Howdy,
I'm a new member here, a friend referred me because of the whipmaking topic. Joe, good choice going with Mike Murphy- great whipmaker (although you're plaiting it you can rest assured he did a fine job cutting and tapering the strands) and a great guy to do business with. Tom, what kind of whip are you making, out of what material, how long do you want it to be and how many strands are you using. I learned to make whips by reading "How to Make Whips" by Ron Edwards (which includes the booklet Joe referred to). This book shows how to make Stock Whips, Bull Whips, and Snake Whips, with strands ranging from 4 to 16. I highly recommend it. On the topic of tightness-I hate to say it but You'll get a much better result if you keep everything tight as you go. Mr' Edwards had a saying, "Pull tight, plait loose," in other words, pull your strand tight and make sure it's in place before you bring the next strand around. Also, you'll get a much straighter whip if you put the thick end in a vise of some sort and pull on the thong as you plait. Otherwise, they have a tendency to twist as you plait further along, which can give the whip an erratic arc of motion and make it more dangerous (and less fun) to use. I did the same thing you mentioned when I first started because I didn't quite understand how to hold the thong and strands while plaiting, and I saw my quality jump way up when I got the hang of doing it the way Mr. Edwards suggests. Here's a link to the Whip Enthusiasts website, there's a lot of skilled whipmakers on there with great knowledge that they're happy to share. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WhipEnthusiasts/
Any questions, drop me a line. Happy Plaiting,
Tyler
