The Matthew Walker Knot

More details about the The Matthew Walker Knot

The Matthew Walker Knot

Uses: The Matthew Walker (ABOK # 681 - 3, p 118) provides a secure stopper which cannot be untied without unraveling the rope. It is included here because I have had multiple requests for it - not for its intrinsic usefulness in today's boating environment!

Structure: The Matthew Walker is a one of a family of knots which are created in the middle of a three-strand rope. The simplest is the Wall (Picture on Left). When the knot is tightened and the strands layed up again to form rope, the wall is created (Picture on Right).

Larger: Passing each strand further round and under the next loop, forms the larger Matthew Walker (M-W); and repeating this process one more time forms the even larger Double Matthew Walker (Pictures Far Left).

Comparison: The Wall itself is small and inadequate as a stopper. Used with a Crown it makes a pleasing ball on a rope's end. The Double Matthew Walker is bulky and tends to form awkwardly. Ashley states that the plain Matthew Walker has "... almost entirely superseded the double knot ...."

Tying it in the Hand: With a little practice the strands can be controlled in the hand. In the picture on the left, the Matthew Walker is complete. The pink strand is the first one now being passed under itself to create the Double Matthew Walker.

Applications: Other than for decoration, modern yachts have virtually no use for a Matthew Walker. This is in striking contrast with the past when the Matthew Walker was widely used. Ashley (ABOK page 118) states that "It is the most important knot used aboard ship." He goes on to quote Todd and Whall in Seamanship: "Amongst knots proper the Matthew Walker is almost the only one which it is absolutely necessary for the seaman to know." It, or the Double Matthew Walker, was used on "topmast rigging lanyards, bunt beckets (rope loop), and the beckets of tubs and buckets." The words themselves are now just echos of a distant past.

Disadvantages: The Wall and both the Matthew Walkers all require the rope to be layed up again and then finished, preferably with an elegant whipping.