EOD Whip

[Craig Frank]

This was my 8th whip and my second attempt at an 8.5' four layer whip using hockey tape and sinew. EOD stands for Explosive Ordnance Disposal, a past job for me in the Army. The colors used are representative of the officially registered tartan for EOD kilts. This is not my best whip, but it was definitely my most ambitious one so far. I put so much sinew into the transition that I ended up about a foot short on the overlay. Also, because of the poker chip that I used as a concho, the heel knot is immense. It's a true monstrosity. I just entered it into the Army MWR arts and craft competition for this year in the textile and fabrics division. This is also the only whip where I took pics of every phase.

I've noticed some whips have a metal collar on the transition between two knots. I couldn't find such a collar, so instead I used flat copper wire with two knots to hold down the ends.

[Craig Frank]

[Curt Baumgardner]

Cool poker chip there. Hooah. LOVE LOVE LOVE the tartan colors.
13F here, Gulf War, Somalia and Iraqi Freedom. Yep just had to do the trifecta, lol

[Curt Baumgardner]

Been thinking about using my serial numbered 1st ID CSM coin as a concho. neat idea.

[Craig Frank]

'Most' phases. I missed some of the final steps.

[Rachel McCollough]

First, thank you for your service!
Makes this whip extra special I imagine
I'm a beginner so I don't know hardly anything but everything I learned came from here. That being said, this is really cool and I believe when you have applied some knowledge from here your work is going to be outstanding

[Craig Frank]

Been thinking about using my serial numbered 1st ID CSM coin as a concho. neat idea.

I made a whip for a co-worker using one of his old unit coins.

[Robert Gage]

Now that is cool!

[Robert Wurth]

I really love finding odd and interesting things to use for the end caps under heel knots, so I think the two examples you posted to be pretty cool indeed.

Those EOD whip look good. It's always strange how colors that don't seem like they should work together wind up looking cool in a whip. That heel knot looks fantastic -- you've got some great symmetry there covering the poker chip (something I struggle with still).

Your taper and plaiting looks pretty smooth and straight up until my only point of criticism / suggestion for improvement: It appears that once you drop down to just the two colors, the taper also seems to stop, so I see very little taper in that last coil. As long as your transition binding is solid (which it sounds like it might be from your description), I'm sure it still cracks well due to the taper up until that point. But if you can just focus on maintaining a narrowing taper all the way to the fall hitch, you'll see your whips getting better and better.

[Craig Frank]

Robert -
And that, sir, is something that I'm struggling with. I start with measurements provided by nicks whip shop videos. However, I always end up short, forcing me to extend the length of the last two strands/four plaits. For the six foot whips, he calls for 20' strands at the end. I need between 26-26' strands. However, I don't know what adjustments to make to the other strands our bellies. If anyone have a magic formula as to when bellies and strands should run out based on the overall target length, I would be greatly appreciative.

[Robert Gage]

But if you can just focus on maintaining a narrowing taper all the way to the fall hitch, you'll see your whips getting better and better.

Absolutely right, Robert!

[Craig Frank]

26-27', I meant.

[Craig Frank]

I guess if I used simple math 26.5/20=1.325. Take all strands measurements times that? On all layers?

[Guest]

That's pretty cool. Too much colors for my taste, but I really like clever details like that copper wire collar.

I second what Robert said above. You want the taper to be as constant as possible from transition to tip, it makes a lot of difference. But all in all, you're doing a fine job learning and developing. And you're obviously not scared of doing some experimentation either


- Pokkis

[Robert Wurth]

The basic rule that I've always heard is 1 1/2 times the finished length.

For an 8 foot whip, that would be 12 feet per strand for the longest strands (24 feet doubled).

But... That formula is for leather, which also has has a bit of inherent stretch AND tends to be a bit thinner than paracord.

So I generally go higher -- say, 15 feet for the longest strands for an 8 foot whip (30 feet doubled).

Paracord is relatively cheap, so I'd rather have way too much than come up short. And if I have to trim an extended length off, it goes into my box of scraps to make falls from.

This seems to treat me pretty well for a typical two belly + core construction and a 16 plait overlay.

[Rachel McCollough]

I have noticed for my plaiting if I'm plaiting higher than 12 plait I need to figure length x 2.125 or I run short every time. For 16 plait, for myself, I allow longest strands length x 2.25 to be on the safe side...

[David Cross]

I figured out the waste for my whips, once. It ended up being roughly 19%, which sounds like a lot, but really isn't. Waste strands can be made into cores, first bellies, falls, Turk's Heads, key fobs, and most especially Constrictor Knots. I don't shy away from waste strands at all, because there is no shortage of valid uses for them. Basically, anything that goes inside the whip can be any color, because it will never be seen. Therefore, cores and first bellies for, say, an all-black whip could be bright purple and hunter green, and nobody would ever be the wiser.

The formula I use for my nylon whips is double the finished length of any given layer. For the overlay on a 6' whip, that's 12' per strand, and 24' for a doubled strand. It gets to be pretty simple measuring if you use the Square Start, Crown Start, Chessboard Start, etc, etc, or anything which requires you to double over a strand like that. Basically, you take the layer length and just mark out four times that length.

Paracord has elasticity too, and it can vary between manufacturers. You will end up with waste if you use that formula, especially if you don't try to mark out individual strand lengths. I tried that only one time, and I discovered that the risk of shorting myself was too great. Like I said: The waste strands are incalculably useful for a variety of things, so I stopped caring about it.

The Constrictor Knot, if you're unfamiliar with it, is priceless to me. It can be used for a variety of tasks, such as temporary seizing of strands or bolsters, marking out drop points on the thong, or even keeping the end of a belly from unraveling while you're working on the next layer.

This video can explain the knot if you haven't tied one before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krWJaXfX4Nc

With all that said, I do love the handle pattern. The colors seem to work quite well on the thong, too, though it's too much color for my whips. Some people like 'em "loud and proud", whereas I prefer more subtle coloration. Just personal preference.

I notice that there's a large increase in diameter at the transition, and that there seems to be a very large amount of sinew building up the primary taper. Am I right in thinking that the internals are mostly made up of tapering sinew?

Some makers have successfully implemented a 4-plait first belly in their whips, which uses a very small core diameter. I'm working on a design which does this as well; I just haven't finished it yet. Most makers use an 8 plait first belly with some kind of tapering core. My handles are about 0.296" in diameter, which comfortably accepts an 8 plait with three layers of sinew, so I think that's about the outside of what you'd want to start with. The main reason for using sinew is to support the transition and provide some resistance to flexing in that area, which tapers off into full suppleness after the first couple feet.

I think your taper will be easier to control if you use that method, and you'll probably see an increase in mass and action as well. There are loads of threads on Whip Basics where several makers describe their process. I would try everything at least once, see how it works for you, and then keep all the best techniques in your next design.

One suggestion for the wire wrap: If you have a good soldering iron (not a cheapie pen from Radio Shack) and some decent solder, I'd try running the iron hot and soldering the ends of the collar shut before closing them up with knotwork. Copper transmits heat very well, so I think the tendency would be for each winding of the coil to spread that heat out rather than directly heating up the paracord underneath. You could also try some kind of heat-resistant paste underneath the coil, to protect the paracord. Basically, if you run the iron hot enough, you can bring the surface of the copper to soldering temp before the paracord heats up, then dab the solder and pull out. They use this technique in lightsaber replicas to solder Li-Ion battery packs.

I would also try coiling the copper around a dowel or pipe which is slightly smaller than the whip's diameter, then friction-fit it to the whip. The coil should ream out to the proper diameter, but still fit much more snugly.

As far as drops go, there are two methods I've seen:
-Equal Distribution: I used this myself, for almost all of my whips. You divide the finished length of the whip by the number of plaited layers you intend to use. In my case 6' / 3 plaited layers = 2' for my first belly. The second belly is 4', and so on. After that, each layer is divided by the number of strands you're dropping, plus one. 8 Plait drops 4 strands, so that's 24 / 5 =4.8" per drop. That's for single-strand drops. To get the measurement for double drops, just multiply by two.

This spaces out each drop, making the taper absolutely consistent across all layers. It was the first technique that I found that gave me what I wanted: A smooth taper. The pros are knowing when to drop, and knowing you'll have a good taper. The con is less overall mass; each layer extends into the thong at a much shorter length.

The reason for the +1 in the drop calculation is so you'll have at least one drop length worth of 4 plait at the end. This allows you to drop any core strands (or, if you're on a second belly or overlay, tail strands from the last belly) evenly before you end the belly. Basically, every plait count gets one drop length...even the 4 plait.

-Belly Extension: Don't know what else to call it. You take each belly as far out into the thong as you can, taking care to make drops evenly across each layer's length. The next belly extends just a short bit past it (6-12" is common). Drops are much more complicated to arrange, because you have to coordinate at least two drops which don't follow the measurements for the rest of the thong (8-6 and 6-4 plait drops). I'm still struggling to make that work, and may end up abandoning it.

Pros: More mass
Cons: Added complication at the end of each belly.

Congratulations on the concho, by the way, which is something I still haven't done. Your heel knot looks great, and I love the shape of it. I'm still trying to get any of my knots to come out right, and I fear it's a losing battle.

If any of us can help with any specific issues, don't hesitate to ask. It's what we're all here for.

[Craig Frank]

David,
Thank you for all of the info. It's going to take me a while to digest it. . I think I'll try a lot of it on my next/scrap/practice whip. As for the transitions, I've been starting with the core, wrapping it in hockey tape, and then wrapping it in four telescoping lengths of sinew. Down, up, down further, up, down further, etc. I then do the same thing with the hockey tape and sinew after each belly. Also, this whip pattern called for the first belly to start just an inch above the transition so that the handle on had three layers instead of four like the thong.

[Devin Bauer]

Interesting use of colors and design Craig, it is quite different from what we normally see.

Regarding strand lengths, if you are using a reasonable plait count for the diameter, then typically you want the strands to be 2x the distance you want to cover. I cut my strands measured for each set of drops, however you may find it simpler to just have all your strands 2x the length of the whole layer you are working on until you become proficient at figuring out where to drop strands.
As for the taper, I find a good starting point is to use progressively longer layers for the construction, usually at a balanced division. So for a whip with 8, 12, and 16 plait layers, I would divide the desired length of the whip into 3 and use that for your layer lengths. Your core length is usually a little shorter, 6"-8", than the 1st layer. If you wanted a longer core for more weight, this would require a slightly longer 1st belly, and as such carry more weight into the thong, changing the balance of the whip. As you develop your skills, you can alter the layer lengths to change the weight distribution of the whip, and therefore the mechanics of it.

Regarding cores, I successfully use a tight 4-plait for cores, yielding a core diameter of roughly 1/4"-9/32". I would only recommend this approach if you waxed the whip, or want a really light thong such as a Pipe Whip.

Plait counts, as a rule of thumb, your current plait count should be 4 strands higher than what you are plaiting over. For example, if you are doing 16-plait, you should be plaiting over a section of 12-plait. This rule holds generally true for paracord.

[Grant Weaver]

Great work man! Very cool plaiting, I've been wanting to try multiple colors!