Sailmakers and riggers wear a palm to force large needles through thick sailcloth, canvas, or rope. It consists of a leather band wrapping around the hand and thumb, holding a dimpled metal plate against the heel of the hand. The dimples catch the eye of the needle, allowing the user to apply their full body weight to push it through multiple layers of stiff material without injury.
Heard on the job
Grab your palm and a heavy needle, we need to stitch up that tear in the mainsail before the wind picks up.
Also heard as
- sailmaker's palm
- roping palm