Tools for Fishing and Trawling include marlin spikes for ropes, available in stainless steel, steel, and forged chrome steel. There are needles for fishing nets and punches for connectors. Equipment also includes a cordless hot knife rope cutter for cutting ropes, manual tools for cutting wire rope, and an electric hydraulic chain cutter for cutting chains. Various hammers are available: Club Hammer/Sledgehammer with a wooden handle; Ball Pein Hammer with a fibreglass handle and rubberized grip; Lump Hammer with a fibreglass handle and rubberized grip. Additionally, there are bench swagers and hand swager crimpers for crimping applications.
Splicing is a way of joining the two ends of a rope together without using a knot. Although the knotted method is convenient, it is unsightly and even a properly knotted rope can be considerably weakened. This loss of strength is caused by tight bending and compression in the knot and the degree of strength loss depends on the knot, the type of rope and the material, and can sometimes be up to 60% or more.
For sailors and boat owners, we recommend that you use your local specialist rigging company to splice and fit your rope for you. If you would like to splice your own ropes, you can search online for GUIDE.
The first method is the D2 covered eye splice, used for structures that depend on the rope core, such as D2 racing, V2 etc. In this design, the core provides most of the strength and the cover provides protection for the rope.
The second method is a locking eye splice with both ends of the rope free, this variety of splice can be used for all applications where locking is required.
The third method is a free locking eye splice at one end of the rope, which is also the most common splice. This versatile splice can be used for all applications that need to be locked.
The fourth method is the control line end to end, which has a tough, strong cover and takes on most of the load-bearing tasks.
The fifth method is the Excel R8 taper, the Taper splice reduces friction and the need to change the diameter of the rope and works well in ratchet sets.