#4 thong plans

There is a small challenge in the thong. I want to make a two tone thong so I want to have brown strands to the other side and the black strands to the other. Since I want to plait the keeper first, a solid plan seems to be in order.

First: How long is the keeper? I checked my first whip and the keeper there seems to be so long that a single strand runs six times across the plait. I will go with that.



Second: How should the strands be arranged in the flat braid so that I can move to whipmaker's plait so that the colors are properly arranged? Simply put: I want to have the colors so that same color strands are parallel to each other. I also want that on the bottom of the flat braid the black strands are on the left side and on the top of the flat braid the black strands are on the right side. If the strands are arranged like this I can put the keeper on top of the belly so that the "down" side is on the front and the "up" side is on the back. Then the plaiting starts from the "up" (back) side outer strands and continues towards the middle strands. After "up" side has been plaited, plaiting continues frome the "down" (front) side outer strands that go first around the back and then join the plaiting.

Third: How long strands? I calculated that 50cm string makes about 20cm plaiting. I also add 50cm for the keeper to each strand. Strand lengths: 200cm, 300cm, 375cm, 450cm, 550cm and 550cm.

Fourth: I want two different colors to drop at a same time. Therefore I can't have 2x200cm=400cm string for the first strand pair. Besides, the keeper would mess that logic up anyway. Since the strings run from left to right and right to left in the flat 6-braid, I can pair any two black and two brown strands as long as I pair them same way for both sides. I shall use

First string: 1st and 6th strand = 750cm
Second string: 2nd and 5th strand = 850cm
Third string: 3rd and 4th strand = 825cm

Propably too much again.

Now I must make the flat 6-braid in the right spot so that after that all the strands have the desired length. Propably easy?

Belly for the fourth

For this belly I used 4 strings: 580cm, 580cm, 520cm and 400cm.

The 8-plait went for 60cm and there was 180cm (2x90) extra on the shortest string. The 6-plait went for 30cm and there was 200cm (2x100) extra on the second string. The 4-plait continued for 30cm and there was 80cm left in all the four strings after that.

This is all according my plan.





I dropped strings without plaiting them inside. This is propably a bit weaker solution, but I hope it gives smoother result and besides the weak spot will be inside the overlay and a bolster. I don't think it's going to unravel in there.

Plaiting plan

Here's the plan for my #4 whip thong. Every row is for about 10cm. This means that the first row means that for the first 10cm the core is build from 1 string and 3 chains, the belly is 8-plait and the overlay is 12-plait.


Core Belly Overlay
1+3C 8P 12P
1+3C 8P 12P
1+3C 8P 12P
1+2C 8P 12P
1+2C 8P 12P
1+2C 8P 12P
1+1C 6P 10P
1+1C 6P 10P
1+1C 6P 10P
1 4P+2 10P
1 4P 8P
1 4P 8P
1 4 8P
1 4 6P
1 3 6P
1 2 6P
1 2 4P
- 2 4P
- 1 4P
- - 4P

Chain

Hartketju was kind enough to sell me 50 meters of beaded chain for 50 euros. Since Stockmann wants 6,60e/m for the same stuff, I consider this a bargain. Now I should have chain for about 20 whips. Sounds enough...

Core for the fourth whip

Whip #4 will be a six-foot stockwhip. The core has four strands, 1', 2', 3' and 5'. The three shortest are loaded with equal lengths of chain. The 5' strand has 4' inner strands left and the last foot is coreless.

The whole thing has been twisted around itself before taping for tighter result.

The core does not taper smoothly, so that I can (hopefully) use the "drop-points" to drop strands from outer layers thus creating smoother taper for the end result. We shall see.

Another handle

Handles are nice. You get to make nice plaiting and beautiful knots. At least you can try.

For my next stockwhip handle base I chose a piece of wood 45cm long and 2cm thick. I shaped it a bit from the end so the keeper would stay more firmly. Then I burned the wood for a nice color effect.




For the plaiting I used 16 strands (8 black, 8 rust), all 50cm long. The pattern is shown below. It seems to me that 16-plait is not quite enough to cover this thick handle. I need to try 18 or 20. I nailed all the strands to the handle with small nails and taped them tightly before building the knots to cover the ends of the plaiting.



With the knots I had a lot of fun. I had several sources of information, but I think the best one was Sidney Wood's Turk's head web page that has lots of theory about knots and iterweaves. Now I understand how to make those knots and I don't have to follow some under-over-sequence that I read (or have tried to memorize). I also got Bruce Grant's Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding. It's got lots of knots and other cool stuff as well.





Anyway, the end knot is a brown 7-part 6-bight turk's head with black herringbone interweave. The other knots are 5-part versions of the same knot. They all seem to be a bit loose, meaning that there are spaces between strands. I may need more parts. I do not need more bights, because 6-bight knots almost slip down. Or then I just need to build my knot bases a bit smaller.



The keeper is made from 6 strands (3 black, 3 rust) that have been plaited with flat 6-plait from the middle (about 15cm). After this the keeper was tied around the handle by plaiting it with tight chessboard pattern. These strands too were nailed and taped before the ends were covered with the knot.

Third whip finished

There was about a meter extra in every strand. Long enough to use them in knots and handles. I finished with 6-plait, which is a bit thicker than my previous whip, but not at all too thick.

The handle is 16-plait double diamond plait. The end knot is 7 part 5 bight turk's head with herringbone interweave and the transition knot is a headhunters knot of 3 passes.

I haven't tried this one yet, because it keeps raining...

Third whip: thong

I'm having a problem with cord lengths. I can't find any estimates about how long they should be for 8 foot whip.

I made some calculations. It seems that 50cm strands make about 20cm plait using 16-plait, 14-plait or 4-plait. I also noticed that 4-plait can't cover one full strand and two hollow strands. Therefore I plan to remove the core filling before 6-plait drops to 4-plait. Then 4-plait only has to cover three hollow strands (core and 2 from 6-plait).

I will use following cord lengths: 12m, 12m, 11m, 10m, 9m, 8m, 7m and 6m. There is propably loads extra, but it's better than too little.

Third whip: belly, 2nd layer

And here is the second layer of my third whip's belly.

This is 12-plait with 26, 26, 20, 18, 16 and 12 foot lengths of cord. 12-plait went for 2'9" before dropping to 10-plait. I tried tucking strands by threading them inside another thread like suggested in Dallas Dogsled website. I didn't like the result, it was not smooth at all. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Anyway, I have a problem with droppimg strands. Everytime I drop a strand (or especially if I drop two) I get a bulge to my plait. The dropped strands add too much to the core thickness. I don't know if this happens only to me or just that other makers don't worry about it.

Strands were once again too short. 6-plait should have gone further down, so next time the 6-plait strand will be at least 26ft and 4-plaits 30ft.

I was thinking of trying to make an extra handle plait that would have 2 extra strands that would add some bulk to the core. I could drop them when I drop the thong plaiting from 16 to 14 and there would hopefully be no bulging.

I tied the transition with sinew for about 20cm and taped it a bit further.

Third whip: belly, 1st layer

Oh, kay. My third belly is ready.



I tried some exotic patterns just to get some feel about them. They look nice enough in the handle. Under-over sequence seems to be more solid than the whipmaker's plait, but also slooow.


I reinforced the transition with artificial sinew and taped the whole thing agin with electric tape.

Third whip: core

The core is like the one in my second whip, only the lengths are different. I have four strands: 8ft, 4ft, 3ft and 2ft. Three shortest ones are loaded with chain. All strands have 25cm extra for the handle.

I attached the strands to the handle with artificial sinew so that the sinew runs about 5cm to the core. This time there is no swell in the transition. The strands start from the end of the handle so the thickness is same in both ends of the handle.

I taped everyhthing together with electric tape. (My flatmate was kind enoug to bring me dirt cheap tape from Biltema after I ran out. Hence the blue tape.) After taping I had an idea that I could try to twist the core into a more round shape before taping. It seems to twist a bit after taping anyway. I will try that next time.

I also left some cord after each chain so that the transition from one thickness to another wouldn't be so steep. This worked nicely and produced even taper to the whole core.

Third whip: handle

Before finishing the turk's heads for my second whip, I begin the next project. This will be 10 foot bullwhip in desert tan color.

For my hanle I chose this time something lighter. 6mm thick and 25cm long stainless steel with thread. I just sawed it and filed the end.

Second whip: The Thong

My second whip is almost ready. The handle was way too thick, my 12-plait was not enough to cover it fully. There is also a lump at the end of the handle. Too much sinew.

I used equal amounts of black and green cord for this. The lengths were (like in the tutorial) 720cm, 720cm, 540cm, 480cm, 420cm and 300cm. For this belly they seemed to be good lengths. The whip is 185cm long. Six-footer. The fall is single 70cm piece of paracord.

I don't quite like the look of the thing. I was hoping for something more lively. But it cracks well and that is the most important thing :) At least for now...



That's not me by the way...

Second whip: The Belly

The belly is now rolled. Transition between the handle and the belly has been tied with artificial sinew and taped. Ready for final plaiting.

I bought a vice

I didn't like my plaiting's tendency to wander around the core, so I bought a vice form Clas Ohlson. Now my plaiting goes straight. A good purchase for 14,90€.

Second whip: The Belly

Like in the tutorial, I used four cords: 480cm, 480cm, 420cm and 300cm. Unlike in the tutorial, I ran out of cord every time about 30cm before I was supposed to. Therefore I dropped first two strands a bit before triple core changed into double and second two before double changed to single. Last four strands went just a short while over single core so now my braid ends about 100cm after the handle.

Next time I will add 100cm to all cords. Should be enough.

Also the handle is a bit lumpy. To my next whip I could try to get a bit more narrow handle core. There were gaps in my 8-plait in the handle. Also I will run the core cords all the way to the end of the handle so the thickness of the belly won't change in the handle.

Second whip: The Core

I begun constructing my second whip. Instead of galvanized spike that can't be found in local hardware stores, I used 20cm piece of metal bar that I found from local construction site. Diameter is about 12mm and weight 170g. I made a small taper to it using a saw and a file.



Just like in the tutorial, I have four pieces of paracord, 30cm, 60cm, 90cm and 180cm plus 15cm for the handle, loaded with 30cm, 60cm and 90cm of beaded chain. I placed them evenly around the handle and wrapped with artificial sinew. It's perfect stuff for this. I tied the other end to a bookshelf and winded the handle over the sinew for stronger grip. I finished with five overhand knots.






After that I added the bolster, using electric tape. Since electric tape has some tension when pulled tight, it tends to twist the core into a spiral. Just before taping I rotated the core a quarter turn to same direction I was taping. Then the tension of the tape pulled the core straight. Finally I added some more tape to the end of the handle for smoother taper.



And the result is satisfactory.

Next project

Since I'm happy with my first whip, it's a good time to start another. Fortunately I found an excellent site with nylon bullwhip tutorial. My next project will therefore be 6 foot bullwhip.

Nylon bullwhip tutorial

For this I have acquired more paracord (green this time), iron bar for the handle and more beaded chain for the core. I also ordered some artificial sinew (even more difficult to get than paracord) and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

It cracks!

My first whip just returned from the test run. It cracks! It's sharp and pleasantly loud. Cattleman's crack seemed to work. Overhead crack ended up hitting me. I need thicker leather jacket. But I'm very happy with my first whip.

First whip ready

All right. It's six o'clock in the morning and my whip is ready.



Looks good. Much better than I thought possible for my first try. It's also smaller than I thought it would be. I have propably used something like 60 hours on this one. Even the keeper fits nicely. I was afraid that the loops were too big, but they seem to be just perfect.




Since it is morning, I guess I could go out and try it instead of going to bed...

First whip: thong, fall, cracker

Instead of sleeping, I made my whip.



Thong is 12-plaited, beginning with a keeper braid. The cords I used were 4 x 2,5m, 4 x 1,5m, 2 x 2m and 2x 1m. That's 22 meters in 6 pieces. One of 3 meter strips was desert brown. It made a nice figure but when the 1 meter part ran out, the rest of it was kind of lonely looking covering only one side. Thong is 130cm long.



The fall is 60cm long single paracord that has a loop in the end. It's been attached the way "How to make whips" suggests. Cracker is 20cm long, made out of single paracord inner strand. I'll replace it with a real cracker when I figure out what to use for one.

First whip: belly

My first belly is ready. Actually it is my second, but the first one was all twisted and didn't have a chain inside, so it doesn't count.

I filled 150cm paracord with beaded chain and folded it into 100cm long core that I taped with duct tape. This too got a little twisted, but not very much. After rolling it was relatively even.

I plaited the core with 6-plait using two 3 meter cords and one 2 meter cord, taped it again for smooth taper and rolled again. Result was decent, I think.

Final belly is now 100cm long with beaded chain running all the way to the end.

First whip: handle

My first whip was to be a stockwhip, since "How to make whips" is mainly about them. Also, florida cow whips also have rigid handle so they are sort of like stockwhips. A bit. A very small bit...

I just finished the handle. It is build on a 20mm x 500mm rod of pine (I think). Took me something like 25 hours to make. Learnt a lot, the next will propably be faster.



The keeper is made like suggested in "How to make whips". I carved a groove to the end of the rod for better keeping. Then I plaited 6 strings (50cm) into a flat 6-plait. Then I plaited a few passes over the rod and taped it securely. Over the tape there is 5-part 4-bight turk's head knot.



The plait in the handle is a 16-plait solid band. With 20mm diameter and 550 paracord it seems I would need even more strands to cover it well. The end is again covered with 5-part 4-bight turk's head knot.



The knob in the end is 6-part 5-bight turk's head. It's too big, but 4-part 5-bight was too small and I already have done it again and again for something like 30 times. But now I know how to tie turk's heads without instructions. Well, at least two turk's heads.

A good video in youtube about turk's head in whipmaking.

Accessories

Whips are cool. Therefore I must have one. Because they are expensive, I must make one myself. Logical?

Luckily I don't have a daytime job at the moment.

First things first. Some information. I ordered a book by Ron Edwards called How to make whips. It is a good book, altough it makes me want to try a kangaroo whip as my first whip...

Since I decided to make my first whip out of nylon (paracord), Dallas Dogsled gave some good tips in their Cow Whip page

Then all I needed was some tools. Knife, grindstone, scissors, lighter, butane burner, pliers, measuring tape, several kinds of tape and a letter opener.



An of course some paracord from Operator.

Ruoskus

I started this blog mainly to make notes about my whipmaking progress. Name Ruoskus is derived from Finnish word "ruoska" whitch means "whip".