Aggiebraider Report post Posted June 26, 2011 Howdy Everyone, Its been a while since I posted much, hope everyone is well. I decided I want to try and make a quirt, but realized I havent seen the typical dimensions written any where, so I thought I would check here. If anyone can chime in with normal diameters, lengths, etc. I would really appreciate it. Also, what do you normally use for a core? I was thinking about using a twisted rawhide core, but havent been real happy with how they have been turning out for me lately. Im having a LOT of trouble getting my larger width rawhide strings cut consistently, so any advice on that outside of eyeballing it would be appreciated as well. I have tried using my normal lace cutter and a draw gauge, and neither seem to work real well. Thanks for the help, CW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackhammer Report post Posted June 26, 2011 i don't know as there's a hard and fast rule on diameters or length in regards to quirts. Most of mine taper any where from 1/2" up to 1" at the butt end depending on what people want. The taper from butt to tip is dependent on the length of the handle. I just like a nice, graceful, and proportionate taper. Also note that diameter at the butt will affect the knots that you may use if (like me) you have difficulty in raising your knots past a certain number of passes. There are however some absolute experts on here in that regard. As a generic example, for a 12" quirt handle, I might go with a 3/4" butt, tapering as necessary. For synthetic quirts ( yep, some people seem to like them) I use a synthetic core. This is usually braided chute cord, sometimes with a stiff fiberglass hand part. For leather and rawhide quirts, I use a braided rawhide core over tapered, cast off strings that would go in the trash can. My primary braiding has been whips and quirts until about a year ago. While taper certainly affects the performance and handling characteristics of a whip, I'm of the opinion that it primarily affects the aesthetics of a quirt or crop. But I could be wrong. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
megabit Report post Posted June 27, 2011 Seems Grant gives some dimensions for a quirt and a number of core types. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
