blackhammer

Sorry to drop so many questions on you guys. I have limited access to good hides to rawhide out. Ive got my last one cut up til Im almost out with no immediate prospects for a new one unless some of my neighbors cows die and I'm not exactly prayin for that! On with the question. Ive got enough strands cut from two different colored hides to make my first reata. Its my "get out of the house when the missus nags" project. Say a man wanted to build a 3/8ths, four strand. Im shootin for 60 ft so Im statrtin with 90, maybe 95 foot strands. About what width and thickness would I need to go with to hit the 3/8ths mark? Id like to experiment, but like I said, materials are in short supply. Also, should I use glycerin or some other type of braiding soap or none at all. Again, thanks in advance. You guys are my only source of info other than my books and limited experience. thanks in advance. By the way, Ive been braiding for about five years off and on, mostly whips in leather and chute cord. They use\ed to DRMO thousands of feet of the stuff when I was in the military! If you see a\an all od green bullwhip thats still stiff as a rod floating around, then its likely that I had a hand in the making. Thanks in advance. P.S. My father is a Southern Baptist preacher, which should explain the long winded, rabbit chasin question. Oh, and I was typing at the top of my voice!

Ive been making hondas by the bushel lately. Slit braid the eye like it shows in Grant's book. I want to use dorrance style burners, on my next batch, but am having an absolute devil of a time figuring out how to properly cut them out. Anyone use the dorrance style, and if so, would you mind posting a pattern. Thanks in advance.

There is a picture in Ron Hunt;s Whipmaking book that shows a fella cutting strands over a rail with a pocket knife. That image has kinda stuck in my head as how it should be done. Then I look at some of the work on this site and reckon that there's gotta be a better way. Anyone have any experience with the argentine type guides? Kind of a round piece with a hole in the center and a slot through the side bisecting the hole that you slip a knife blade through. Looks like you just start the strand, pull and there you go.

Sharp. I like those taps.

Thanks for the replies. My current tools are an old boker stockman with the sheepsfoot and spey blades zero bevelled and polished and a fid made from, strange as it may sound, A PITCH FORK TINE! I use an aussie strander in a vice to size and I bevel by hand using the boker. Man that thing is sharp. I do however have plans to consign a strander/beveller/splitter by a local machinist. Almost hate to give up the pocket knife approach though. Hah!

Oh my!

What do you guys consider your absolute, must have tools for braiding? Besides your hands of course. Specifically, what brands of knives, lace cutters and rounders do you use. Pictures would be cool.

I just realized that after five years of braiding, I know nothing about braiding. Just beautiful sir. That is all.

I made a few of these out of parachute cord over a rope core. You can get the panic snaps at any tack store. Be careful if you make these for a "club". If you arent already hangin around with them, other clubs may view you in that role. That said, getbacks are a great started project.

Nice! I have lace rough cut for this very project. Couple of questions for you and any body else that's built reatas. Say I want to braid a 3/8ths reata. About what width and thickness do my laces need to be? Also, what kinda braiding soap, if any did you use? Did you use a core? Ive made about 25-30 whips, so I'm familiar with long strands, tamales, and associated headaches. Thanks in advance.

I really appreciate all the replies. As it happens, the deer harvest wasn't quite to standard. Was however gifted an elk hide from a friends recent colorado trip. It has turned out to be pretty nice to work with.

Thanks a bunch. Disappointing to hear but it will save me a lot of effort. Back to the cows I go!

Thanks. I'll see what I can find.

Howdo all. So deer season is about to get started around these parts and i will have access to a stack of fresh hides. Has anyone ever made rawhide out of deer skin? If so, are there any special considerations or areas of attention versus cow hide such as slippin hair? Anyone ever braided with deer rawhide? I figure if i can make this stuff work I might have a ready supply of raw material for finer strings. Or I could be wrong. Thanks in advance.

Nicely done. I just finished an 8 plait mecate without core. Of course, it turned out square, but having used it a bit, I think I like the feel. instead of s[picing the loop for the popper, I middled four strands about 3,000 feet long to make a 4 plait loop that came together for the 8 plait body. this eliminated the need for a covering knot, but I dont think it was worth the effort. I wound up putting a 2 pass double gaucho knot at the loop for decoration anyway.

Oh man! Nicely done. Wish you coulda posted this about a week ago. i just finished a test bosal in paracord to get a feel for the process before I try one with rawhide. This is very helpful info. Deserves a sticky, i should say. Beautiful work.

I have to beg your forgiveness. I meant to say Ron Edwards. He was a well known Australian whip maker who wrote several books on the topic. His whipmaking book has an entire section devoted to fancy plaits. Again, my apologies. As an aside, Grants books can be a bit difficult for those of us who have English as our first language. I recommend you keep at it. Have a good day.

Sir, the best book I have found on the subject of fancy plaits is by Bruce Grant. Google him and u should be able to find out all you need to know.

Thanks again. I've got three of Grant's books and a coupla David Morgan's. Wasn't aware of Tom Hall I dont reckon. Youve also caused my curiosity to stir as to who this mysterious un nameable person might be. Knothead, your site has singlehandedly been responsible for my serious addiction to turksheads, which may have led to my recent separation from my girlfriend. For that I thank you.

Thanks lilpep! Thats the one.

How do all. A while back, somebody (Johanna maybe) posted a link to download Mao Gaucha, a book on Brazillian braiding techniques. Tried to search for it, but came up dry. Any one know where I can find this at. I tried El Trenzador's blog but couldn't get the link to work. Thanks.

Thanks all. This un wont ever see a calf, for the above reasons. There is some stretch and as mentioned, it'd probably burn through within the first inch of a hard run. I guess i just made it out of morbid curiousity. And no sir, I dont wanna think about braidin that thing in one. Makes my toes ache.

Howdy all. Thought I'd warn yall that im no longer lurking. Still tryin to figger out this computatin' machine datblameit confound it. Ill try to get a few pictures up as soon as I can. Till then, stay safe.