Fid
Description
A small dark brown wooden fid, rounded off end, flat bottom side to it, remainders of extra wood on top end. Fids are tapering pins usually made of hard wood, preferably lignum vitae (Latin for ‘wood of life’). Fids were used for splicing rope but could also be used by the sailmaker to make a hole in the canvas when making or repairing sails. To be effective, it was important to preserve the point at the end of the fid. In extreme cases the point could be sharpened, but then the taper of the object was usually lost which reduced its effectiveness, and therefore, its value as a tool. Being a tool used frequently the sailmakers bench would have had housing, or holes in it, to hold a fid or fids and keep their points away from the floor.
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Object Detail
Width: 38mm
Depth: 26mm (1")