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Whipping is the tying of several turns of twine around the end of a rope to prevent it from unravelling. It is not to be confused with splicing, which is a method of joining two ropes together, or joining one rope to itself, usually to form an eye or loop.
Simple Whipping technique (Sailor's Whipping)
Whipping usually starts inside and works towards the end of the rope. The twine is first laid along the rope end in the form of an elongated double S that lies along the valley between one strand and the next. As the binding progesses a length of twine is left protruding at the inner end of the whipping. A loop is left protruding at the outer end of the rope.
When the turns are complete, the end of the twine is passed through the loop and the free end of twine at the start of the whipping is used to tug the free end of the twine securely below the turns. The inner tail is cut off by inserting a sharp knife through the whipping at about the third turn. The severed end of twine is then pulled out. The result is neatly whipped rope with no visible twine ends. (The whipping tightens up when wet, because cotton twine shrinks more than hemp.)
Modern Synthetic fiber rope
The ends of some man-made fibers such as Dacron, Nylon, polyethelene, polyester, or polypropylene may be melted by heat to prevent their ends from fraying. Bind two or three turns of plastic tape tightly around the point where the end is to be cut. Slice through the rope in the center of the tape with an electrically heated knife, or cut with a normal knife and melt the ends in a flame so that all the fibers are fused together. However, melting the fibers is a relatively poor method of finishing a rope's end and the end of any rope, subject to heavy use, should be whipped as well.
Fibers which char - not melt
Aramid fiber such as Kevlar cannot be melted - the fibers merely char. Such rope must be finished with an appropriate whipping - ideally one completed with a needle such as a Sailmaker's Whipping although a West Country Whipping also serves well.
External links
"Whipped rope"