Paracord Bullwhip

Step 8: Begining the first layer

You are now ready to begin plaiting the first layer.

Get the appropriate lengths of paracord to make this 8 strand round plait:

-     2x 5m           -> 4x 2,5      (16.4ft)
-     1X 3m          ->  2x 1,5     ( 9.90 ft )
-     1x 4,30m     -> 2x 2,15    (14.10 ft )

Take the inner strands out of them, save for later use.
Don't forget to melt the ends before going on.
From now your gutted paracord will tend to lay flat.
You can run it once or twice around a soft round spot to make it even if you want. ( a metal bar or pipe of some kind )
You could also just run it through your fingers as I did, but do this carefully so as not to burn your fingers, you'll need them later  ;)

Next, fold the 4 pieces in half and work with the middle of the cords.
How you group them doesn't matter for the next step.

From there, follow the pictures to lay them out properly :

-    Using a first pair ( again, which strands doesn't matter), cross them in front of the handle as pictured.
-    Then, thread the second pair through the loop and lay it as in the third picture.

Make sure all the lengths are even on both sides while you still can :)

( For the sake of simplicity i'm not showing the actual whip here but a "model" of it using 2 different colors.
Also note that your strands should be gutted and flat at this point )

Comments

[camcm95]

2x 5m -> 4x 2,5 whats this mean? and how do u measure out if u wanted color? which ones would be which ex.black and orange

[ch5]

It means you need two 5m strands, that once folded over will become four 2.5m strands.

You then work begining at the fold as shown in the picture.

As for the colors, it's quite tricky to explain how it will end up depending on the ratio of the various colors among the 4 strands and how you lay them out in the first step.

If you want a relatively even distribution of both colors along the whip , go with :

1 orange 5m

1 black 5m

and either

1 orange 3m

1 black 4.30m

or

1 black 3m

1 orange 4.30m

It doesnt really matter which one.

[ampstar]

When you say 2x 5m should it be around 33 feet folded in half, or is it 16.4 ft folded in half? Sorry for my brainfart but it's confusing me a bit

[tech dawg]

It means you should have two 16.4'' long ropes

[arzthaus]

if you have 2 identical measurements of rope, won't you end up dropping 4 strands at once in the dropping step? Also, I am trying to make a longer whip. What measurements would you suggest? Say my core is about 8 ft and I want the whole thing to be about 12 feet.

[arzthaus]

oh, now I see why that is necessary, haha. They are the longest strands, and you can't plait with just two strands

[oscar321]

it only gives you 3 measurements?????

[ch5]

I don't really get what you mean there.

They're 4 measurements here,for 4 strands folded in half -> 8 Strands.
This step is jsut about the initial layout, the actual plaiting occurs in the next step ;)