A fid is a conical tool traditionally made of wood or bone. It is used to work with
rope
A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...
and
canvas
Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...
in
marlinespike seamanship
Ropework or marlinespike seamanship are traditional umbrella terms for a skillset spanning the use, maintenance, and repair of rope. Included are tying knots, splicing, making lashings, whippings, and proper use and storage of rope.
While th ...
. A fid differs from a
marlinspike
A marlinspike (, sometimes spelled marlin spike, marlinespike, or rchaicmarlingspike) is a tool used in marine ropework. Shaped in the form of a polished metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point, it is used in such tasks as unlaying ...
in material and purposes. A
marlinspike
A marlinspike (, sometimes spelled marlin spike, marlinespike, or rchaicmarlingspike) is a tool used in marine ropework. Shaped in the form of a polished metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point, it is used in such tasks as unlaying ...
is used in working with wire rope, natural and synthetic lines, may be used to open shackles, and is made of metal. A fid is used to hold open knots and holes in canvas, and to separate the "lays" (or strands) of synthetic or natural rope for
splicing. A variation of the fid, the
gripfid The gripfid is an invention of knotting expert Stuart Grainger. It is a small knotter's fid
A fid is a conical tool traditionally made of wood or bone. It is used to work with rope and canvas in marlinespike seamanship. A fid differs from a m ...
, is used for
ply-split braiding Ply-split braiding is a technique where one twisted cord ("splitter") passes ''through'' another twisted cord or cords splitting the plies of the latter cords ("splittee" cords). This is unlike weaving or many forms of braiding where cloth is forme ...
. The gripfid has a jamming cleat to pull a cord back through the cord split by the fid's point.
Modern fids are typically made of aluminum, steel, or plastic. In addition to holding rope open to assist the creation of a rope splice, modern push fids have markings for precise measurements in a variety of sizes of rope. The length of these fids is typically 21 or 22 times the diameter of rope to be spliced. A half-inch diameter rope would have any accompanying fid 10.5–11" in length with hash-marks denoting the long and short fid measurements. A ''short fid'' is a fid length and a ''long fid'' is the overall fid length.
Modern major rope manufacturers such as Yale Cordage, New England Ropes, and Samson Rope Technologies each have full sets of published splicing directions available on their websites. Typically, all splice directions measurements use fid-length as the unit of measurement.
Below is a chart that shows exact measurements of full fid lengths, short fid lengths, and long fid lengths, using 21 times the diameter of the rope.
See also
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Eye splice
The eye splice is a method of creating a permanent loop (an " eye") in the end of a rope by means of rope splicing.
The Flemish eye is a type of circular loop at the end of a thread. There are several techniques of creating the eye with its k ...
*
Rope splicing
Rope splicing in ropework is the forming of a semi-permanent joint between two ropes or two parts of the same rope by partly untwisting and then interweaving their strands. Splices can be used to form a stopper at the end of a line, to form a l ...
*
Marlinspike
A marlinspike (, sometimes spelled marlin spike, marlinespike, or rchaicmarlingspike) is a tool used in marine ropework. Shaped in the form of a polished metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point, it is used in such tasks as unlaying ...
*
Top
A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect.
Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...
References
External links
Animated splice & image of fid in useInstructable for creating a fid for use with paracord
{{Knots
Ropework
Tools