I'm in the process of making a new set of gear, hammock, tarp, and rigging. So, with the rigging I decided to try my hand at splicing. I read quite a few threads about different things people are using for fids. I decided to try using some wire as I have some experience with it, but I put a twist on it, quite literally. When I used to work on helicopters we would have to lock wire everything tight so it wouldn't go flying off. Twisting the wire seems to add rigidity without adding bulk. So, here is the results with a couple items I made from 7/64 amsteel and 1.75mm lash-it.
The amsteel loops were a bit easier than I expected from hearing people talk about the berry. Next I need to make some more soft shackles and try doing a whoopie.
Here's a close up of the eye ends of the fids.
I used 19 gauge for the 7/64 and 24 gauge for the 1.75mm. It was less than $3 for the wire from Menards but you should be able to find it at any hardware store.
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