KnotHead

Yep. It's all Kangaroo. The black thing is a piece of heat shrink tube to keep the metal ring that will be added to it from rubbing against the roo. Brian...

This one will capture your eyes. It did mine while tying it. LOL... Brian....

If you have access to a way to get Ron Edwards book Crocodile Ridge Braids book, that would also be a really great resource for you to have.

I would love to put a frame around that one. Just awsome work Annette. By the work you put into your wood work, you should be a good braider by the time your done learning. Hence the learning will never stop. If the learning stops, the master should stop and learn again. Brian...

Hi Annette. I see you're very good with that wood. If I had the wood and the tools I think I would be trying to combine the two together to enhance both. Just an idea that might be of some help. Brian...

Nice work Paul. Nice to hear you're finally getting to use that fid. Brian...

I have several photos. But none where you can see the tucked ends. LOL... Now there's an irony. LOL... Brian...

I usually tuck the finish strand and start strands all the way under and nip them both at their perspective ends of the bight structures ie. ( Top and Bottom, or Left and Right Sides) depending on how you're looking at it. I will use a pair nail clippers, or a box razor, nippers I use with electronics, or whatever will give me a nice fine close cut. Knot Head.

Below is some Fid work that lilpep did here in my shop with some goat. Brian...

Well it figures that you would ask about something that I am still experimenting with. So, I can't give you a good answer. Maybe try like I am, different little pieces of hide with the different solutions you have and see what turns out the best before committing to a definite finish. Also, consider that the things you make will be different and in different environments. So you will probably end up with a few different finishes to use. Right now this is what I a doing with all my kangaroo lace. I am still trying to find just the right finish for each situation which seems to be endless at this point. Brian...

I know from my own experience with horse hide that the quality of the braid depends on the quality of the cuts you make and all that quality depends on the moister of the hide when you do the cutting and braiding. Too much of a dry moist will give the hide you cut and braid with a stretched out white look. Too wet and the hide is like messin with a bowl of noodles that have been over cooked. LOL... If ya can relate to that one. I don't get to mess with raw hide type braiding much. But I know that having the right temper, or moister to the hide is essential and very critical to the cutting and braiding. This will prove to be very critical when tying the casa knots and the interweaves. Like stated above, the hides temper must be just right; or you will experience problems later on. Brian...

entiendo. Was the pink one made from the chrome tanned hide? Nice work also. Brian...

Over all nice work. Few loose spots, but I do like it. Very nice work. Brian...

I made a little pictorial sample of what is being explained. I hope that this will build a much broader scope for any who see it. Best regards, Brian...

Sorry if I trampled over your explanation megabit. I just thought that the mathematical part of the knot would give a greater scope on the base knot structure. No matter how far I dig into this particular problem, or anomaly of this knot, I find even more bight structures that wont work out unless you use the same color you tied the base knot with. Weird, I know. But it is interesting how the math works out for these particular interweaves. Synonymously these interweaves are some of the toughest to figure out for most braiders. I know that I faced much frustration when learning the rules with these particular types of knots. But with breaking the rules in mind, you can always bend the rules in ways that will work. For instance, By taking the same base 7px6b casa and tying a type 2 PK 2pass the outter bight boundaries will change. This will produce a non-symmetrical knot, But you will achieve the final result of the knot you're looking for. It will just look a bit different than you want it to look. But as you tie the 2pass type 2 PK the knot will shift to the right, or left of the base casa knot, or top and bottom depending on how you are holding the knot. The bight structure is being re-built by an interweave pattern and the base becomes the foundation for the new bight structure. The type 1 PK to the type 3 PK cycles will eventually run out of room because the knot itself is being built to the inside and will eventually not have enough base knot to expand the passes. It does run out of room, or there is a limit to how many passes can be done. It has taken me quite some time to grasp all of this myself. But by pressing through the mid-night oils and many books(some in Spanish) and lots of math, the picture became clear to me. I bet I have spent at least a year off and on studying this topic. It would seem to be endless. But I do enjoy it. Best regards, Brian

The problem is with the base knot you started from. Here's an idea for you to try out. Try tying the 7part 6bight casa knot as you base knot. Then put the Gaucho weave in with another color. This part will show you that the bight structure is not going to work. If you were to tie the same knot all with one color, it will work out because the bight structure is then hidden by the color of the lace, being that it is done all in one color. The idea here is to show you that the bight structure for the 7part 6bight casa knot is both row coded and collum coded. This is why the gaucho you are trying to intermix with the rest of the knot is not working out. The gaucho bights structure sits on the same bight structure as the base knot does. It does not go outside of that. So, if you have a knot that is dividable by 2 & 3 you have a base knot that is row coded and collum coded(Dividable by both even & odd numbers)... Based on the Ashley book of Knots Turks Head chart, I have found that these kinds of bight structures exists through out the chart in the amount found so far to be 36 times if you were to take the bight structure beyond a normal size knot. But if you were to try to insert the Gaucho interweave after you insert the herringbone in a different color by using the base casa knot lace of the same color, you should end up with a working knot that you can be proud of. Because all you're really doing then is tying your base casa knot, then inserting the herringbone interweave, and then going back to the base casa knot, and inserting the Gaucho interweave within the base casa knot bight boundary without breaking the rules. Hope this helps out some. Best regards, Brian

I get all mine from Tandy Leather. You can buy them in 10 packs and by the 100 count box. Brian...

The bevel should be like A in your diagram. This is what I do to cut the small lace. I cut a wide cut first. Usually about 1/4 inch width. I split that 1/4 inch down just a few thousandths. I cut my my next straight 90 to just within where I need the actual finished lace before I bevel. Now I check the thickness of my lace by feel in my fingers. If it is too thick then, I split it one more time, a little at a time to get it where I think I will like it to be. Now I bevel one side of the lace with a fresh blade, not the blade I used for my 90 degree cuts. It's important to have a fresh new blade every time you bevel. I know it seems to be a waste, but you'll see the difference in the cuts. Then I bevel the other side. It's important to have a good straight cut on both sides when you're cutting your bevels. If you have curves and stuff like that and it is not even on the hair side from the splitting, you'll end up with bad cuts and not what you want in lace. Hope this helps some. Brian...

Told ya so... LOL... Brian...

I like the Plaits Round & Flat by Ron Edwards myself. That would be a matter of preference though. I have a link to their website. The Ram Skull Press located here, The Ram Skull Press There you'll find all of Ron Edwards books. You can order on their international ordering page, which is where that link will take you by default. Brian...