Covering handles for crops and other items

[Drac]

just over a day late, but it's hit 10,000 views. woo hoo! too bad I couldn't charge admission. could use da money right now!

[TrustCommunicationConsent]

Waouw,what a tutorial ! Clean,clear,easy to learn !

You've said "i suck at round braiding",i don't think so ...What a fantastic work.

Its so generous,thank you for sharing.

when braiding arund a solid core the more strands the harder it becomes to keep the line of the braid straight. The trade off is it number of different patterns you can make and that incluses changing patterns during a braid.

Not the way I make my floggers (different is not better or worse it is simply different) but very nice indeed.

[TrustCommunicationConsent]

Turkshead! I'll let you decide what kind you want to use. Mine are always this one (the only one I figured out) and are made using 3/16" beveled lacing and the end is super glued when finished and tucked.

Now cut your tail blank. (W = tail width, X = number of tails, plus ½". My usual is 25 tails that are ½" wide, so I have ½" x 25 + ½" = 13". (WxX+½"=T)). for length whatever length you want plus 1". my tails are 20" long so my blank is 21" on the long side and 13" on the short. Take a scratch awl or pen and mark a line 1" from one of the short edges. For darker leathers I use the silver ink pen, for lighter leathers the black ink pen, and for suedes the scratch awl. You can see the line I made on this piece.

I am not sure (when I click on thumbnails I am not getting a larger pidrure) but that looks to me like a 7 part 6 bite turks head (also have not been about to find the discussion on turks heads) and if so it is very likly you also know how to make a 3 part 2 bite turks head and a 5 part 4 bite one as well. I say that because they way I make them 7/6 is raised from a 5/4 which is raised from a 3/2. Mind you there are at least 3 different ways to tie one (that does not even including tieing and tightening in one step (which is what I am working on now.)

Today for the first time got to work with kangroo and I am amazed at how much easier thurks heads are to tie with it. Now I understand how people can make knots of 3 - 3 or more passes which allows for different colors and even different strap sizes for seperate passes.

[Drac]

I am not sure (when I click on thumbnails I am not getting a larger pidrure) but that looks to me like a 7 part 6 bite turks head (also have not been about to find the discussion on turks heads) and if so it is very likly you also know how to make a 3 part 2 bite turks head and a 5 part 4 bite one as well. I say that because they way I make them 7/6 is raised from a 5/4 which is raised from a 3/2. Mind you there are at least 3 different ways to tie one (that does not even including tieing and tightening in one step (which is what I am working on now.)

Today for the first time got to work with kangroo and I am amazed at how much easier thurks heads are to tie with it. Now I understand how people can make knots of 3 - 3 or more passes which allows for different colors and even different strap sizes for seperate passes.

dunno why you're not getting a larger piccy. *shrug* I just make da goodies. *L* as far as knowing how to make other types of turksheads, nope. no clue whatsoever. seriously. the discussion on the turkshead starts about halfway down page 2, I think.

[TrustCommunicationConsent]

leatheroo

I figured if other professionals here were nice enough to show how they make some of their items, then I could too. making this stuff was me livelihood for a long time, but I'll still share (unlike most in me biz).

chitin

with the way I attach tails, no loss of durability. you can hang from me floggers. also, I've seen 'em done the way you're talking about and seen the handle break during a hard session. plus it's very hard to get a consistent handle size. I actually used to do them like that (never heard of any of mine breaking) and I'd used electrical tape to do a compressing wrap before doing the handle braid. another problem is when done like that you get a seam that runs down the handle. it's not that noticeable with softer leathers, but something like latigo definitely shows it. also I've noticed the balance tends to vary a lot from flogger to flogger when done that way. when done this way the balance point is about a 1/4" into the top turkshead out from the handle. but let's face it, balance doesn't really mean anything since there's so many different ways to hold a flogger. it's more about what feels right for an individual.

howard

I don't think of the the handle being braided until is done since I suck at round braiding anything more than 4 strands. that's why I came up with the way i do the handle braid. it's much quicker and easier. try it and you'll see what I mean. the only semi-difficult part of it is figuring out how snug to wrap and pull, and you figure that out fairly quickly. plus, an advantage to it is if you have to let go it for some reason it's not gonna unravel itself.

I have never heard of one breaking but am guessing it is possible if the dowel had a weak spot such as a knot. I turn my handles so I do not need to build up the ends, takes more time but I like the effect so it is worth itto me. One thing I noticed is you do not use a hanging strap.

Compleatly agree that way to many do not share. I and working on cores and or bellies for scene whips and will post how I make them after I am finished with the CAD drawings (learning a CAD program as fast as I can).

[flyingcuda]

i'm giving it another shot today, when i get it done i will post pics..unless of course i don't get it right and decide to rip it all apart and pretend it never happened

[flyingcuda]

i did it!!!! finally! i can't believe it took me this long..but i did it!!! the pic is posted in the adult section. thank you Drac

[alberta]

thanks so much for the excellent tut. made one turned out great ,but only because of your help and generous sharing of info.

[Ryan Barto]

I know I'm bringing back an older topic here, but i gotta say these instructions were awesome. I've got everything done except the turkshead. I did have one about 3/4 completed, until I hit the end of an 8 ft. piece of lace and realized that I was using 3/32 instead of 3/16. No wonder it was taking so long to braid, lol. It'll be awhile until I get to place another order of leather, but when I do, I'll make sure that I post pictures. Thank you for the great instructions for this.

[KCrimini]

Just want to join the many in thanking you here. I haven't conquered that knot, but used a simple 8 bight turk's head (I think, anyway). I wish I had found this sooner!