Paracord Mecate

[Aggiebraider]

Howdy everyone,

Here are some pics of a mecate I finished tonight for MarkB. They are 12 plait, and just a hair over 1/2". Mark made the popper himself. I tried to attach a horsehair tassle to the pineapple knot, but couldnt get it to work right and had already cut the strands off flush or I would have run them out through the knot to make a tassle. Let me know what you think and I am open to critiques as always.

Have a good one,

CW

[megabit]

Looks good to me. What did you use for a core? Is the loop for the popper spliced on or do those strings feed into the rest of the mecate?

[Aggiebraider]

I actually plaited 4 strands around 1 core strand for the core of the body and I left the inside core in each strand. So really, I plaited these reins twice. I wont use this method again, it just takes too long. The eye is spliced back on itself, similar to how you would do it on a pair of romal reins.

CW

[Casey Jordan]

Nice work!

I like the color combination too.

[Bevan]

Gday Calvin

Nice work mate , every thing is nice and tight and i like the colour combo too , plus it is good to see some of your work at longlast

Cheers and thanks for sharing

Bevan

Edited October 27, 2010 by Bevan

[Aggiebraider]

Thanks guys I really appreciate the compliments

CW

[Bevan]

Thanks guys I really appreciate the compliments

CW

You are more than welcome mate , you have some very fine work there , so dont stop posting !!!!!

cheers Bevan

www.bwrwhips.com

[roo4u]

did you stretch your paracord before braiding? i have had problems with too much stretch in my reins after braiding even when ive prestretched the cord.

[Aggiebraider]

No I didnt, but I did stretch the reins after I braided it to try and pull the plaits in a little better. With as much paracord as there is in this set of reins I dont think it should be an issue. I really dont think you can eliminate the stretch from paracord, and if you are noticing stretch while you are using them, you are probably pulling on your horse too hard lol. You might try putting the paracord in a pot of hot water and shrink it. You wont actually shrink the cover, but the core will shrink about 10%. I used to notice when I dyed my own cord, it was alot stiffer and would pull alot tighter after it was in the hot water.

Hope this helps,

CW

[roo4u]

well yes i did shrink all my cord used for reins...and it may well have been the braid i used...i did a set of 7 foot croc ridge split reins in purple for my moms mare...havent used them as reins but used one as a lead for the mare and it stretched quite a lot. also did a roping rein in the ubraidit style of braiding and havent tried that yet either to see if it will stretch that way. my mom wants a chap leather mecate for her mare when she goes into the hackamore so i have my work cut out for me with that. im just glad she didnt want one in kangaroo!

[Aggiebraider]

Lol, I am actually thinking about making a mecate all in kangaroo for a show piece or if a rich peanut roller comes along and wants it for their 2 year old. I made a few sets of split reins out of paracord when I started braiding, and I think most flat braids are going to give you alot of stretch. Atleast mine did and I pull really tight.

[blackhammer]

Lol, I am actually thinking about making a mecate all in kangaroo for a show piece or if a rich peanut roller comes along and wants it for their 2 year old. I made a few sets of split reins out of paracord when I started braiding, and I think most flat braids are going to give you alot of stretch. Atleast mine did and I pull really tight.

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.

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

CW, you guys that braid just amaze me! I've done a little and from time to time. I'll do something when I have a lull in the work , but; so far the most intracate thing I did was a mexican querto out of the encyclopedia of rawhide and braiding. There was an old timer that used to make all kinds of tack with parachute line around here, nice stuff that is still around being used. That stuff lasts forever. He's gone now, but; his work lives on. Love to see your work, keep it up.

Bondo Bob

[broncstompinben]

I built a paracord mecate last winter and used a peice of 3/8 rope like is used for rope halters for the core and it has a really nice feel it is also twelve strand and measures in at just over 1/2 inch.

[roo4u]

my mom and i were discussing projects for next years leather shows and one that she suggested was a full rigged hackamore all in roo with fiador and mecate in roo also....thats alot of roo, and alot of braiding, lucky for me i do the lace prep, finishing and knots and fancy braids and my mom does all the straight plaiting