Making braided dog leashes for show

[wildrose]

I had a customer today asking me about making show leashes for her Pyrenees dogs. I checked out a site she sent me to and it said they were "braided with a 250 lb. test core" What does that mean?

I've taking braiding classes, but never actually made anything for sale, so any and all suggestions are welcome.

[gary]

Holly,

I presume that, whatever material has been used for the core, has been tested to see what load it will take. I use some nylon webbing straps in some stuff I make and that's been tested to 2,500 kgs. It means that a batch of the material has been tested under approved conditions and, as long as the producers keep to that recipe or method for production, any future batches have the same properties as the test batch.

They sometimes also test stuff to produce two figures, one is a steady pull until it breaks and the other is a 'jerk' pull until it snaps. A lot of ropes and straps have test figures attached to them if they are used in critical situations like seat belts and climbing ropes.

Just my tuppence-worth.

Gary

[tashabear]

I should think that if you wanted a strong core you could braid around parachute cord, otherwise known as 450 cord or 550 cord. It even comes in colors.

Edited July 18, 2009 by tashabear

[Maeve]

The cores depend upon what you are braiding. I have braided show leads for Rotties .... and in this case, they were 8 plait over climbers rope. So being a big breed, I would have to assume that she doesn't want a little 4 plait! You can also use nylon cabled rope (not twisted) for a core. For an 8 plait, I would use 1/8" rope for the core. For the simpler (and fancier) 4 plait leads, you can use a number of different cores from Kevlar to waxed nylon. Anything that is strong but doesn't stretch. The rope strength is usually printed on the packaging. Tensile strength (sp?) is the strength under tension. The maximum pressure under stretching with out damage to the rope. Not sure about a snapping strength.

Love and Light,

Maeve

[Spence]

I braid 2 and 3 ft show leads for Rotties, GSDs and the like. I use kangaroo lace, 6 plait with a core (1) of braided nylon with a 2 strand core within it. (3/8" diameter) I backbraid each end through 4 plaits - minimum. I also bring the core back through the main(standing) part of the lead. I cover them with a long turkshead.

I've tested about a dozen of them by attaching them between my two vehicles, towing my pickup truck, from a stop, around a paved parking lot. No stretching or breakage.

It's hard to convince an owner of the strength of the roo lace and nylon core(s) used for these leads. The strength is magnified in the number of plaits you backbraid through. I've seen roo showleads (first hand) come apart before a gentle GSD completely exited his crate. The backbraid went through only 2 plaits. and the core was not brought through the main (standing) part of the lead.

I think the braided nylon that I use is about 20 years old and is now called para cord or 450/550 stuff.

g'luck

[wildrose]

Thanks! I'm pretty new to braiding, having only taking a few classes at IFoLG shows previously. It seems like it could be a good market down here, but I want to do it right.

[Tracym]

You said "I also bring the core back through the main(standing) part of the lead ."

Can you tell me how you do that?

[roo4u]

it means the core is throughout the leash and doesnt just stop at the point were you backbraid. In the case of my leads I used waxed nylon and tied my core as a leash before any braiding then the core was braided over, there was a small knot were the handle was tied and this was covered by the backbraid and knot i used to finish my leads.

If you look through the topics you will find several on braiding leashes and a link to an online tutorial that may help you with your questions.

[Tracym]

it means the core is throughout the leash and doesnt just stop at the point were you backbraid. In the case of my leads I used waxed nylon and tied my core as a leash before any braiding then the core was braided over, there was a small knot were the handle was tied and this was covered by the backbraid and knot i used to finish my leads.

If you look through the topics you will find several on braiding leashes and a link to an online tutorial that may help you with your questions.

Thanks, I had been reading through the threads. I just didn't understand that one bit - thanks for explaining.