Knot Heads World Wide and General Whipmaking
Stormdrane just posted a link to my blog in a thread on Knot Heads World Wide asking about whipmaking details (still waiting for my account to be activated). I know I don't have too much in the way of specific construction information about my projects, but I would be happy to answer any questions. I know that when I started it was difficult to understand the practical details about how to go about actually making all the parts of the whip. I figured the best way was to ask someone more experienced than me and thankfully, some professional whipmakers were kind enough to set me straight - Steve Huntress, Rhett Kelly and Tony Layzell were all instrumental in helping me get going. Likewise, if anyone out there needs help with understanding the process of making a whip, please let me know and I will do my best to help. I also post on a thread over at EDCForums.com about paracord whips so feel free to post over there also.
But some general info:
I tend to prefer making 6' whips, mostly due to the space I have available for personal practice.
I generally do pretty well making bullwhips with an 8 plait belly and 12 plait overlay, but I understand they are not as durable or robust as a two belly whip with a 16 plait overlay. I have made a few in the past but I intend to be making more two belly whips in the future.
I prefer to do my braiding from butt to point using dropped strands rather than point to butt and adding strands...however I have done both methods and if I were to use the strand adding method I would most likely use it for a belly, but I usually don't
I started using large nails and such when I first began making bulls but I have since moved to using 3/8" rods, usually steel, as handles. They tend to transition more smoothly to the nylon sheathed BBs that I use for the core of the thong. Adding in some staggered lengths of destranded paracord I can create a reasonably smooth core taper compared to other methods I've tried. I used to favour electrical cord cores and I think they are still a very good core material, but I stopped using it due to the lumpiness of the wires as you make the core taper. For a beginner, I think electrical cord is an excellent material to learn with and it's a time saver compared to feeding BBs one at a time into a sheath.
When I make a core, I try to incorporates small steps in the taper that act as natural markers for where a strand drop should occur in the next layer and to help hide the natural bumps that occur when a strand gets dropped.
I do use a portable table clamp to hold my whips and it really does help to keep your seams straight, but using a clamp or vice does not absolve the plaiter from the error of uneven tension. You still have to be consistent with the pull on the strands. Generally I pull tight around the handle, but I've found that on the thong itself, pulling too hard with nylon is detrimental to good flow. Very different from leather.
I have given up on using artificial sinew as I found that when I used it with electrical tape as a binding, the tape would become brittle and eventually crack and split creating a weak spot that will ruin a whip. I use unwaxed heavy nylon thread now.
For crackers, I have come to prefer using polypropylene string.
Practice is really key. I tend to eyeball where my drops are going to be more often now, based on the diameter of the core at a give point. The first few whips will likely be very rough looking, although if it tapers well enough you will probably be able to get a decent crack, but the more whips you make the cleaner your construction will become.