When I first had the extra-thick version of the Prumihimo disk produced my aim was to provide an more durable version of my disk for frequent braiders. It is 2cm thick, instead of 1cm, but is otherwise identical to the original disk. It has proved to be excellent and very popular for this purpose, but when the delivery arrived and I was finally able to play with this new, 2cm thick disk I found that it opened up a new world of very fine designs on the Prumihimo disk. Some beads, such as Rizos and smaller drops, have very small holes, making them unusable with the regular S-Lon (Tex210/0.5mm/#18). By using the thinner S-Lon (Tex135) to carry the beads in the slots at numbers 3 and 4 and using the regular S-Lon as the thicker cord in the slots at 1 and 2 you can make a braid of great delicacy and charm. I now sell the extra-thick disk with tutorials for some of these designs. However, up to now it has been necessary to make a choice of what sort of cords you intend to use on this disk. Once the slots for the larger cords have been stretched they will not be able to grip the very fine cords satisfactorily. Due to several requests I have now set up a 2 disk package for the extra thick disk, so you can use one for regular Prumihimo braiding and the other one for the very fine work. Don’t forget to mark the disks, so that you know which is which! This option includes 2 of the thicker disks, which will be sent by post, as well as the instructions PDF (includes instructions for 3 different designs) and the Daisy Chain tutorial PDF. The shipping charge for two disks is the same as for one disk, so it is an economical way to buy, especially if you are not in the UK. Shipping costs £1.25 for the UK and £3.75 for the US. Sales to Europe cannot be processed by my website, but you can email me for more information.
All the designs in this photo were made using finer cords. I regard this as an intermediate level braid, which can really take your braiding into new territory.
So, what is the benefit of an extra-thick disk for regular Prumihimo braids? It is important to remember that the tension of a disk braid is dependant on the condition of the disk. The slots need to grip the cords to produce firm, even braiding. Over time and use the slots become stretched and less able to maintain a good grip on the cords. This applies to all different types of disk and square plate. The Prumihimo disk has been designed to accommodate both thick and thin cords in different slots, thus minimising the stretching of the slots, but eventually the slots will widen. Using an extra-thick or double density disk keeps the slots in good condition for much, much longer and rarely need to be replaced. Again, this applies to all different types of disk. You will find that the tension of a braid made on a thicker disk will be tighter. The maximum recommended cord thickness is 1mm. Using thicker cords than this in a thicker disk is very hard on the hands and is not really necessary because even an old disk can grip a 2mm cord pretty firmly.
Click here to buy the 2 disk extra-thick disk package
