Marline Spike

A Marline Spike is a simple tool to assist you when working on rope for example splicing or tying a knot. I normally just keep using whatever I can find such as a screwdriver or something else pointy. I've wanted one of these for a while so quickly made one today for use on another project. After finishing what I needed it for I came back and added a lanyard so I wouldn't drop it while working.

• Piece round metal or long bolt
• Grinder
• Hacksaw
• Buffer or sandpaper

I used a hacksaw to cut off the length of the old bolt I was using. The exact length doesn't matter but I cut mine about 145mm (~6 inches) long.

Use the course grinding wheel to rough out a gradual taper on the metal rod, I tapered mine back about 50mm (2 inches)

Now use either a fine grinding wheel or belt to smooth out the taper, this will not only make everything look much nicer but a smoother finish will allow the marlin spike to slide under the rope easier.

You can now shape the point of the marline spike, it needs to be pointy but not sharp. You don't want it to pierce the rope fibres but rather just go under the braids you are working.

Lastly, you can grind a dome shape on the other end of the marlin spike. This is just to make things feel a little more comfortable in your hand.

This isn't required, but it makes using it nicer and lifts the overall appearance. Start by centre punching where you want to drill the hole and drill a small hole. I wanted to line the hole with a small brass tube, so drilled the hole the same size as the tube.

Once the hole was drilled I cut a small length of the tube and cleaned the parts down to make sure the solder would stick. I then taped the brass tube into the hole and soldered it in place.

I then used the grinder to remove the access material and smooth everything out.

I threaded a shoelace through the hole and then tied it off at the length I wanted. I then trimmed the shoelace and melted the ends to stop it from fraying.

You can now use your new marlin spike for whatever future rope work you do, such as making a mouse monkey fist cat toy.