AZ Pete

Very cool. Thanks!

Very nice! Where did you find that braid stamp?

Not to derail this topic but I have a question regarding plaiting soap and Wyosheen. I have used plaiting soap when plaiting whips. I have also used leather dressing. When the whip is finished I put on a coat of Wyosheen (50/50 blend of Wyosheen and thinner). I have noticed that, on the whips I make with plaiting soap, the Wyosheen turns white after drying. Not so with the leather dressing. Do you think that the soap is reacting with the lacquer? I really have to buff it out to get rid of the white residue. I use the same plaiting soap formula as mentioned above (without the wax). Just curious if anyone else has run up against this issue before. Thanks, Pete

Thanks, Brian! I will give that a try and add for the two ridge strings. I think you are right about the conditioning. The leather is so dry I am thinking of giving it a very light coating of dressing and letting it sit for a couple of days so it completely absorbs into the leather but gives me some conditioning. I plan on giving the whole thing a coat of Wyosheen after it is finished to help seal it up. Thanks again for your assistance! Regards, Pete

Hi all - I am going to make a hat band for a beaver felt hat. It is going to be made out of cowhide. I am going to do a 10-12 strand crocodile ridge braid. I would like the final width to be around 1.25". A few questions I have: 1) Is there a general calculation I would need to use to determine the width of the strands in order to acheive my final width of the band? I am pretty new to flat braids having dealt mostly with whip making. 2) I have read somewhere along the lines that I should not use any leather conditioner when braiding this piece because it might stain the hat. Should I not use anything on the leather at all?? 3) Should I be concerned about dying the strands? Will that also potentially bleed on the hat? Thanks to all for any input. Regards, Pete

Thanks, Gretchen. I have that book as well. Found it very useful. Please post pics of you deer hide whip when you get a chance. I'm interested in seeing how it turns out. Also curious as to what you think of using deer for whips. Regards, Pete

I used a piece of aluminum from Home Depot, a hacksaw and a drill to made the slide portion. Not too hard to make. Aluminum is very soft and easy to work with.

Hi all - I have been making whips for a short time and have enjoyed doing so. Recently. my wife's purse strap broke on one of her favorite purses. It was a 6 plait round braid strap (very cheep and not well made) over a length of flimsy rope. It does not seem like the best core for a purse strap. I was temped to make the strap as I would a whip (leather core, bolster to give me the thickness and a final overlay). However, that creates a very dense strap. I am not sure if that would be very comfortable to wear on the shoulder for any length of time even with very smooth plaiting. Does anyone have any suggestions as to the type of core to use for purse straps? Thanks for the assistance! AZ Pete

Very nice work, Kiscien! I like that whip. I am definitely going to make a cowhide whip next.

This is an indispensable tool for whip makers (IMHO) or any one wanting to cut their own lace. Thanks for posting this Joe M! One thing I would like to add to Joe's instructions. When you drill the holes in the sides, be sure that they are as straight as possible. Also the size of the hole that you drill is important. The threaded bolt/insert need to be as tight as possible while still allowing the smaller cut piece to move freely. This is especially important for the beveler side of the tool. If there is a lot of play in the smaller piece, when the wing nuts are tightened, it will want to pull down along the kerf cut thus making it uneven on the top. If the top is uneven, the bevel will not work quite as well. Reason I mention this is I messed up on my first one. However, rather than starting completely over I cut off the messed up beveled piece and left the resizer as is. I then made a smaller separate beveler. Because it was smaller (4.5in or so), I was able to drill all the way through the piece and place longer hex bolts through the entire piece. I really too my time drilling the holes to make sure they were straight and the proper size. Worked great. I have two separate tools instead of one but they both work great!! Just some suggestions for those that care...

Funny you mention the sizer/beveler. I made one this weekend! Can't wait to use it on the overlay for the whip I am working on now.

Thanks, Karol!

No, I am not using a shot bag at this time. However, I did some calculations last night and you are right. I think that 3-4 oz might be too thick. I have a 2-3 oz hide from Tandy (tooling veg tanned) that I have been using for bolsters. I cut a test strand and split it to the thinnest part of the strand. It came out to about 1mm. I use a hand splitter from Dene Williams and it does a really good job splitting the strands. The strand that I cut, stretched and split seemed pretty strong. I will see if I can find a 2-3oz hide somewhere. Next question, have you dyed your own strands before? Just curious how that works. I can't seem to find hides in different colors very often (especially thin hides around 2-3 oz).

Thanks again, Karol and Joe. Your advice is much appreciated! I am thinking of trying a side of Hermann Oak veg tanned tooling leather 3-4oz and see how that goes. When you are making cowhide whips do you still try to get two braided bellies and bolsters (as necessary for thickness)?

Thanks to all for the advice! Couple more questions: 1) I am familiar with preparing roo for plaiting. However, do you stretch cowhide the same way as I would roo? Because it is not as strong as roo, do I need to be more ginger in my stretching? 2) Should I grease the cow strands prior to stretching (with leather dressing or plaiting soap, correct?)? I will definitely want to plait more with roo, but would still like to try cow, if for nothing more than the practice and experience with different types of hide. Thanks again!

Hi - I am not quite sure I understand your question. Are you trying to figure out the width of the lace you need to plait over the paracord core? If so, what is the diameter of the core? AZ Pete

Thanks for the info. If I was going to stick with 8-12 plait (maybe 16 down the road), what would you recommend as far as the weight? I was looking at latigo as well but the lightest I can find is around 5oz. Can you split latigo down? I have seen some whip makers using latigo for 12 plait just don't know the weight that would be needed for that. Thanks again! Pete

Hi all - I am new to the forum (actually this is my first post)! I am also VERY new to plaiting and leather work. I started a bullwhip recently (thanks to Bernie's DVD's and a load of books, etc.) and have loved the process. The bullwhip that I am making is out of kangaroo hide. However, I want to continue to learn and develop my skills (long way to go). As with most hobby's, they cost money. I don't mind that. However, kangaroo is kind of out of my budget during the learning stages. I can do a few projects with it here and there but would like to also learn to use cowhide/kip/latigo (something less expensive than roo). Which brings me to the help I need. Looking for advice from the experts out there: What types of leather (other than roo) would be best for whip making? I see a lot of people using veg-tanned cowhide and some folks using latigo. There are so many options out there it makes my head spin. What kinds/sizes of leather should I be looking for (i.e. tooling leather, latigo, calfskin?? 2-3 oz, 3-4 oz???)? I'm will to try different leathers but just need some guidance as to what I should be looking for when it comes to whip making (durability, etc...). Thanks, in advance, for any and all advice! Best Regards Pete