Knotting Tool: A Crochet Hook With A Handle Of Built-Up Turk’s Head Knots

KNOTTING TOOL SIZED FOR PARACORD

After one of the most amazing examples of parthenogenesis in modern history, the wire loops that I used as fids grew legs and went walk-about. I can only presume they were looking for opportunities to breed, as those must be rare indeed. I realized that after such a dramatic change in their circumstances they probably wouldn’t return to their home range now matter what luck they had, so I decided to find replacements.

While engaged in this great quest I was led by the forces of the TAO to a package of crochet hooks. A tool designed to pierce a tight loop of cordage with a leading point, cradle a bight of that same cordage in a right-sized hook with fairings to minimize the resistance, and pull it back through. It has advantages over wire loops in that you don’t have to fish cordage through a closed loop, and over fids in that making the workspace and hooking the target cord are one move. The only area in which it lacks could be perfected by …. tying knots. I started sending my old wire loop tools psychic messages of thanks and wishes for their future happiness with their new legs and mates.

I selected the crochet hook that seemed to best fit paracord – a US J10 size seems near perfect. After using the hook for a short while, I added a knot selected to best adapt it to its new purpose in life, or maybe cut one off that didn’t quite fulfill its mission brief. You need to be able to push on the butt of the tool with greater force than while crocheting, and to be able to rotate it to hook the cord and have a handle with an excellent hold to pull back against a tightly gripping nip in the knot. After a few trials I ended up with a stack of knots that seemed nearly perfect in use, filled my hand nicely, and were handsome enough that the other tools in my ditty bag wouldn’t treat them too roughly late in the dog watches. That might have been a tough trick anyway; like many of my knots, they end up so tight they look and feel like wood carvings.

Having used it for some months now I highly recommend this approach, tailored for your needs, of course. It is economical because they make them for thousands of crocheters, instead of a handful of knotters. They are a commodity item that has been subjected to the forces of use and market ’til there isn’t much fat left to pare away nor meat needed, just those things that adapt it to our particular use.

I do hope this is of some help. If you have any secrets that you could give away without incurring the wrath of your coven, I would find them of great interest. I’m also sure that the surfing public would happily take what you thought were your very best and then change them beyond recognition. We could all consider this to be a knotting karma account of knowledge and good luck to be shared by all.

I do hope this helps some of you; come back and see if there are more useful tips …. you never know.
William