Monkey fist

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Monkey fist
Monkey fist
Type Decorative knot, throw knot
application Weighing down the throw line
Ashley No. 2200 , 2201, 2202, 2205, 2207, 2208, 2216, 2218
Synonyms Child's head
English Monkey's Fist
List of nodes

The monkey fist is a knot that is used to weigh down the end of a throw line , to secure it when climbing or as a decorative knot.

Names and history

In the past, the monkey fist was often used in shipping. In merchant shipping, this knot is known as a chuck knot . Sometimes it is also called a child's head or a monkey's head . The use of the monkey fist is forbidden in the German Navy , as accidents occurred again and again due to the strength of the knot. In US ports, this knot was often cut open by the mooring line to determine whether it was not containing illegal metal.

Further application

  • When climbing , the monkey fist can be used as a clamp safety device, especially if the use of metallic clamping wedges is not possible or not permitted (e.g. metallic clamping wedges are prohibited in Saxon Switzerland ).
  • When swinging Poi , monkey fists are used as round burning bodies for fire acrobatics.
  • As a decorative knot it is also used as a "button" on items of clothing, as a fastener for shirt cuffs (two monkey fists), or together with a spliced eye as a belt.
  • Weighted down with a plaster, wood, plastic or steel ball, it becomes a striking weapon.
A report about a "ball on a string", reproduced by Richard Wossidlo , is very impressive :

“As Seelüd once the city commandant in Wismar had vertobakt his fellows, geew de dat fri. The soldiers can win over the sailors. There is no spellbinding slayer in the corridor with a rubber hose and all that kind of thing. Mien Unkel had a ball anne Snuur, who had brought America with him. The soldiers raise their collars so often, the sin ut fear ut't dark rutgahn. "

“(Freely translated in High German)
When seamen beat up the city commandant's boy in Wismar, he released them. The soldiers could beat up the sailors. A real brawl started, with rubber hoses and all that sort of thing. My uncle had a ball on a string that he had brought back from America. The soldiers were beaten so many times that they jumped out of the window out of fear. "

  • four balls

  • as a trouser belt or a striking weapon

  • Manufacturing

Alternatives

  • Small leather bags filled with sand are usually used as casting weights.
  • The throwing knot is a little lighter in weight and easier to tie.
  • Blackjack is also used as a striking weapon .

Modifications

  • The monkey fist can also be knotted several times.
  • As a lost bullet, the Bola Perdida was used as a throwing weapon (slinging ball).
  • Three monkey fists tied together in a star shape on longer lines can also be used as bola (throwing balls).

Prohibition in Germany

As published in the Federal Gazette, the Weapons Act prohibits the possession and use of a monkey fist weighted down with metal balls, for example, as this is classified as a manslaughter by the Federal Criminal Police Office .

Web links

Commons : Monkey's fists  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikibooks: Affenfaust ("child's head") with picture knotting instructions
Wiktionary: Affenfaust  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Travel quarters in Gottesnaam . C. Hinstorff, Seestadt Rostock 1940.
  2. ↑ Paracordist how to throw the triple monkeys fist practice Bola, Boleadora (video)
  3. ↑ Notice of assessment SO11-5164.01-Z-371. (PDF; 1 MB) In: Notices of assessment. Federal Criminal Police Office, October 15, 2015, accessed on October 9, 2018 .