A fid is "A square bar of wood or iron with a shoulder at one end, used to support the weight of the topmast and also the topgallantmast. Also, a tapered hand tool for opening up the strands of a rope when splicing." (Sea of Words, 191) See also fid-hole, just because it ain't what it sounds like.
"...the court would have heard a lively description of the Honourable Sod's furious assault upon the Captain with a brace of pistols, a boarding-axe, a naked sword and a topmast fid..." --Patrick O'Brian, The Ionian Mission, 143
A fid is "A square bar of wood or iron with a shoulder at one end, used to support the weight of the topmast and also the topgallantmast. Also, a tapered hand tool for opening up the strands of a rope when splicing." (Sea of Words, 191) See also fid-hole, just because it ain't what it sounds like.
"...the court would have heard a lively description of the Honourable Sod's furious assault upon the Captain with a brace of pistols, a boarding-axe, a naked sword and a topmast fid..."
--Patrick O'Brian, The Ionian Mission, 143