materials for deadeyes, and lanyard question

[Brion Toss]

Hello,
First, thanks to Bill for the great wood information. Nice to know that there are good substitutes for the scarce, lovely Lignum. As for the lanyards, the stopper knot is by far the most common method, and as "traditional" has become rare, practices have tended to fossilize, sometimes regardless of merit. And the stopper knot version is much easier to produce (no landing needed in the rail), so the more elaborate version, along with things like left-laid rope on portside, right-laid rope on starboard, have largely disappeared. Nowadays, if you want innovative, unusual, and structurally superior deadeye configurations, you have to go to people who are using them in earnest: multihullers. Check out precourt.ca for some samples.
Meanwhile, I use the Ashley #880 button instead of the Matthew Walker when possible, as it is handsomer, and needs no whipping.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss