202. These three knots, and some of the smaller TURK's-HEADs,

appear to be the only knots of record that have been used for cov-

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enngs.

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