Towards the end of last month I received a Knotters Tool from Russell at the Jig Pro Shop. I've since had a chance to use it and add a little knot work to it. Example pic shows the tool being used to tighten a monkey's fist knot.
The knurled and anodized aluminum tool is a marlinspike/fid/kubaton with a removable pocket clip, and has a hollow interior, which can be accessed by unscrewing the top cap that has a lanyard hole, or the opposite pointed end. The one I received came with three different sized threaded stainless steel lacing/stitching needles stored inside.
I tied a few gaucho knots around a couple of the grooves with orange and navy blue 1.4mm cord, and had a short leftover strand of gutted paracord to add to the lanyard hole along with a Schmuckatelli Co. Mini Cyber Skull bead in between a few two-strand wall knots.
The Knotters Tool is larger than some of the other marlinspikes/fids and improvised tools that I have, as shown in one of the photos in this blog post, but it worked just fine with paracord as I tried it with both tightening and loosening some knots.For those curious about the other tools shown, there are a couple from Rhino Ropework, one from BayouBug's Knots & Tools, along with a titanium dabbing tool, leather awl/fid, and a clay stylus.
Titan Paracord also sent me a package that arrived at the same time, with a nice t-shirt and a 100 foot hank of their paracord to try out. I have an upcoming project in mind from the 'to do' list for this cord, so stay tuned... ;)The VENOM mochi by Stormdrane drawstring backpack is still available, and make sure to take advantage of the Mochibrand Refer-a-Friend Program. ;)
7 comments:
The first thing I thought when I received my knotter's tool from Jig Pro Shop in November was, it sure would look great with some of Stormdrane's gaucho knots! Excellent work, David!!
How often do you use a Marlinspike? I use mostly a stylus, small flat screw driver and a scratch awl. The awl is too pointy for my liking but works with care. I am a pushover in buying tools and BayouBug's Marlinspikes really trips my trigger but at $45+, I am still a bit hesitant. Your BayouBug looks like it is 3.5” do you find it long enough?
When tying Turk's heads/variations and monkey's fist with paracord, I do use whichever marlinspike is handy. For smaller diameter cord, I still reach for my clay stylus out of habit, just because it works.
For folks that might do a lot of tying with paracord, the custom made marlinspikes can certainly be a useful and reliable tool, but for those that don't tie often, the less expensive improvised tools can serve just as well, when you keep in mind that they're not as strong/durable as the larger tools.
They BayouBug spike, which I received from Chuck Alford in a knot exchange group a couple of years ago, does a nice job with paracord, even though it is on the shorter side. ;)
Thanks for the response and pushing me over the edge to make the purchase. I have also added to my list a dabber. The small screw driver works but it’s time to get serious with the hobby.
Stormdrane, I appreciate your time replying and your work and blog is an inspiration to all.
I bought a spike from jig pro as well last week, nice tool and it's not too pointy that it will "stab" your cord - a little expensive at $20 but it will last a lifetime. I'm trying to tie some Turks heads using 1.4mm cord from County Commissioner but it's difficult
Stormdrane, I really like the duckbill and dabber which you probably use more with your leather work. I see some possible uses for it in paracord too. Was this custom made and could you share where it is from.
Knot tying tools is an illness, but I like it. :)
The titanium dabber was an ebay find, lots of variations of them found there from multiple sellers, with varying prices..
I also have a similar stainless steel dabber lying around somewhere that also came from ebay.
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