The wooden fid is the long, tapered tool far opening strands in line for splicing. Never use it far anything else, and never hammer the butt end of a fid to drive it through. It splits or splinters yery easily. Set the butt of the fid on deck with heayy line and hammer the line onto the point. Never call a fid a marlinspike.
The marlinspike, a tapered steel tool, serves the same purpose with wire that the fid does with line. A good spike should never be used as a crowbar or a pin to open shackles. Wire-splicing spikes are set aside for that purpose, and care must be taken to avoid bending or blunting their points.. Unlike the fid, you can hammer the butt of a marlinspike to your heart's content.
A serving mallet is the hammershaped wooden tool used to put a serving on a line or wire. A serving is a smooth finish of wrapping turns of marline or seizing stuff put around a line or splice . Usually the line is wormed first. Worming is accomplished by spiraling marline around it into the lay between the strands, and is for the purpose of calking the inner part of the line against moisture. Worming goes on with the lay of the line. Parceling, or spiral-wrapping turns of strip canvas, is put on next for added waterproofing and to build up a symmetrical shape. Parceling also goes on with (in the direction of) the lay.
Serving is done with the serving mallet, which binds the turns down hard. Your marline or seizing stuff has to be in a ball or skein, which can be passed around the line as you wind the mallet. You need a helper to pass it for you.
Set your end of serving stuff along the line and bind it with a couple of turns taken by hand in the direction opposite the lay. Then set the groove in your mallet against the line, and pass the serving over the head of the mallet and around the handle in such a manner as to have it run through your hand as you grasp the handle. As you wind your mallet, you can hold back the seizing stuff for tautness by squeezing the handle. Your helper passes the ball of stuff as you pass the handle around.
Most mallets used are rather awkward, and usually have a groove too small for the line. From any suitable, fairly hard wood, you can whittle the kind of serving mallet, it serves any size of line.
You should learn the following memory aid:
"Worm and parcel WITH the lay, Turn and SERVE the OTHER way."
