Whipped Ends

Whipped Ends

For a traditional finish, use a whipping. This should be made from natural-fibre twine for vegetable-fibre ropes, and from synthetic material for synthetics. the common whipping (1-4) relies upon a preformed bight to pull the working ends beneath and back to the middle of the wrapping turns. Leave the last round turn somewhat slack, or you will find it hard to do this, and might even break the whipping twine where the two elbows saw one another. Is is easier, I find , to bind towards the end of the rope. The time-honoured advice is to wrap against the lay of the strands, because a rope under load tends to open and this will tighten the whipping. This last tip does not apply to braided lines. On these lines, which have no spiralling furrows unsightly bulge will mar the neatness of this whipping

To pass both ends entirely through the binding turns (5-7), which may be preferable, entails a modified method of tying. Either tightly wrap the twine around a needle and finis by withdrawing the needle to bury the end, or simply wrap the loop repeatedly over the end of the rope. the first time you try this you will find that twists are created in the loop, which make it harder to pull the slack through the whipping. With experience, it is possible to pre-empt this problem by putting a counter-twist into the loop before you start to wrap. this will disappear as the whipping takes shape.