How to Make the Best Whip

Learning to do a whip is one of the most useful skills you can master. Once you have it down, you can use a whip for all kinds of jobs around the home. A whip made with string or thread at the end of a piece of rope will prevent the rope from fraying. You can do a whip with stout cord to repair a cracked shovel handle. Whipping with thread is the way to fasten guides to a fishing rod. Whipping with cord can make an attractive, durable gripping surface on something like a pool cue. You can also use whipping for purely decorative purposes.

The list goes on and on, but the technique itself can be mastered in these simple steps:

Start by laying the end of your cord on the object to be whipped, running parallel to the object. If you like, you can hold the end of the cord in place with a piece of tape. Next, while holding the cord with your left thumb, use your right hand to start wrapping the cord around the object and over itself. Make several neat, tight wraps over the short length of cord laying parallel on the object being whipped. After several wraps are in place, the starting end of the cord will be trapped in place. You can release your grip with your left thumb and snip off any excess from the short starting end of the cord. Continue wrapping. Make the wraps snug, and squeeze them tightly together side-by-side for a neat, clean look. Keep wrapping until you are about five to 10 wraps from the point where you wish to end the whip.

Next, lay a short loop of cord in place, making sure the closed end of the loop faces the direction in which you are laying your wraps. Lay several snug wraps over the loop, trapping it in place. Then, holding these wraps firmly in place with one hand, slip the end of your whipping cord through the loop. Now grasp the loose ends of the loop and pull them to draw the end of your whipping cord back under the last several wraps. Pull the loop until it comes free, drawing the end of the whipping cord with it. Cut off the end of the cord up close to the wraps, and the whip is complete. But there are a few extra steps you can take to refine or reinforce your work. If your whip is a bit sloppy looking at this point, you can often pack the wraps more tightly together. You can also smooth the wraps by burnishing. To do this, rub them firmly with something smooth like a spoon (for large whips) or the handle of a toothbrush (for smaller jobs).

To prevent the whip from coming undone, you can coat it with a variety of things. The whips that secure guides to a fishing rod generally get several coats of varnish, or one coat of a special thick epoxy rod finish. Epoxy is an excellent way to reinforce the wraps that you use to repair something like a shovel handle. You can do the same for the wraps on the end of a rope, or use something more flexible like a coat or two of Pliobond adhesive.