Des Pawson Biography – Des Pawson Wiki
Des Pawson is a sailor’s ropework and knot expert who appears on the BBC television program The Repair Shop. He is a co-founder of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Pawson is a researcher and has a rich history on the subject of knots and has written many papers and books about the subject. He has his own business, Footrope Knots where he works in collaboration with his wife.
Des does various research on varied aspects of the rope & canvas working trade and publishes his findings. His passion for knots goes back to the time when aged 7, he was given a book of knots, and he has studied knots and ropework ever since. Des teaches and demonstrates his skills at boat shows, festivals, museums, and galleries in the UD, the Netherlands, France, and the USA and has clients all over the world. He also provides topical talks and demonstrations according to his website. He says, ‘Rope and knots are my life and have been since I was a boy. I make things in rope, I write about knots, I teach, talk, and research knots and ropework. I collect books on knots and practical rope seamanship, old sailors’ ropework, and the tools of the rope and canvas working trades. Rope inspires me.’
Des owns a workshop where he makes his ropes. He also has two sheds at his home where the Museum of Knots and Sailors’ Ropework is located. He opened it in 1996 and in 2007 he was awarded an M.B.E. (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth “for services to the rope industry.” Pawson’s museum, likely the only institution of its kind on earth, is open by appointment only. “You don’t just pop up out of the blue,” Pawson says. “You know, I’m not here for Mum and the kids because it’s a wet day and they don’t know what to do.”
One section of the museum is a shed that used to be a stockroom. Today it showcases rope-making tools and equipment: knives and mallets; iron marlin spikes and fids; vices and dollies; wooden paddles and heaving boards for tightening knots; stakeheads, used for separating strands of yarn, that once lined vast ropewalks. Next door is the largest of the sheds. It’s still a tiny space, less than 200 square feet, but it is a treasure box: packed from floor to ceiling with more rope and wood and metal than the eye can take in.
Knots Step by Step: A Practical Guide to Tying and Using Over 100 Knots, Handbook of Knots: Expanded Edition, Knot Craft and Rope Mats: 60 Ropework Projects Including 20 Mat Designs and Knots: The Complete Visual Guide: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Tying and Using over 100 Knots among others.
Des Pawson Age
He is 75 years old as of 2022. e was born in 1947 in England. Pawson is a resident of Suffolk, southeast England.
Des Pawson Wife
He is married to his wife Liz, with whom he shares his Footrope Knots business. He has not shared more information concerning his family and whether he has children or not.
Des Pawson Nationality
Pawson is of English nationality.
