Strand cutting

So I started the strand cutting process. Because this is meant as practice, I wanted to use the same method as I will with the leather. So I cut out a roundish piece approx the same size as the kangaroo hide I have. I tried to use the strand cutter I got on it...:

...but it didn't work very well. I hope it works better on the real leather, but I was ending up with some pretty poor laces that varied all over the place in width. I think it's partly because I'm not practiced at using it, but more so because the faux-leather is stretchy and has cloth on the back and it just didn't work well. So I went with a different method.

I measured along the outside edge 30 inches (2.5 feet), then used a caliper to mark 5mm along that edge, then simply cut it out with scissors. Then I marked out another 30 inches at 6mm, then 7mm and finally 8mm:

This will give me a strand that is 10 feet long and tapers from 8mm to 5mm. I measured around the diameter of the handle for after the 2nd bolster and it was 88mm. Divided by 12 that's 7.33. I rounded up to 8 so they would be a bit larger than the diameter, as it seems I read somewhere that slightly larger is better then slightly smaller and I want good coverage.

I feel frustrated by the lack of information to be found on strand length. I know they need to be longer than what I want the whip, but I cannot find any estimates on how much longer. Twice as long? A third again? Who knows. So I went with 10 feet and we'll see what the final whip ends up being. I'd like an 8 footer, but I expect the end result will be shorter than that with 10 foot strands. We'll see.

Because we did not want to have breaks in the tape backing, we decided it was best to tape the back of the strands after cutting them out and then cut the extra tape off the sides. This will be a royal pain, but, obviously, will not be part of the process with leather. We could skip it, of course, but I figure that even with a practice whip we should make it as strong as reasonably possible.

This is the strand laid out over the tape. It's hard to see the strand, but it's there.

Then I cut the excess tape off. The entire process for a single strand took several hours (1.5ish, really). So it'll take a while, but it's all in the name of fun and learning, right? And here's the first strand completed:

2nd Bolster

Cut the 2nd bolster 4.5 feet too, and width-wise did the same method as the first bolster. But instead of taping it on we tied it on with artificial sinew (more for practice than anything):

Once again, this is a step that I'm not sure on. I don't know how long to make them, how to shape them, etc., etc... I get the basics, but all the details aren't quite falling into place yet.

First belly

So I moved forward on my whip but Bryony had a visitor and couldn't move forward yet on hers. I cut out a bolster and taped it on. (Once again, I won't use tape for this sort of thing when using leather). This process is a bit of a conundrum for me. I don' t know how long to make the bolsters, exactly what shape to make them, how to measure them, etc.  I basically wrapped a piece of paper around the first braid (the core) and marked it with a fold. Then I used that as my measurement for the handle width. Then I just guessed on the length, tapered it to a point, and stuck it on. I did not tape the back of the bolster because I'm worried about thickness.

Next, I cut out strips for a belly. In this case I went 4.5 feet in length. The reason I went with this length is because that's the width of the faux-leather we got. I did the same process for cutting this out (measured, taped the back, tapered, cut) but did 8 strands instead of 4:

Then it was plaiting time again. I attached it to the handle with the same method as the core (duct-tape) and then plaited. I dropped from 8 strands to 6 part way down.

Toward the end I ended up breaking one of the strands, so I backed up the plaiting a bit, added a new strand, plaited over it for a bit and then picked it up to replace the broken one.

Here's the finished belly.

By the time I was done my fingers were bruised and so sore I could hardly pick stuff up. That's the price you pay for whip making.

Re-plaiting/Starting over

So the test plait ended up being pretty loose (not suprising with it being halfway plaited without a grip/vice. So we started over. This time we started Bryony's as well. I also decided to plait over the handle as well.  Not sure why...just what I decided.

We cut new strips. This time we tapered them as well:

...and cut them into 4, keeping them attached at the handle end by about a half inch or so. The we taped them onto the handles...

...and plaited them.

Starting out/Our first plaiting

(Note: I accidentatally posted this with Bryony's login, but the post is by Charles.)

Both Bryony and I started working on a practice whip with the faux leather last weekend. Then I went out of town and so didn't have a chance to post. First, we began with an 8" nail for me (and an 8" bolt for her - just to try them both out):

We then cut out 3 foot strips that would just wrap around the nail and duct-taped the back (technically we're using Gorilla tape).

 We taped the strip on to the nail. When we use leather we won't duct tape it on, but for the practice I figured it was as good a way as any:

Then we cut the strip into a taper and into 4 sections:

Then our first test braid:

Me looking at the book to figure it out.

Trying to braid while holding it between my knees.

Bryony braiding with me holding it.

Ultimately this wasn't going to work, so we ran to Lowes and got this:

Now we're plaiting in style!

 

The hide/The plan

I purchased some kangaroo hide (at a very good price - but still, expensive), but I don't want to use it for learning with. We talked about a few options, but I'm of the mind that if I'm going to make a cheap whip, I want to make as cheap a whip as possible, and even cheap leather is still moderately pricey. We talked about maybe starting with a duct tape whip, but that did not really appeal to me. Finally, we settled in on using faux leather.  That will create some challenges, but the final product should be closer to the look of a leather whip, and it will give us the experience we want with cutting strands, measuring, etc...

So I purchased this:

I cut a strand and pulled it to test stretch. It had too much. So then I duct taped the back of it and cut another strand, testing it again. The stretch here was more what I was hoping for--similar to leather. It's not as strong as kanagoo hide, obviously, this way, but much stronger than without the duct tape backing. So this may be the way we go with it.

Heres' the kangaroo hide I got. It's in saddle tan, which we want to use natural, but the selection of colors was limited at the cost.

It begins

BCB = Brett, Charles, and Bryony

Last weekend Brett recieved a 10' Indiana Jones style whip from Todd's Costumes. We spent several hours messing around trying to crack it (somewhat successfully) and all just kinda fell in love with it. Then we came up with the idea of learning to braid our own whips and it's really stuck. So we're digging in. The blog will record the process of learning and creating the various whips we make.