DH found this knotter on eBay, and it's both new (completely unused) and a mechanically less complex design than the Boyce knotter. Fewer moving parts means less to go wrong. Unused means nothing in there is ready to give out on a moment's notice. There were some stains (oil?) on the felt lining of the leather strap, but other than that it's in mint condition.
The maker is Reiners & Furst, of Munich. It makes a different sort of knot - more like a simple overhand knot - while the Boyce knotter makes a weaver's knot. You can see how closely the tool clips off the tag ends. The ends are very short, which is good because the longer the tag ends the more likely the warp ends are to tangle when being drawn forward through the lease sticks and heddles and reed.
It still requires that I set the tool down to grab the two pieces of thread to be knotted, but it makes a more consistent, reliable knot. Reliability is more important than speed in this operation, after all.
2 comments:
agreed. at this point in my life i had to trade speed for reliability.what a metaphor for life!
intriguing tool.
pd blogger's got the hiccups. sorry if this resulted in multiples
That is so cool, I've never seen a knotting tool before. I love the trees below, can't wait to see them woven.
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