It’s only been the last six months that I’ve rediscovered my interest in ropes and knots, and in all honesty, I have JD to blame. I discovered several of his videos on the web, and have been obsessed (as my roommate would lead to believe) ever since. :
This projected started after having seen the whip/flogger/cat o’nine video. While I loved the video, I have this terrible in ability to leave things alone. I’m always looking to add, modify, recreate… Sadly, the project actually sat untouched for almost 2-3 months until I found the directions for tying a star knot, then, strangely, everything pretty much fell right in place.
I know this is probably a pretty simple thing, but it’s the first major thing I’ve done, completely in rope, and it’s the first major project of any kind that I’ve been able to finish in a long time.
JD, you’re tutorial videos are awesome and I love watching them, thanks for the inspiration, and the new hobby.
I am seriously blown away by how cool your flogger looks (floored actually)!
It?s a solid design with a beautiful array of colors used. Through your color choices
alone you?ve evoked a marbling effect that?s stunning! And the use of the Star Knot
as handle hilts is too cool!
You?ve successfully fused multiple techniques and created
something wholly original. This last fact means more to me than you could imagine.
Well done!
JD ~ TIAT
p.s. If time and patience provides, teach this piece to others. As you teach, your
knowledge will grow. Given what you created out the gate, that can only mean
good things.
The color choices were a slight accident. The ropes that are solid red and black are actually the Lehigh brand ropes that I’ve seen you recommend elsewhere, dyed using Rit liquid dyes. The ropes that are white with color banding, splotching, are a different brand, the one that Home Depot sells. That brand doesn’t take dying as well. I’ve tried several other colors with that brand with about the same results. Even a dye for use with polys didn’t do much better. I do agree that the effect came out rather nicely, much better than I expected.
I do agree the star knot is way cool, it’s rapidly become one of my favorite knots. Do you have any plans to do a video on that one at all, or will it be in the book you’re currently working on?
When I have a bit more time in the next few weeks, I’d like to post some more details about it’s construction method. There’s a few things I’d like to do better and I think this would be the place to find out how.
As for patience to teach others, my day job is technical support, so no problems there. It’s more a case of finding folks interested in learning, which is strange considering how the Tampa Bay area is so steeped in pirates and medieval interests.
Nice work :o I am so jealous. I made mine just like JDs instructions all out of 3/8" Polly I still would like to add a TH to dress it up. I would love to hear the steps involved in yours it looks amazing. I want to build my next one out of 4mm hemp
And as so many have on here I would like to thank JD and Dan your videos didn’t quite change my life but it came damn close and definitely changed aspects of it Thank you
I plan to post the steps here in a few weeks, depends on how soon I can get a number of projects out of the way. I’ve already had three people ask me to make floggers for them and I’m still trying to figure out a completely different project. I’ll probably do the tutorial using black, blue, and gold. Another group of friends of mine use those colors and I’m gonna post on their site. I’ll just take pictures as I do so so that I can post the steps here.
I’ll update it tonight or tomorrow. At work right now. In the meantime, you can check page 9 or 10 of the show your work thread. I’ve got pics up for two or three that I’ve done.
I’m working on getting more stuff done… unfortunately I shift interests faster than a cat with ADDH on a sugar high in a room full of shiny moving things.
Gah! Sorry. Forgot alll about this. I’ll see if I can doing during lunch today, otherwise I’ll do it tonight when I get home. Looking to do a bit more rope work tonight anyhow, since I have another flogger to do.
Okay, I’ve updated it with the proper picture link. And I also included the proper directory link.
Additionally, here is the second one that I’ve done. It came out kind of by accident and I only partially remember how I did it. Ended up giving it to a friend that does a spiderman costume, called it “Mary Jane” for obviouos reasons.
Hey, mate! Never, never ever admit that a successful design was even partly an accident - at least not in writing and/or in public! ;D
For example, I have a couple of patterns in leather braiding which were originally more or less accidents when I used up scrap leather in work that would not be seen. It looked so nice, however, that I began using the patterns on purpose. The official version, however, is that they are the result of conscious and consistent design work.
one photographic suggestion. If you look on your camera, there is probably a ‘macro’ button. Mine looks like a flower. That lets the lens focus when the knot is much closer. Your pictures were easy to follow and show your work well, but using a macro will cut down on the ‘fuzziness’
Honestly I hated the way the speckled/candycane ropes came out and only used them cause I didn’t have any other rope at the time. Having said that, I have since changed my opinion and have found use for the rope that dyes in that fashion. However, I keep it all together for a consistant look. I also tend to use them for a different style of flogger, a more simple version that can be found on the web. I’ll see if I still have any pictures of some that I did recently for a pirate festival. I’ve since then pretty much settled on only buying rope from Lowes instead of Home Depot. The rope from Lowes is the same brand JD used to use in his videos, and I find that 9 out of 10, it dyes better. The Home Depot is what has the speckled look. I’m also going to give some rope I foulnd at Family Dollar a try just to see how it dyes.
I’ll have to look for that on my Canon. I think I used the Canon for the pictures of the first flogger. I know the second one I used my cell phone for while I was at work. I wanted to send them to a friend so I wasn’t worried about a great picture, and then forgot to take better ones before I gave the flogger away.
I’d like to thank folks for the compliments on the flogger. I was pretty obsessed with getting it figured out and I’ve been quite happy with it since. It’s lasted through several renfairs and a number of uhm, “other” events where it’s actually seen some use. The feedback from those events has been generally positive, with the main point of discussion/debate being the handle. The handle is essentially 4 layers of rope; a central 4-strand crown sennit surrounded by an 8-strand crown which interlock every third or fourth crown; 8 strands then lay along the length, and then on top of them is the black and white-ish handle wrap. This all gives a degree of flex to the handle which some like, others don’t. I’m playing with changing that a bit, MWK seems to have less flex over distance, so I may use that as an alternative for folks wanting a more rigid handle.
What I find the most amusing part of this project is that I spent months figuring it out, when I didn’t have to. The design that I stumbled upon, is almost identical to the cat o’nine that Des offers in his ropecraft projects book! The main differences being that mine has many more tails, a handle wrap, and I use star knot and wrist loop at the bottom, where Des uses a globe-shaped knot at the bottom with no wristloop.
I know JohnnyDebt has done a cat o’nine, has anyone else done floggers/flails/cat o’nine? It’d be nice to see what others have done.
You might also like to consider looking at ditty bags as these are like cat-o-nine tails but with a bit of canvas hanging off the end??
My cat was made over a wooden core, where as the ditty bags were made just using rope. The type of cordage used can vary how stiff the finished item is, also using a finishing solution will stiffen up a handle.
Couple of examples of handles made using polished hemp:
Mine are leather all the way through. The tails are folded in the middle, forming an eye, which is dressed with a lacing. Then the tails are served over to form a rigid core, which in turn is covered with a TH or barber pole. The ends of the serving adds two tails. Additional TH is not necessary, but I put them there just for the sake of it. The very first flogger had a lot of large gaps in the barber pole. But one needs a bit of leeway to improve …
Holy Cats! You’re right, Johnny. I never thought about the drawstrings on a ditty bag as being no different from a cat o’nine. Course, now that you’ve said that, makes me wanna figure a design where the handle can be removed and used as a cat… You’ve also given my interest in making my own ditty bag now. As if I don’t already have half a dozen projects to finish. Grrr… the worst part is always NEW projects… I become obsessed. Once I’ve done it one time, repeats can take for ever, but that first time, it’s a holy grail.
Wed, I like your leather ones! The way you do the eye at the and is very nice looking. Have you tried expanding it to a wrist loop, or considered slipping a belt loop clip on it? I’ve only recently started doing so. If I may ask, I’d be interested in know the details of the leather you use. Specifically, what widths for the laces/strands, and the lengths involved as well.
I’ve been considering trying leather because there’s a huge call for it here in Tampa, FL. We seems to be a bit of a crossroads for the unusual. We have large pirate/renfair communities, goth communities, and fetish communities, all in the same general area. The intersection of these communities is their use/demand for leather products. It’s amusing to see a flogger being played with at a goth club, and then 2-3 months later, see that same flogger hanging from a pirate’s belt at renfair.
No, I haven’t been inclined that way. But I did experiment with going around and braid the end into it’s own beginning though. Here on a ring of styrofoam. I think the leather is labeled as 3x3 mm. But it isn’t totally even all over. Incidentally, it’s ABOK #3615:
I discovered several of his videos on the web, and have been obsessed (as my roommate would lead to believe) ever since. :
