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.

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.

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.