nic6027

You're welcome. If buying precut leather, the width determines the number of strands you use to plait. If you use leather strips about 5mm wide and about 1mm thick, it works out as about an 8 plait belly and 12 plait overlay for a single-belly whip. Narrower will mean more strands required to plait, wider will mean fewer strands.I've never come across the terms hardhand or softhand with regard to leather. As long as it's vegetable tanned, and not from a soft skin (ie. not goat, or something equally weak) it should be usable. Cow or roo leather are the usual choices for whip making.

Leather jackets aren't usually strong enough for plaiting. They're made out of chrome-tanned leather, which tends to snap when you try to plait it tightly. You want veg tanned leather, preferably cowhide or 'roo hide.You can buy it pre-cut like this, but it tends to be expensive. If you want to try cutting it yourself, I'd recommend Bernie46's video on youtube which shows how to do it. It's a bit beyond the scope of this instructable, but Bernie has a series of whip-making videos that explain each step quite clearly.

I should have mentioned that, if you use paracord, you need to pull out the core (the strands of white string in the middle) before using it for plaiting. Coreless paracord lies flat when used for plaiting.

Thanks for your comment. I should have included a photo of the type of belt required. I've attached a photo to this comment instead.You need a plaited belt. Plaited belts are made from long strands of leather plaited together. You get the long strands by unravelling the belt. Strands are usually around 1.5 to 2 x the length of the belt.For higher quality whips, I normally buy whole kangaroo hides and cut them into tapered strands using an Australian strander rather than unravelling belts. Roo hides and various types of strander can be purchased at most leather supply stores. As I live in New Zealand, I usually buy leather from Lapco's in Auckland, but you can find leather and tools online.

You could make short whips with strands that length, but the whip would only be around a foot long.When I'm teaching beginners to make whips, I usually get them to use paracord rather than leather, as it's more flexible and less expensive. The student(s) also have more choice with regard to colours.The basic method described in this instructable works the same way if you use paracord. The only difference is that you don't need to use plaiting soap, and you need to pull the strands a bit tighter when you plait.Joining strands when plaiting a leather whip is challenging. It can be done, but it often means that either the strand snaps at the join when you start plaiting again, or the plaiting is loose around the join. If you have to, you could try the method of adding strands by plaiting ove…

You could make short whips with strands that length, but the whip would only be around a foot long.When I'm teaching beginners to make whips, I usually get them to use paracord rather than leather, as it's more flexible and less expensive. The student(s) also have more choice with regard to colours.The basic method described in this instructable works the same way if you use paracord. The only difference is that you don't need to use plaiting soap, and you need to pull the strands a bit tighter when you plait.Joining strands when plaiting a leather whip is challenging. It can be done, but it often means that either the strand snaps at the join when you start plaiting again, or the plaiting is loose around the join. If you have to, you could try the method of adding strands by plaiting over them rather than joining them. This video (http://www.lokowhips.com/gallery/tutorial-2/02_First+Addition.flv.php) shows one way of doing this.