Recently, while trying to explain to my son how to determine the plait count of a whip, it occurred to me that some of our newer whip fanciers could benefit from a tutorial.
Would Bernardo, Lauren, Paul, or any other resident expert(s) be willing to offer their insight(s) as to how to look at a whip and determine its number of plaits?
I used some information from Vic Tella's site, and the attached website, to initiate my instruction.
I have found that, to some, the width of the plait (wide or narrow) can cause confusion when trying to determine the number of plaits in a whip.
http://whip-guide.com/plait.html
Cheers to all.
Plait Count
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No, that pretty much says it all.
Of course this only applies to properly made whips and not a whip that has a strange plait count at the begining like a 14 plait or something, which would mean that there would be one set of laces that are higher that the other by one lace. Case in point; in a normal 4-seam plait or herringbone, also called whipmaker's plait, the strands are divided in two when plaiting. So in the case of a 12 plait, you have 6 on the right side and 6 on the left. When a whip is being plaited in a standard herringbone pattern of 12 plait, the laces go under 3, over 3, and then the same thing is repeated on the other side. So take any lace and if you count the amount of laces that pass under it, you will get 3, which if you multiply by the number of seams, in this case 4 is the number for the standard herringbone, you will get 12. 12 plait.
BUT
If the whip is made with a plait count that is higher than a 6 plait and is not a multiple of 4 (8,12, 16, 20, 24...) then the pattern will be irregular. So in the case of a 10 plait whip (which I've seen advertized on Ebay!), then the laces will be 5 on each side, which will mean under 2, over 3 (or inversely under 3, over 2) to make up the five laces per side. So in this situation, counting only the laces that go under one lace will not give you an accurate measure. This is why whips are usually started with a plait count that is a multiple of 4, unless you're talking about a 6 plait working whip. By using a multiple of 4 in the innitial plait count, the whipmaker is able to divide the number of laces equally across the thong. The reason why the article says you should count near the handle is because later on strands will be dropped into the core and will sometimes be of a number that isn't a multiple of four.
So the idea is count the number of laces that pass under one lace near the handle, and multply that by the number of seams and you ought to get the plait count.
Hope this makes sense.
Of course this only applies to properly made whips and not a whip that has a strange plait count at the begining like a 14 plait or something, which would mean that there would be one set of laces that are higher that the other by one lace. Case in point; in a normal 4-seam plait or herringbone, also called whipmaker's plait, the strands are divided in two when plaiting. So in the case of a 12 plait, you have 6 on the right side and 6 on the left. When a whip is being plaited in a standard herringbone pattern of 12 plait, the laces go under 3, over 3, and then the same thing is repeated on the other side. So take any lace and if you count the amount of laces that pass under it, you will get 3, which if you multiply by the number of seams, in this case 4 is the number for the standard herringbone, you will get 12. 12 plait.
BUT
If the whip is made with a plait count that is higher than a 6 plait and is not a multiple of 4 (8,12, 16, 20, 24...) then the pattern will be irregular. So in the case of a 10 plait whip (which I've seen advertized on Ebay!), then the laces will be 5 on each side, which will mean under 2, over 3 (or inversely under 3, over 2) to make up the five laces per side. So in this situation, counting only the laces that go under one lace will not give you an accurate measure. This is why whips are usually started with a plait count that is a multiple of 4, unless you're talking about a 6 plait working whip. By using a multiple of 4 in the innitial plait count, the whipmaker is able to divide the number of laces equally across the thong. The reason why the article says you should count near the handle is because later on strands will be dropped into the core and will sometimes be of a number that isn't a multiple of four.
So the idea is count the number of laces that pass under one lace near the handle, and multply that by the number of seams and you ought to get the plait count.
Hope this makes sense.