Club Obi Wan

willthebold

Yeah, I just measured it again, and came up with 8. I probably just had it at a weird angle last time or something. It seems to crack pretty well; certainly much better than anything else I've made!

willthebold

Thanks for the kind words!

I got out my calipers to see about the dimensions:

Handle: 21mm
Thong: 25mm
Point: 8-9mm
Heel knot: ~44mm wide.

willthebold

Hey Folks, I'm not a whip-making pro by any means, but I've probably made about 10 or so over the last 3-4 years. I finished this one about 4 or 5 months ago, and just never got around to posting pics. It's pretty broken in now, and darker than when it was brand new. I set out to make a pretty nice ...

willthebold

That's perfect! You are awesome! Do you put lead in your foundation? By the way, what part of Texas are you in? I live in Austin, and I always notice your signature about living in Texas. Thanks again for the help!

willthebold

Awesome pics! That's exactly what I was trying to compare. I actually like both of those shapes, but especially the first one. I use a strip of leather that I tack on the handle, then I wrap some sinew around it. Looks similar to your foundations, actually. Thanks for the help! Do you have some roug...

willthebold

Hey folks, Could someone help me out with building a butt knot foundation? I've done several different ones, but it's hard for me to get the shape just right. I like the shape of David Morgan's knot, and that's what I'm going for. It seems like my knots are either too can-shaped, or too round. I'm r...

willthebold

Will, I could be mistaken, but this looks exactly like the stuff Mike Murphy sells and it makes great crackers! Very loud and crisp cracks too! The only downside is the fluff gets worn pretty fast compared to mason's line (nylon thread), but it's stiffer so it doesn't get tangled in the fall as oft...

willthebold

I think so, yeah, but I've had a hard time finding this kind of poly string locally. I found some baling twine online, but you have to buy a huge roll that's like $40. This is nice because each of those rolls is about 90 cents.

willthebold

Just got back from my local (Austin, TX) Lowe's, and managed to find some Blue Hawk Dazzle Twine poly thread like this one from their website: http://www.lowes.com/pd_349239-258-071514888071_0__?productId=3587902&Ntt=dazzle&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Ddazzle&facetInfo=" ...

willthebold

Thanks for the nice comments! This is actually the third one I made after picking the hobby back up. The first one I used leather that was too thick, and the finished product was, well... really chunky and not so good looking. I got some thinner leather (kip) and made this whip: http://i44.tinypic.c...

willthebold

Hi All, Just wanted to share a bullwhip I finished recently. I made a few whips about 2 or 3 years ago, but hadn't messed with anything in a while. The urge struck me again recently, so I bought some leather and went for it! I had only ever used paracord before, so cutting all the lace and doing bol...

willthebold

That's kind of my reasoning Franco. I know that the side facing me when I plait tends to be the way the whip bends easier, so I was thinking that putting the bolster seam on the underside when I'm plaiting would go along with that kind of bend. Of course, I was also thinking about doing what you do ...

willthebold

Riku, I can't thank you enough for all the help! That answers my question perfectly! I was planning on putting the seam of the bolsters all in the same direction on the underside of the whip while I'm plaiting, and I just wanted to get someone else's input. Thanks again!

willthebold

Any preference as to where to place the open side of the bolster when you're plaiting the next belly over it? Like, should the seam be facing you while you plait, or be on the underside of the whip?

willthebold

I don't count the core as a bolster. I used a core, 2 bellies, and an overlay last time. I wanted to thicken/stiffen up the whip some, so I'm adding a bolster this time around. I'm thinking with the thickness of my hide, I should just add one bolster. The whip I made before wound up being about 22mm...

willthebold

Thanks for the info Riku! One more thing, for your two bolsters, how long are they? I was thinking about doing one that was about 3 ft, and another that was about 6 ft to get some more weight and taper going. Is that how you use the two bolsters?

willthebold

Jeff, thanks for the reminder. I had totally forgotten about Paul's instructions! I'll go through there again to see if it answers all my questions. Riku, thanks for your explanation and picture. I should've clarified on my construction: I used a core, 2 bellies, and a final overlay last time. I wan...

willthebold

Hey folks! I recently finished an 8ft. Indy style bullwhip made from kip that had two plaited bellies and an overlay. I'm about to start another one using the same construction, except I wanted to add in a bolster to thicken it up a little, and to make it stiffer. My question is, at which point shou...

willthebold

Minstrel, I, too, found plaiting more loosely with nylon made for a better cracking whip. The first few I did, I tried to get them very tight. The problem was that they were just too stiff, and would never break in. They retained their shape way too much. I made a six foot that I could hold by the h...

willthebold

Thanks for the link to Rhett's article Whipdude! That helped a lot. And James, I appreciate your comments about your experience with nylon whips. I know waxing might take a little more maintenance without a whole lot of payoff, but I'm mainly interested in how differently it'll make it handle, and t...

willthebold

I know it's not necessary, but it's got to change the whip somehow, and I've never done it. I thought I'd give it a go on one of my whips to see exactly what the differences are, but I'm more than open to personal testimonies of either way too!

willthebold

Hey folks, So I've got a 9ft nylon whip I made a while back, and was interested in waxing it. Trouble is, I'm not really sure how to go about doing that. What I'm looking for are some pointers on what type of wax to use, where I might be able to get it, how to heat it up, how long to dip the whip, h...

willthebold

I've been wondering this, too, and meant to ask here but never got around to it. I've noticed it in pictures, and from the few nylons I've made, it seems like the shorter falls work better. I was thinking it might have something to do with the lack of taper in the paracord. Since there's no continua...

willthebold

Hey All, This is my latest effort. It's a 6ft, 12-plait. It's the 6th whip I've done, and I think it's my best yet. Since I have yet to actually crack a whip made by someone who knows what they're doing, I'm sort of guessing on things like how tight to plait everything. I've done it super tight, but...

willthebold

Hmmm...nope. Your strands are fine. Just make sure when you bring a strand around the back that it's nice and high. Also, make sure that your strands are wrapping around the handle a little as you work them; don't just focus on the front where you do the weave. It's a little hard to explain. I alway...

willthebold

Sounds a lot like you're not using enough strands to cover the entire handle. When this happens, the front looks okay where you're braiding everything, but the back will have huge gaps all over the place. How wide is your handle, and how wide are your strands?

-Will

willthebold

Great job sir! When are you performing at the festival? I'm down in Austin and was thinking about heading up.

-Will

willthebold

Thanks for all the input folks! I think I wound up using a mixture of all the different ideas I've come across (plus a couple of things I made up on the fly). I think it turned out okay. I took it outside today, and was cracking pretty nicely. I still need to tie the transition knot on it. -Will htt...

willthebold

Are you dropping 2 at once, or just one at a time? I was thinking it might be better to do 2 at once, so you'd have fewer drop points, and it might make it a little more even. I guess I just get a little confused by how the taper happens. Say I'm working 8 strands, and they start to get bunched up, ...

willthebold

I've made a few nylons, and I'm always unsure exactly how to get a good taper in them. My construction is an empty cord with BB's, then 8 plait, then 12 plait. I guess I'm wondering how to taper things nicely other than just dropping strands. I've used a little bit of electrical tape to get a taper ...

willthebold

I've made just a few nylons, and I was curious as to whether flattening the cord would really help that much in plaiting. Just for experimentation, I took out my iron, and set the steam to high. As I flattened everything out, I could feel the cord shrinking and pulling out from under my hand. I gues...

willthebold

I might try a lighter fall, and see how that works out.

-Will

willthebold

Yeah, that helps some. I guess I'll just wait and see how it breaks in. It might be that once the thong loosens up a little, it might roll out a little more consistently.

-Will

willthebold

I've made a few whips now, and it seems like the tighter I plait, the more curve there is to the finished whip, but on others' whips I've seen, they're plaiting is tight and it seems to make the whip straighter. I don't know if this is related or not, but on my most recent whip, the fall tends to ta...

willthebold

How do you go about getting the taper in the 8 plait belly? Do you use some kind of bolster, or is the taper just from dropping strands around a non-tapered core?

-Will

willthebold

Nice job! How many bellies did you use? 16 plait overlay?

-Will

willthebold

One more question here Ron, how stiff should a nylon whip be when it's first finished? I was thinking maybe not quite as stiff as leather, but close maybe?

Thanks again!
-Will

willthebold

Awesome! Thanks so much for your help! I guess for the 8 footer I need to add an overlay of 16 plait?

willthebold

Well, I think I'm going to do 2 whips. One about 6 ft, and the other about 8 ft. I guess I'll need to add another layer for the 8 ft over the 12 plait? I know I should end it in a 4 plait, but should there be non-plaited core strands inside at the fall hitch, or should those taper off a little befor...

willthebold

About how many strands should you have in the core at the fall hitch? Should it taper down to just one or two inside at the end?

-Will

willthebold

Thanks for all the info! I'm trying to decide whether to use BB's for the core, or the smaller pull-chain stuff. I used BB's on an earlier whip, and I wasn't sure if it was too heavy or not. My plan right now is to do a core (BB's or chain) bolster it a little with some Vet Wrap or similar tape, do ...

willthebold

Thanks for the comparison pic Ron! I ordered some 650, and I can't wait to get started. County, I know the feeling! After my first whip, I thought my knuckles were done for good... I'm thinking that the width of the cord is close enough to 4.5mm that it works out to where the number of plaits needed...

willthebold

Is there any difference in width over the different paracords(450, 550)? I was thinking about ordering some, but wanted to know the widths for my calculations.

-Will

willthebold

I already have Ron Edwards' book, and it's been a great help in the few projects I've done so far.

Louie,
Which technique do you use? Thumbnail?

-Will

willthebold

I'll be working with cowhide. I didn't see any of Bernie's videos where he used a strander, but that's what I plan on getting.

-Will

willthebold

Are there any good resources to learn about cutting your own laces from a side of leather? I'm anxious to try this on my next whip, and it'd be really helpful to watch someone else first if I could. I seem to be able to find pretty much every other part of whip-making described, but this subject is ...

willthebold

Thanks for the kind words guys! Combined, those knots probably took me about 3 hours to tie... :? It seems to be cracking pretty nicely. Overhead, cattleman's and coachman's crack all work great. The flick isn't as easy as it should be I don't think. It might be because the whip is kind of a thinner...

willthebold

Very nicely done! About how much hide do you need for all of that?

-Will

willthebold

Hey all, Thought I'd put up a couple of pics of my first leather bullwhip. I made 2 nylon ones before this, and thought I'd give leather a go. This is a 6', 10 plait Roo hide made from some precut lace I got a hold of. My plaiting got much better on this whip than my previous two since I was really ...

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