This is a photo of a 5 loop, 4 loop and 3 loop Monkeys Fist knots. Each loop is a different color to bring out the different loops, and the the long ends are finished in a Matthew Walker knot. I could have also done the 5 loop Monkeys Fist in an over 2, under 2 pattern which would have given it a herringbone look.
Pat
3 loop 4 loop
5 loop 6 loop
7 loop 8 loop
Pat,
When you say “monkey fist” are you calling ALL knot coverings by that name??? I always thought of the monkey fist as being tied in a very unique way that was different from other types of covering knots. I am just curious. It is actually pretty convenient to put them all in one group and I will adopt the practice myself if it is in fact correct or even incorrect and expedient. Thanks for the info. Oh, and while I am picking your brains…how do you use different colors, say in just the “traditional” type of monkey fist. Do you know of any tutorials to show me how to do it? Thanks.
Where a traditional Turks Head is tied with one continous line, the Monkeys Fist is tied with interlocking loops. The standard 3 loop Monkeys Fist is the most common, and it is often tied with a single line when the transition between the loops are hidden within the knot. I have also seen a Monkeys Fist whittled out of wood with 3 interlocking loops.
I mostly tie Turks Heads. In my way of thinking, a 3 loop Monkeys Fist can also be called a 3 Lead x 3 Bight Turks Head. You will see that in ABOK 1314 the 3L x 3B TH is defined an impossible knot. Ashley only meant that it’s not possible to tie as a single continous line, with no hidden transitions. Of course, all of the knots in ABOK 1314 are possible to tie, but the transitions might get hard to hide.
As Struktor pointed out, any Monkeys Fist is possible where the number of Leads equals the number of Bights. I made these knots to demonstrate the difference between a Monkeys Fist and a Turks Head.
Pat
Pat,
Is the apparent gap at the base of the biggest not a function of the core being slightly too big, or is it a feature of that size of knot?
It’s a combination of over sized core, not enough plies in the knot, and 5 bights together a the same place. Where there are 3 or 4 lines crossing, you can get them pretty tight together. When there are more than 4, you either get a gap in the covering, or a lump of line. I choose what I felt was the happy medium with no lump, and a gap.
This is what brought on the evolution of Globe Knots, a form of complex Turks Head knots where you can have a knot with more bights at the equator than at the poles.
Pat