Splicing is a method of joining ropes by interweaving together their strands. When ropes are to run through blocks they cannot be joined by knotting, as the knot would prevent their passing through the block. In this case they are always united by splicing. In driving ropes also knots are out of the question.

For the short splice, the ends of the two ropes are unlaid for a sufficient distance, and placed together, as in Fig. 113, the strands of one rope going alternately between the strands of the other. The two ropes are then jammed closely together. The end of one rope with the strands of the other rope is now held firmly in the left hand. Sometimes a lashing is put round the strands to keep them down to the rope on which they lie. Pass the middle strand A over the strand of the other rope B which goes down to the left of it; then bring it under C, and haul taut. Do the same to each of the other strands in succession, putting them over the next strand to them and under the next beyond. Turn the rope round and do the same to the other set of strands; this may be repeated on both ropes. Care must be taken not to bring two strands up through one interval in the rope. Each strand should come up separately between two strands of the rope they are passed into. If it is desired to taper the splice for the purpose of making it neater after the ends have been interwoven, divide the yarns of which the strands are composed, pass one-half as before, and cut off the other half. To bring the rope to shape again after splicing, roll it under the foot; if small cord has been used, a piece of flat wood is substituted for the foot.

As the strands of a rope are tightly twisted together it requires some force to open a passage for the parts of one rope through the other. For this purpose, in the case of large ropes, is used a marlinespike (Fig. 114) made of iron, copper, or hard wood. Copper is preferable, as it does not rust like iron or break like wood. With small stuff a steel pricker (Fig. 115) is used. A fid is employed for very large ropes, this being merely a tapered wooden pin generally made of lignum vitæ.

The long splice illustrated by Fig. 116 has advantages over a short one. To make it, unlay the ends of two ropes for a much greater distance than before and put the ends together. Unlay one strand A for some length, and fill up the space left by its removal with the opposite strand from the other rope, as B. Do the same with two more strands C D; C is the one unlaid, and D the one laid up in its place. Make an overhand knot with the two remaining strands E F, taking care that the ends follow the lay of the rope and not across them. Divide both strands into halves and pass one-half over the next strand, and under the following one; do this two or three times and cut all the ends off close. Work the remaining two pairs of strands the same way and the splice is finished. The rope should be well stretched before the ends of the strands are cut off.

Fig. 117 is a cut splice forming an oblong loop in the middle of a rope. The end of one rope is spliced into the standing part of another, as at A, A (Fig. 118), so as to form an eye. The end of the other rope is then spliced into the standing part of the first rope, and the spliced parts served over.

A neat way of forming an eye at the end of a rope (it is known as the eye splice, Fig. 119) is by unlaying the strands and placing them on the standing part so as to form an eye, then put one strand under the strand next to it, and pass the next over this strand and under the second; the last strand must go through the third strand on the other side of the rope. Taper them as before by halving the strands and sticking them again.

To make a cable splice unlay the ends of the ropes to be joined for some distance, place them together and make a short splice. Leave a suitable length, and thence reduce each strand to a long taper by gradually cutting away as many yarns as necessary; neatly point over the taper and lay the ends in the intervals of the rope. Put a seizing at each end of the splice, an end seizing at the beginning of the pointing and a stop at the end of the tails. This is the best splice for cables, as it may readily be undone.

Another method of making a cable splice is to splice the ends in twice each way, then to pick out the strands, worm part of them round the cable, and taper away the rest, which should be marled close down; then clap on a throat and two end seizings of ratline.

In splicing cotton ropes on the Lancashire system proceed as follows:—Short splicing the ends together is the simplest, but would not answer for running over a small pulley or through the “swallow” of a block; in this case a long splice would suffice. If a small strop only is needed, a one-strand grommet is the neatest. A strand from cotton rope will not keep its lay, or acquired spiral form, and is therefore a very difficult material to work into a grommet. Practising first on hemp is advised. From a piece of rope about a foot longer than the circumference of the intended grommet, unlay a strand with care, to prevent it losing its lay. Now lay up this strand into itself, as shown in Fig. 120. The two ends will meet each other in the same crevice. Halve these ends, and tie an overhand knot, as shown in Fig. 121, which must not be pulled too tight, or it will buckle-up the grommet (this will be noticed). When this knot is quite snug down in its place, take about one-third of the yarns out of the ends with which the knot was made, and tuck the remaining two-thirds under two strands, missing one (see Fig. 121, where the arrow D shows how to tuck the end A, and arrowhead C shows where end B will come out). Now halve these ends, and, leaving one-half, tuck the other as before; work them in nice and snug, put the grommet on a good stretch, and trim off the ends. If the work is well done no joint should be noticeable. Grommets are sometimes finished off by knotting the whole strands, then halving them, and tucking like a common splice. This is not quite as neat, but perhaps a trifle stronger.