A fid is a

conical In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

traditionally made of

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

. It is used to work with

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

and

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

in marlinespike seamanship. 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 narrow metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point, it is used in tasks such as unlaying r ...

in material and purposes. A

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 with an added "grip", a hollow shaft that ends near the point with a vee that acts as a jamming cleat. For ply-split braiding the point separates pli ...

, 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 formed ...

. 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 Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, or

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

. 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 In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...

of rope to be spliced. A diameter rope would have any accompanying fid 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 TechnologiesSamson Rope
/ref> 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.

References

External links

Animated splice & image of fid in useInstructable for creating a fid for use with paracord
{{Knots Ropework Tools

See also

References

External links