Question For Paracord Braiders

[acox4t4]

First off HAPPY Turkey day to you all !!!!!!

I got the Marlinspike Knot Works DVD I'm finally making some knots. Would love for there to be a DVD made like this one showing braiding of horse gear. Hint Hint I can think of atleast two very talented, horse gear braiders on here that I totally love their work and would love to learn from and would be more then willing to buy a DVD if they made one.

My question is to the paracord braiders. I've read where you take the inter-cords out ?? Do you do this on everything that you make?? Do you then use the inter-cords for anything?? What size of cord do you use? My main goal is to become a rawhide horse gear braider. I'm trying to learn the basic's with the paracord and very interested in making horse gear to use. Can you pretty much make everything horse tack wise with the paracord?? Probably can't make a rope can ya? expecially if the inter-cord is taken out and so would loose alot of the strenght right?? What site have you found best for ordering the cord online from?? I ordered some 500 lb test cord but for bracelets it seems to be to bulky, or gosh it could just be me being a rookie and not doing it right.

Any infor on paracord use would be helpful, size of cord for what project, and best place to buy from.

Thanks a ton

Annette

[Alberta Bound]

You might want to check out www.ubraidit.com or give them a call, they're very helpful if you're trying to learn paracord braiding.

They have lots of info and books on it and some really nice cord colors as well. I really their book called "How to Braid Quality Custom Tack", it's a braider's goldmine! You can also get some pretty good ideas from their gallery for free if you don't feel like buying books at this point.

As to taking the inner filler cords out... I don't on most things like round or flat plaiting for horse tack. When you're tying a turkshead or other knot it looks nicer without them, and I believe some people that plait whips will take them out as well.

If you leave the filler cords in make sure you wet the paracord in warm water and dry it completely before braiding (I just put mine in a pillowcase and throw it in the dryer). If you skip this, your finished product will shrink in the strangest and most wonderful ways when it gets wet! If you take the filler cords out you can omit the wetting/drying since only the filler cords shrink, not the outer sheath. Ubraidit recommends cutting your string 10% longer than you need for your project to allow for this shrinkage, but that's a pretty liberal estimate. I've found the shrinkage on most colors to be much less than that.I like to err on the side of caution so I still cut them too long!

I use 650 paracord, but there are braiders that use 550. Since I haven't used 550 I can't comment on the size difference but I do like the 650 that ubraidit sells.

By making a rope, do you mean like a rope for roping? I haven't seen one made from paracord and imagine that the finished braid would not be stiff enough for the rope to function properly, even if you braided tightly. Paracord also melts at fairly low temperatures so it may fail from the friction that results from sliding through the honda. That said, I'm not speaking from experience would be willing to bet there is someone out there that's made a rope from it!

Sorry this post is kind of disorganized, but I hope you can glean something helpful from it.

The project possibilities with paracord are nearly endless, if you can dream it there's probably a way for you to make it!

Jen

[roo4u]

whether or not you take the core out depends on what your doing with it....i made a bosal over a used lariat core and i took the core out of the strands so id get the size i wanted...if im using it for covering foundations for decorative knots i take the core out then also....for straight braiding i leave the core....paracord mecates are very popular and i have made lead ropes out of it also. i agree about ubraidit...thats were i bought my cord and i have their book also.

[acox4t4]

Wonderful info. Thanks again. I'm logging on to the web site to check it out. Love ya all and your endless knowledge.

[loopinluke]

I use the parachute cord for romal reins, some bosalitas, and various other things, and I like to take the core out for everything. I find, for me, it helps my braid lay down better. I use the 450 parachute cord and I get it fron Barre Army Surplus store out of VT I believe. I don't think they intend it for braiding necessarily, but it is the cheapest I have found. Their website is: www.vtarmynavy.com or you can just google Barre Army Store and it will come up on top with a subheading for parachute cord. I just looked and 1000 ft of cord is $48.

[broncstompinben]

nine times out of ten i like to take the cord out of the middle, and about the only thing i've found that it was good for was making tassles on somethings, although i prefer horse hair. Since i hardly ever use a pattern one of the most helpful things i have found to do was to take some scraps and do a model of the braid and find out how it will work the best; i.e. how many strings, color pattern, over under pattern with or without core. Another thing i have noticed is that without the core, to me, looks like a cleaner finished braid and nicer looking projects.