How to Mouse a Hook

I am not sure if it is still relevant today, but back in the day, mousing a hook increased the strength of the hook. In this day and age, a load should not be lifted with a hook, if that load exceeds the Safe Working Load of the hook!

Why Mouse a Hook?

So as mentioned previously Ashley’s Book of Knots mentions that it helps strengthen a hook. However, the main reason as to why you would want to Mouse a Hook, is to prevent the load/lifting sling from spilling or coming away from the hook. You may be lifting multiple loads and to prevent your lifting line from coming away from a hook, you would Mouse the Hook.

Parts of a Hook

In the image below, you will see a more modern hook which has a sprung hinged gate. This will prevent the load from spilling. However, should ever the gate become damaged, then it may be necessary to Mouse the Hook.

Mousing a Hook Tutorial

In the process of Mousing a Hook, you will learn the following knots or techniques; The process is started off by attaching the line to the hook using the the Bale Sling Hitch. Next, you will be shown how to add turns from the back of the hook to the bill. Frapping Turns are then applied to lock and tighten the turns in place. The Frapping Turns are then locked into place and Riding Turns bring both ends of the line back to the middle. The Mousing is then finished off, simply by tying a Reef Knot.