How thick should the overlay leather be?

[Indiana_Fink]

Hi,

I am currently reading myself into the whole subject of whipmaking and my copy of "How to make whips" hasn´t arrived yet, but nevertheless I have two -maybe- stupid questions:

How thick should the leather of the overlay be?
If you are planning on making a 10 foot kangaroo whip, how do you construct a 10 foot long overlay?

Question 2 may be the stupid one but I couldn´t find any information. It seems clear to me that you construct the total lenght of 10 feet with several shorter strips of leather, but how do you hide the connection between those strips, and how is this connection made?

Thanks for any help. If I can find a quality leather supplier in Germany, I may give it a try.

[Robert Duke]

Fink,

You will really enjoy the book when you get it. That is, I think you are talking about Ron Edwards book.

How thick should leather be? I never thought about that too much. If you buy a thicker cowhide, you will only make one belly or core and overlay over that. On a kangaroo whip you will have 7 to 10 layers of leather. Kangaroo is very thin and thus needs to be built up by making 2 plaited bellies. Each belly when plaited makes 2 layers as one strand goes over the other. Each time you plait a belly or overlay you make 2 layers. So, 2 bellies and overlay make 6 layers. That's not counting the core or bolsters. That would be another 3 layers. Sometimes you may go one less on a bolster or even one less on a plaited belly. On Australian stockwhips, there is only one plaited belly instead of two as on the bullwhip.

How long to cut the leather for a 10 ft?

On a cowhide you may have to cut in strips but not necessarily always so. For the overlay you want to cut your lace length 1.5 - 2 times the desired length. So cut 15 to 20 feet. It's better to be long than short. Ask a carpenter. That's an oops and uh-oh. But you still can lay laces in as you mentioned.

I picked up a new whip from someone at our whip practice on Saturday that looked pretty but would not pop. I knew it had a rope core, so I took it apart on the spot. As I took it apart, at least 20 pieces of leather came out. THey had "Dropped in" all these laces to make the desired length.
As you plait and notice a short strand, get a new lace cut, plait over it in the center and bring it in, dropping in the short one. It takes practice to get good at hiding the transition. It's mostly about being smooth and not making any lumps.

Ask me anytime on questions of whipmaking and I will do my best to help you along the way. I have shipped several whips to Germany in the last few years.

But if you are looking for a good cowhide to start with, I would recommend a 4 to 6 ounce, though Germany may not use the designation. I am not sure. Don't try to find "redhide" as the book will ask you to do. Get a good vegetable tanned leather, not too thick and not too thin.

Give it a go!

Cheers,
Robert Duke
http://www.DukeWhips.com

[Indiana_Fink]

Robert,

thank you for your enlightning answer. And I appreciate your offer very much to answer my questions. I will make use of that as soon as I start to make my first whip.

I checked back on Dittmers homepage and I think I understand now that you basically try to get the full length of the overlay (meaning you need 20 ft for a 10ft overlay) by cutting each 20 ft strand out of the hide by cutting circular around the hide? And in case a strand breaks or is too short you can correct that by braiding in another strand, trying to hide the transition. Did I get it now?

At the moment I planned on following Max Plaques example by making a veg tan 2-3 oz cowhide with 2 braides bellies and two bolsters. But I have to check if i could get that hide in Germany, the thinnest I could find so far was 2-3 mm, and I calculated the 2-3 oz hide is thinner.
But first and foremost I will read the book by Ron Edwards.

Thanks again for your help.

Greetings

Patrick

[Robert Duke]

I checked back on Dittmers homepage and I think I understand now that you basically try to get the full length of the overlay (meaning you need 20 ft for a 10ft overlay) by cutting each 20 ft strand out of the hide by cutting circular around the hide? And in case a strand breaks or is too short you can correct that by braiding in another strand, trying to hide the transition. Did I get it now?

Yes


But first and foremost I will read the book by Ron Edwards.

It's a great book, but doesn't get into bullwhip making very much. It does go into other areas very well. It mainly is aimed at aussie stockwhipmakers. So, don't run off looking for "redhide". It suggests you make a few 4 plait whips, graduate to 8 plaits for a while, then venture into 12 or 16 plaits after much experience. Some people just run right in and make 12 plait whips with double plaited bellies right off...
You will learn a lot by asking questions here and on the Yahoo group list "Whipmakers" To subscribe: whipmakers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

[Indiana_Fink]

Ok, so is there a book that is more useful for bullwhip making?
And second question: Which tools are an absolute must, except for a sharp leather knife or scissor? Is it possible to make a decent bullwhip without anything else?

Because if not, I may have a hard time finding these tools here in Germany and better get started searching them.

From now on I´ll better take notes to publish my own web tutorial some day. ) Lesson one: Tools of the trade

[Robert Duke]

For a knife, I use a utility knife like a box-cutter with "snap-off" blades. I usually don't break off the blades, but keep it stropped on a piece of leather.... its amazing how leather can be a knife sharpener
Leather shears are a must too. I think you should at least get an "Aussie strander" also as Tandy or the Leather Factory sells for about $20 USD


Absolutely... keep a notebook... its like a journal of your progress and all of your notes from what you have learned.