Dan - I'm referring to 1/4- 1/2 inch braided over parallel core rope.
Primarily polypropylene and polyester outer braids.
Ah, thanks. These sound amply substantial to be
amenable to the whipping with an extended
strangle
knot as I've shown --those were approximately 1/2"
ropes, with the green&yellow a new-sample arborist rope.
I've tries Sailors, Improved, French, and West Country whipping.
... The strangle and constrictor knots I only use for temporary fixes.
Why "temporary", one might wonder? --esp. with all
those knots books parroting the rumor that
constrictor
knots need to be cut off!?
Note that I recommend an
extended strangle knot;
this is one with e.g. 4-12 wraps and an extra twist beneath
them, of the ends. The
strangle is chosen because of its
orientation of ends (compressed within it) roughly parallel
to the whipped line --they can fit nicely (beware if too
loosely!) in the groove of laid rope, e.g.. And what I like
to do is have one "end" be in fact a
bight with which
I will then form a
common whipping wrapping and the
haul that tight. (I usually have this on the away-from-end
side as it's easier to put in, and to haul the end opposed to
the entire line, rather than having to grip the short whipped
end and haul the whipping's end line-wards.)
.:. There should be no problem with these whippings.
Possibly, the nylon mason line (golden) that you can see
in my photo(s) will even shrink and further tighten upon
being soaked in water!? But one of the reasons I favor
the
extended strangle whipping is that the knot can
be so well tightened after it's tied --presuming the material
can withstand the force. (Where I'm working with weaker
and more frictive whipping material --e.g., cotton string--,
I then use a whipping where each wrap (roughy) is put on
tight, and not needing to be further tightened by setting
(since material friction and weakness won't allow that).)
So, I suggest that you redouble your efforts and maybe
improve your method/material with an
extended strangle
whipping; I think that you'll like the results.
Especially with ropes of 3/8 - 1/2" diameter, mason line
(approx. 150# strength, IIRC) --and, hey, such colors!--
should work well, with 5-8 overwraps (counting them
between the visible points of the ends diving beneath
them, on the ends-crossing side of the knot), and one
extra twist-tuck of the ends beneath the wraps. Dress
nicely, haul ends with help of tools for comfort & grip
with hands (e.g., a stoppered short end gripped by
forceps and then wrapped around them, and the
long-still-leading-into-spool end with a
pile hitchto say a screwdriver. Pliers are used to squeeze
the whipping in hopes of equalizing the tension
among the wraps (hauling puts tension high near
the ends; we want to distribute that to the center).
Pounding/rolling on a hard surface can help, too.
With monofilament nylon fish line (discards of which
are easily gotten in Cape May), I actually don't know
the given "size" (put in terms of some nominal strength)
but it's similar to the mason line (or smaller, for thinner
lines being whipped), and I find that it works best with
6-9 overwraps --it's lesser flexibility of buried twists
needs more cover, AND it is slippery enough to also
distribute tension more easily.
I've gotten the best luck with carpet or upholstery thread.
I've tried #4 nylon and Spectra(?) bowstring serving thread, dental floss,
embroidery floss, and the core strands from 550 cord.
All of these sound like mighty small/thin/weak materials,
incapable of the tightening I describe above, and so that
might be why you're having some troubles with them!?
Still, sewing through the line in some way should work.
Inkanyezi's finely done whippings have endured a couple
decades,
of use (IIRC); admittedly, mine are put on only
in "play ropes" whose use is in fiddling knots; sometimes
that, though, can entail pulling out an end such that an
inferior whipping will be pulled off (yep, I've done it, with
say a loosened simple
constrictor).
--dl*
====
ps : To those (incl. me) suggesting chemical whippings,
"SACRILEGE !!" --this is a
knotting forum!