Thanks for the info Mac!

BTW. I wore both my Evans snake dirk, and brass/steel basket at a period
dinner at the Culloden reenactment. When I wasn't getting compliments,
I was busy being scared to death that I'd put a ding or scratch on one of
them! Some Hieland laddie *I* am! :\

Alex

I love the site and the work of Vince and Grace.
Congrats guys
I like the links too , since "My heart is in the Highlands"

I was stumbling in the dark about the way the handle of a Chinese sword is tied myself a while ago.
At first I thought it was more of a variation on the the technique of tsukamaki (Japanese style), tied with two working ends
woven through the cords that go lengthwise, but I was wrong. (It can be done and gives opportunities on fantasy variations, but that's another story) Vince send me a drawing with the structure of the wrap, so I could do it right in the book on wrapped handles that i'm writing. (unfortunately I cannot post pics at this moment)
The Chinese grips are tied with one single end of cord.
First you start by laying long loops on each side of the handle, taking care that the length of the loops is a little longer than the wrapped area when stretched. Now you have a short end (to be cut off when the wrap is done) and a long working end.
I then go under the loops around the handle once and then go over the loop, under the cord that was just laid, over the loop again and to the other side, over the loop, under the first and over the loop again. Now I pull the cord and the knot tight. So every time we go around the handle twice: once under the loops and the second time around we go over the loops, but dive under the cord we just laid under the loops.
This way the knots are getting tied very tight and when done right it is strong and cannot be shifted due to the tension in it.
It can stand a lot of use. It can be done with a multitude of materials: Silk, cotton, synthetic cord or leather.
Anyway I thought silk was used originally, because it was the strongest material available in the old days.

Jan