Bullwhip-Info.com

This is a very common question so I am going to tell you how to figure out how many plait a whip is. At least on the out side anyway. Most whips are braided in what is known as a four seam plait. This makes it very easy to tell what the number of laces are. Take a look at the picture on the left. Choose any lace and then count the number of lace that are underneath it. If it is a four seam braid as almost all are, all you have to do is multiply the number of laces you counted by four. So in the case of a 12 plait whip there will be three laces under any lace you choose. Similarly if it is a 16 plait whip there will be four laces under any lace you choose. One caveat to this that you typically have to pick a lace near the handle of the whip because as you go down the whip the number of laces will decrease due to the fact that they have been dropped into the inside of the whip to accommodate the reduction in the diameter of the thong. Still not sure what a plait is? Check out the whip glossary.

By the way the word plait is pronounced "plat" not "plate" so now you can correct your friends and show them what an expert you are.