Whipping twine?

Hi guys

It's been awhile since I last posted here and thought I've tried to drop in from time to time to see how things where going.

Anyway, on to the reason for my post. My Dad's had to replace the rope of the winch on his Jeep and he would like to whip the ends of it before he actually puts it on the winch.

As I've done some knot work in the past he asked me to find out what type of cord would be best. I've done some digging but I've just ended up going around in circles so I was hoping the brain trust here could help me out.

Thanks in advance

Is the rope on his jeep a metallic cable or a non-metallic (synthetic or natural fiber) rope? The reason I ask is that there is commercially available whipping twine (FSE Robline) and "dipped" rope whipping (Star Brite dip-it) used by sailors on the latter.

From personal experience, I would recommend staying away from Nylon (too stretchy) and Polypropylene (too slippery) whipping twines, and if possible, use a sailmakers whipping. Whipping twine diameter should be approximately 1/16 (1/12-1/24) the diameter of the rope, but smaller will work in a pinch.

if the rope is synthetic, i would recommend heat shrinkable tubing, plus burning the end. Nylon rope, especially, is usually whipped by fusing the end in a nice black blob.

I'm not sure I would do that. The charred nylon can be quite hard (Geoffrey Budworth relayed a story of a tugboat captain that got his hand sliced opened up by the fused end of a rope). And, burning nylon can release some very unpleasant gasses. If you're dead set on making the end of the rope rigid, soak it in 1/1 diluted waterproof PVA glue. I'm partial to Elmer's Craft-bond Fabric and Paper if appearance matters or Titebond II if I can tolerate the yellowing.

I should have been more clear. I have been whipping synthetic, esp. nylon, ropes in this manner for decades, as have most, if not all, of my climbing companions. You do want to avoid the "blob effect" by gingerly shaping the liquid as it is cooling so that it is smooth and well rounded. It is definitely a good idea to perform this task outside, otherwise She Who Must Be Obeyed will take action, and SWMBO has a very keen sense of smell.

If you wrap the rope with heat shrink tubing or with tape, you then sever the rope, and finally melt the exposed end - no blob and it will be able to endure considerable use.

Taping, cutting, and heat application is the methodology that I have always used on synthetic lines.

Oops, I thought I forgot to mention something, he's fitting a dyneema rope to the winch,also its to go around a spliced loop on.

Mark_R: Thanks for the info that helps me out quite a bit.

hikermor: He was thinking of doing somthing like that but would like to have it set up so he can replace it if necessary without having to redo the splice.

Over here (UK) English Braids sell a waxed polyester whipping twine, and specifically recommended for Dyneema ropes.