Ceeg's comprehensive notes on how to make a fancy knot toggle bail.
Safety notes.
Without quoting paragraph numbers from the safety regs, please be aware that the misuse of these tools and materials, is potentially dangerous.
They should not be used without prior training and a meaningful assessment of the dangers of using them for this specific project. In my day, we used and fully understood the ramifications of the term ,"seaman-like", to encompass these issues.
Materials needed:
2 to 3 feet of twine for temporary seizings
craft knife
pricker tool, like an old pozzi-screwdriver , or marlinspike (only if well versed in its use)
side or end cutting snips
small gripping pliers
4 of pvc covered wires of 20 to 22 inches
( ideally one eighth inch in diam)
This will easily make a 3 or 4 inch long toggle with plenty of slack to work with.
You could use any exremely stiff rope and it will give well defined results, but soft rope, especially soft braid,when worked tightly, will crush and nip itself out of form, particularly on the crossovers. This greatly spoils the finished article.
Just a word on producing good results for this, or any, fancy knot;
All the business of " laying-in" the whole of the structure of the knot, is done slackly.
The final form is due to the gradual tightening and the slow bullying into shape, known as "working"....
You should not attempt to do all the tightening by pulling hard on any one part, especially not at the ends.
Do not attempt to "work" a single strand through the whole length of any circuit at one go.
You start working all the slackness out, by beginning at the very core of the structure and then moving outwards.
When using multi-strands ( as here ), work just a little ( say 6 or 7 mill) of one strand, then do the same to all the others ,before, moving (that same 6 or 7 mill) further along the circuit and through to the end. Then go back to the core and take another pinch...and work that bit ,right the way through all leads, right the way through all of the circuits; all the whiles keeping symmetry.
The final form of almost all fancy knots, is entirely a reflection of how well it was "worked"
In "working", a great advantage is to be able to identify( and keep in you mind) any part of the knot in terms of its sequence in the overall construction.( ie. the rabbit coming out of the burrow) It is easy to understand this, if you dont cross the parts, as they progress around the circuits, and, remember( when doubling) ,that what passes on the left should stay on the left ,completely around the circuit.
To "work"....insert the tip of the pricker under the slack part.
Using the working thumb, trap the slack against the pricker and gently rotate the working hand,clockwise a quarter turn.
Only in the final stage of tightening, is force needed.
Take your time and reckon on having to devote thrice, to the "working", the time it took to "lay-in", the structure.
The gripping pliers are only used for bedding the very last bit of the final tightening.
Knot structure, for over and under, basket weave knots, (as this is), is first "laid-in" as a circuit of simple singular form......and then the bulk and attractiveness, is added by this doubling process. In this example, the leads go right around the whole circuit twice;;which is known as "doubled". You can of course, make even more circuits if you wish. If you go round,yet again, you will have three circuits,(i.e.twice doubled). Each pass of the entire circuit, is a "doubling", not a trebling,quattro-ing, or pentagl-ing!
Doubling more than twice, can lead to some difficulty in working and keeping symmetry and, often, with softer ropes, an internal former of some sort, must be used to maintain shape of the knot.
The good news, is that pvc flex is stiff but low in friction and , if structured (layed-in) properly , with just one or two doublings, will easily conform to shape without the need of effort and no need for this internal former.
Finally, the importance of the seizings cannot be overstressed. Each one must be hove as tight as possible, so as to provide a very firm stopping point, against which, all the tension of the tightening process is forced. This is easily done, by the use of a constrictor knot which, if using non natural fibre thread, is best doubled and then hove very tight with two wooden sticks and the marlinspike hitch.
Such a tightening method, can easily lead to the unexpected breaking of the threads and, in the interests of safety, the wooden sticks are a much safer option than the sharp pointed spike, unless you are very practised.
On to the tying, proper. We start with the terminal knot known as the Manrope Knot . Which is a Wall and Crown knot and, strictly, only gets to be a Manrope Knot when tied in the 4 stranded Manropes rigged outboard of either side of a boarding ladder. This knot is just a crown knot, atop a wall knot. Usually, having unlaid the strands for making the terminal knot, each of the strands would be neatened and stiffened, by tightly sewing over with a fine canvas sleeve.
Pic 1. MATERIALS.
Pic 2. The initial WALL Knot.
Notice the constrictor knot "seizing" the 4 strands together and leaving the 4 working ends about 6 to 8 inches long.
Notice how the Wall initially loops downward and then rises up and trapping to the RIGHT , and leaves all the working ends pointing AWAY from the 4 standing parts.
Pic 3. The CROWN Knot added atop the WALL.
Notice that, like the Wall knot previously, it goes RIGHTHANDED and, UNlike the Wall Knot, the CROWN leads initially Upward before dropping and trapping, to leave the working ends laying toward the standing parts.
Pic 4. Starting to "DOUBLE"
Notice how I've doubled the first of the strands of the Wall knot..see how it rises.
The next strand to "double", is presently just to the right at 4 0 clock and lays just below the horizontal.
But Notice , how ,BOTH,the already doubled strand, AND the next to be doubled, each lay BELOW the lead that they are doubling.
Pic 4a The Wall Doubled
Here, for clarity, I have slightly tightened the structure. Notice how ALL the doublings are below the lead of that first Wall.
Notice how the working ends all rise away from the standing parts, just as when making the first Wall.
Notice, too, how all the working ends are lined up each on the same side, all ready to double the Crown ,"below the lead".
Pic 5 A top veiw at pic 4. See how the working ends line up with the first Crown knot.
Notice how, looking at the top of the structure, there is no visible "below" of the Crown knot, but only a left or a right . The working ends are all on the same side though and, if you visualise the entire structure as being in just a plane projection, you may better see, that to pass the working ends to the right of the existing lead ,is , to pass "below the lead"
Pic 5a Crown knot all doubled. DOUBLING COMPLETED
Notice how all the working ends are pointing toward the standing parts, just as when the first Crown was laid in.
Just to recap, having reached this point, we have;
made a circuit, consisting of a Wall surmounted by a Crown.
doubled the circuit, once......resulting in two leads at each part.
Thats already sufficient enough leads to look good and you could just start working tight at this point.
But.
Neatness requires a better finish so do not just cut off the ends at where they emerge.
For best results, those prominent working ends need to be sunk within the structure, and be arranged to have them emerge somewhere barely noticable.......then cut them off close, only after the knot is worked fully tight
Pic 5b. Shows how all the ends are sunk.
Notice how all the ends which ,in 5a, emerged from the crown doubling; have now been dipped downwards from their emergence, and pass under the two leads of Wall knot directly below: to finally emerge from the inner structure directly adjacent to the seizing on the standing parts.
Pic 6. Top view of sinking the strands.
Notice the symmetry, notice the path of the leads.
At this point, the knot is ready to be worked, as per the introduction notes.
Pic 7. Shows the tightening completed and the seizing already placed to mark the start of the Matt Walker.
The Matthew Walker Knot.....
This is one of the simplest methods of tying it "on-the-table". Though it is one of the most difficult of knots to attempt to describe with words and pictures, it will be of very great help, to understand that this particular form of the MW, is the result of an encompassing overhand knot ,tied seperately in each strand, which takes-in and encloses all of the remaining strands.
The surface appearance of the finished knot, is just an aligned display of the tightened "loops" of these overhand knots; the crossovers of which, are held, interlocking, and concealed within the core.
The "working" of this knot, in this particular material, is mostly done with the fingers alone and, requires the application of a singular degree of bullying into symmetry, and whole-forming, prior to the forementioned methodic way of "working".
To the tying of MW, proper.
At the MW seizing, lay-in a slack Wall knot, as shown in Pic 2.
Notice, in this Pic 2, the path of any working end........all it does, is dip down, trap the part next to the right of itself and then rises upward through the downgoing bight of that same part .
The next step, is to continue, in sequence, each of the working ends and tuck them again, under the bight which lays next to the right of it.
Pic 8, shows the completion of that step.
Notice the differences of structure, between this and Pic 2.
Observe also, the indicated strand and its working end ,and notice how it must yet be tucked twice more, to reach upward, through itself and thus complete the overhand knot.
Pic 9. Off project, but an attempt at clarity, showing how all 4 overhand knots should look when completed and partly hand-moulded to symmetry.
Pic10. Off project, but showing more hand-moulding.
Notice how this has been done soley by removing the slack at the working ends, pulling them up and away from the knot body and backing the tension against the lower seizing..
Notice the additional constrictor above the knot; this is to ensure the centre-ing of those working ends.
Pic 11. Off project. The MW fully worked and the upper constrictor removed.
Pic 12. On project. The MW fully worked and tightened.
Notice the clipped off ends ,of the first Manrope Knot, they need trimming a little more.
All that now remains, is the final Manrope Knot as previously given; then trim up and remove all visible seizings .
Pic 13 .Job done, smart and seamanlike.
Even using these notes, it could take a complete beginner anything up to 4 hours to produce a finished article.
The main thing is practise, should that first attempt be unsatisfactory.
The learning experience of doing 5 of these toggles, should reduce the working time to about 35 to 40 minutes.
Safety notes.
Without quoting paragraph numbers from the safety regs, please be aware that the misuse of these tools and materials, is potentially dangerous.
They should not be used without prior training and a meaningful assessment of the dangers of using them for this specific project. In my day, we used and fully understood the ramifications of the term ,"seaman-like", to encompass these issues.
Materials needed:
2 to 3 feet of twine for temporary seizings
craft knife
pricker tool, like an old pozzi-screwdriver , or marlinspike (only if well versed in its use)
side or end cutting snips
small gripping pliers
4 of pvc covered wires of 20 to 22 inches
( ideally one eighth inch in diam)
This will easily make a 3 or 4 inch long toggle with plenty of slack to work with.
You could use any exremely stiff rope and it will give well defined results, but soft rope, especially soft braid,when worked tightly, will crush and nip itself out of form, particularly on the crossovers. This greatly spoils the finished article.
Just a word on producing good results for this, or any, fancy knot;
All the business of " laying-in" the whole of the structure of the knot, is done slackly.
The final form is due to the gradual tightening and the slow bullying into shape, known as "working"....
You should not attempt to do all the tightening by pulling hard on any one part, especially not at the ends.
Do not attempt to "work" a single strand through the whole length of any circuit at one go.
You start working all the slackness out, by beginning at the very core of the structure and then moving outwards.
When using multi-strands ( as here ), work just a little ( say 6 or 7 mill) of one strand, then do the same to all the others ,before, moving (that same 6 or 7 mill) further along the circuit and through to the end. Then go back to the core and take another pinch...and work that bit ,right the way through all leads, right the way through all of the circuits; all the whiles keeping symmetry.
The final form of almost all fancy knots, is entirely a reflection of how well it was "worked"
In "working", a great advantage is to be able to identify( and keep in you mind) any part of the knot in terms of its sequence in the overall construction.( ie. the rabbit coming out of the burrow) It is easy to understand this, if you dont cross the parts, as they progress around the circuits, and, remember( when doubling) ,that what passes on the left should stay on the left ,completely around the circuit.
To "work"....insert the tip of the pricker under the slack part.
Using the working thumb, trap the slack against the pricker and gently rotate the working hand,clockwise a quarter turn.
Only in the final stage of tightening, is force needed.
Take your time and reckon on having to devote thrice, to the "working", the time it took to "lay-in", the structure.
The gripping pliers are only used for bedding the very last bit of the final tightening.
Knot structure, for over and under, basket weave knots, (as this is), is first "laid-in" as a circuit of simple singular form......and then the bulk and attractiveness, is added by this doubling process. In this example, the leads go right around the whole circuit twice;;which is known as "doubled". You can of course, make even more circuits if you wish. If you go round,yet again, you will have three circuits,(i.e.twice doubled). Each pass of the entire circuit, is a "doubling", not a trebling,quattro-ing, or pentagl-ing!
Doubling more than twice, can lead to some difficulty in working and keeping symmetry and, often, with softer ropes, an internal former of some sort, must be used to maintain shape of the knot.
The good news, is that pvc flex is stiff but low in friction and , if structured (layed-in) properly , with just one or two doublings, will easily conform to shape without the need of effort and no need for this internal former.
Finally, the importance of the seizings cannot be overstressed. Each one must be hove as tight as possible, so as to provide a very firm stopping point, against which, all the tension of the tightening process is forced. This is easily done, by the use of a constrictor knot which, if using non natural fibre thread, is best doubled and then hove very tight with two wooden sticks and the marlinspike hitch.
Such a tightening method, can easily lead to the unexpected breaking of the threads and, in the interests of safety, the wooden sticks are a much safer option than the sharp pointed spike, unless you are very practised.
On to the tying, proper. We start with the terminal knot known as the Manrope Knot . Which is a Wall and Crown knot and, strictly, only gets to be a Manrope Knot when tied in the 4 stranded Manropes rigged outboard of either side of a boarding ladder. This knot is just a crown knot, atop a wall knot. Usually, having unlaid the strands for making the terminal knot, each of the strands would be neatened and stiffened, by tightly sewing over with a fine canvas sleeve.
Pic 1. MATERIALS.
Pic 2. The initial WALL Knot.
Notice the constrictor knot "seizing" the 4 strands together and leaving the 4 working ends about 6 to 8 inches long.
Notice how the Wall initially loops downward and then rises up and trapping to the RIGHT , and leaves all the working ends pointing AWAY from the 4 standing parts.
Pic 3. The CROWN Knot added atop the WALL.
Notice that, like the Wall knot previously, it goes RIGHTHANDED and, UNlike the Wall Knot, the CROWN leads initially Upward before dropping and trapping, to leave the working ends laying toward the standing parts.
Pic 4. Starting to "DOUBLE"
Notice how I've doubled the first of the strands of the Wall knot..see how it rises.
The next strand to "double", is presently just to the right at 4 0 clock and lays just below the horizontal.
But Notice , how ,BOTH,the already doubled strand, AND the next to be doubled, each lay BELOW the lead that they are doubling.
Pic 4a The Wall Doubled
Here, for clarity, I have slightly tightened the structure. Notice how ALL the doublings are below the lead of that first Wall.
Notice how the working ends all rise away from the standing parts, just as when making the first Wall.
Notice, too, how all the working ends are lined up each on the same side, all ready to double the Crown ,"below the lead".
Pic 5 A top veiw at pic 4. See how the working ends line up with the first Crown knot.
Notice how, looking at the top of the structure, there is no visible "below" of the Crown knot, but only a left or a right . The working ends are all on the same side though and, if you visualise the entire structure as being in just a plane projection, you may better see, that to pass the working ends to the right of the existing lead ,is , to pass "below the lead"
Pic 5a Crown knot all doubled. DOUBLING COMPLETED
Notice how all the working ends are pointing toward the standing parts, just as when the first Crown was laid in.
Just to recap, having reached this point, we have;
made a circuit, consisting of a Wall surmounted by a Crown.
doubled the circuit, once......resulting in two leads at each part.
Thats already sufficient enough leads to look good and you could just start working tight at this point.
But.
Neatness requires a better finish so do not just cut off the ends at where they emerge.
For best results, those prominent working ends need to be sunk within the structure, and be arranged to have them emerge somewhere barely noticable.......then cut them off close, only after the knot is worked fully tight
Pic 5b. Shows how all the ends are sunk.
Notice how all the ends which ,in 5a, emerged from the crown doubling; have now been dipped downwards from their emergence, and pass under the two leads of Wall knot directly below: to finally emerge from the inner structure directly adjacent to the seizing on the standing parts.
Pic 6. Top view of sinking the strands.
Notice the symmetry, notice the path of the leads.
At this point, the knot is ready to be worked, as per the introduction notes.
Pic 7. Shows the tightening completed and the seizing already placed to mark the start of the Matt Walker.
The Matthew Walker Knot.....
This is one of the simplest methods of tying it "on-the-table". Though it is one of the most difficult of knots to attempt to describe with words and pictures, it will be of very great help, to understand that this particular form of the MW, is the result of an encompassing overhand knot ,tied seperately in each strand, which takes-in and encloses all of the remaining strands.
The surface appearance of the finished knot, is just an aligned display of the tightened "loops" of these overhand knots; the crossovers of which, are held, interlocking, and concealed within the core.
The "working" of this knot, in this particular material, is mostly done with the fingers alone and, requires the application of a singular degree of bullying into symmetry, and whole-forming, prior to the forementioned methodic way of "working".
To the tying of MW, proper.
At the MW seizing, lay-in a slack Wall knot, as shown in Pic 2.
Notice, in this Pic 2, the path of any working end........all it does, is dip down, trap the part next to the right of itself and then rises upward through the downgoing bight of that same part .
The next step, is to continue, in sequence, each of the working ends and tuck them again, under the bight which lays next to the right of it.
Pic 8, shows the completion of that step.
Notice the differences of structure, between this and Pic 2.
Observe also, the indicated strand and its working end ,and notice how it must yet be tucked twice more, to reach upward, through itself and thus complete the overhand knot.
Pic 9. Off project, but an attempt at clarity, showing how all 4 overhand knots should look when completed and partly hand-moulded to symmetry.
Pic10. Off project, but showing more hand-moulding.
Notice how this has been done soley by removing the slack at the working ends, pulling them up and away from the knot body and backing the tension against the lower seizing..
Notice the additional constrictor above the knot; this is to ensure the centre-ing of those working ends.
Pic 11. Off project. The MW fully worked and the upper constrictor removed.
Pic 12. On project. The MW fully worked and tightened.
Notice the clipped off ends ,of the first Manrope Knot, they need trimming a little more.
All that now remains, is the final Manrope Knot as previously given; then trim up and remove all visible seizings .
Pic 13 .Job done, smart and seamanlike.
Even using these notes, it could take a complete beginner anything up to 4 hours to produce a finished article.
The main thing is practise, should that first attempt be unsatisfactory.
The learning experience of doing 5 of these toggles, should reduce the working time to about 35 to 40 minutes.
:notworthy 
