I see this has run on a bit.
As I'm new to the forum I've done some reading of old threads and it certainly looks like the braid,barb,leader thing has been done to death with the same end result.
Perhaps we have to agree to disagree (although I take on board carp machines point on cut offs).
What stands out though is carp safety seems paramount to all of us, which is the way it should be, even if we have different ideas.