Just got my Joe Strain

Indiana Croft · Post by **Indiana Croft** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:57 pm

Yep, UPS truck showed up this afternoon and my 8' 12 plaite Indy whip is in.
Yea.
First impresion : what a beauty.
has a nice shine to it, I think this is from a thin layer of shelac.

Color: Saddle tan, has the large turk head w/braid loop.
Mr. Strain does somy mighty fine work.

Here's a question (before the pic's)
with this thin layer shelac how soon can I give a coat of Pecards and which pecards should I use, I have the "Jell" and the Leather dressing.
The whip is very stiff and I know that once I start using it It'll break in.
I'm a novice at this, so if theres any one close to me who isn't a novice I live in Newmarket NH, and wants to get togther some late Sunday afternoon or on a Wed/Thurs.

Heres some quick pic's. Enjoy. Thanks to all who help me in the desision making process.

Croft

http://public.fotki.com/IndianaCroft/my ... hip_1.html

http://public.fotki.com/IndianaCroft/my ... hip_2.html

http://public.fotki.com/IndianaCroft/my ... hip_3.html

zohar · Post by **zohar** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 7:02 pm

Please, oh PLEASE don't over pecard your whip's thong. The braided part of your whip only needs pecards sparingly. If you overpecard it, the laces will come loose, and you'll end up having to rebraid the fall hitch.

Pecard your fall every single time you crack your whip. Be carefuly about getting it on the fall hitch (where the fall joins up with the braided part of your whip.

Your thong will only need pecards every few months or so, unless you live in an exceptionally dry climate. I live in SC, a very humid state, and I have never pecarded the thong of my whips. The only pecards it gets on it is what is left over on my hands from after I pecard the fall.

While very stiff now, after a couple of months of use (every other day or so), they will be like a noodle, and very snake-like.

Congrats on your purchase! That looks like a beauty

P.S.

One more recommendation. Have Joe send you some of his PolyPro poppers. In my opinion, they crack better, don't tangle up, and won't damage your whip like the black bonded nylon ones will.

jerryrwm · Post by **jerryrwm** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:34 pm

Agree Zohar.

If that is a new whip, that rascal has enough plaiting soap and conditioner in it to last a long time. You might need to give it a light coat after 6 to 8 mos depending on how much you use it.

The conditioer is used to replace the oils that dry out with time and use, it is not to keep that whip slicked up.

Let the shellac wear off as it will. And the Pecards will go through the shellac no problems.

Enjoy the whip,

Jerry R

Indiana Joe · Post by **Indiana Joe** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:37 am

zohar wrote:One more recommendation. Have Joe send you some of his PolyPro poppers. In my opinion, they crack better, don't tangle up, and won't damage your whip like the black bonded nylon ones will.

Croft, you have a beautiful whip! I love the color!

Take Zohar's advice. Within two days my fall had (still has) so many lacerations in it from the initial black bonded nylon popper. The PolyPro crackers don't do the damage that bonded nylon boogers do.

Tim Bass uses "Masons Twine" from Home Depot or Lowes and it's my favorite popper material b/c it is soft and I get a clean, crisp crack from it. The Masons Twine also lasts a long time. At least that's been my experience.

I.J.

BTW Croft, this link may work better--
http://public.fotki.com/IndianaCroft/my ... hip_1.html

Indiana Joe · Post by **Indiana Joe** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:14 am

Yes, a whip from Strain costs some serious cash but, in my opinion, the whip is worth every penny. Just my .02 cents.
Maybe it's not for the budget-conscious---not yet, at least. But if you graduate and get a huge job or, maybe have a good night at the casino.....

zohar · Post by **zohar** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:38 am

"Just as good", is something that everybody has to decide for him/herself. I have seen, cracked, and held whips by quite a few different whipmakers, and for my money, Mr. Strain's are the best that money can buy.

Granted, I haven't seen every whipmaker's work, and I will not say that a Strain is better than a Duke, or Winrich, or Rasmussen, because I have not cracked them. By all accounts, they make very nice whips.

I will say that in comparison with the whipmakers that I have had experience with, Mr. Strain's whips were clearly of a higher quality. The difference was significantly noticable, even when the whips were just laying next to each other.

midwestwhips · Post by **midwestwhips** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:10 pm

I'm going to have to agree with zohar on this. In my opinion Joe Strain is THE best Indy whip maker out there. Now I'm not putting any of the other whipmakers down. I would say every whipmaker on COW is a very Talented and very good quality whipmaker, and well worth the money. But when it comes down to it, Natural Talent aside, Joe just plain has years of experience over the rest of us, not to mention the quantity of whips he has produced in that time. And that alone, in my opinion, makes him a (I can't think of another word) "better" whipmaker. Let alone his natural talent.

I'm probobly putting my foot in my mouth, but that is my opinion. I hope the other whipmakers on here see where I'm coming from, and don't get ticked at me.

Anyone else want to offer up their thoughts?

Regards,

Paul Nolan
MidWestWhips

Ps- I don't want this to start a who's a better whipmaker argument, I just wanted to point the above out, and when all of us whipmakers on COW here have that many whips under our belt and that many years, we will be at that point.

indy81 · Post by **indy81** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:23 pm

That's a beautiful whip you have there Croft!

regards, '81

MaxPlague · Post by **MaxPlague** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:25 pm

Wow that's a nice looking whip! Love the color and the finish, very rich and deep tone. Congrats and have fun with it!

jerryrwm · Post by **jerryrwm** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 4:18 pm

Gotta agree with you Paul. Joe is head and shoulders above the pack.
There are some benchmarks that keep me trying to improve with each and every whip I make. And whipmakers like Joe Strain, Chris Barr, Mike Murphy, Peter Jack, Dennis Gardener and several others keep me striving to make the best I can.

Jerry R

Indiana Croft · Post by **Indiana Croft** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 8:50 pm

Thanks everyone, I belive I made a good choice in color and manufacture of my new whip.

One more recommendation. Have Joe send you some of his PolyPro poppers. In my opinion, they crack better, don't tangle up, and won't damage your whip like the black bonded nylon ones will.

Joe did send along an extra fall and some PolyPro poppers, I don't know if these are the same black bonded ones that zohar is talking about but if I get a chance I'll post a pic, sorry every one for the way I bunched up the links to my photo's I've made an adjustment so now all can see.
Thanks again.
Croft

zohar · Post by **zohar** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:44 pm

Joe's PolyPro's are blue in color. If you didn't get one, let me know and I'll drop one in the mail to you. The black bonded nylon ones are more screen accurate, but the polys crack better, and won't damage your thong due to tangling.

indy81 · Post by **indy81** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 2:56 pm

How much would the PolyPro poppers cost to order from Joe? Mine are just the black ones too. He gave me plenty of them to last a while though.

Regards,
'81

zohar · Post by **zohar** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 3:29 pm

I think he charges a buck a piece. I ordered 20 from him over a year ago, and I still have like 15 left.

jerryrwm · Post by **jerryrwm** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:01 pm

Or... you could make your own. The poly twine is available at almost any horse stables. They would probably give you enough to last a lifetime just to haul the stuff off.

making crackers is not at all difficult, and you can make up a dozen in about 10 minutes.

Will look for a link that shows how they are made.

Also if you get Mike Murphy's Whip Maintenance video, he shows several ways to make crackers.

Jerry

Swindiana · Post by **Swindiana** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:20 pm

Here is a good one from EM brand whips:

http://www.em-brand-whips.com/makepopper.htm

It even has a tutorial video.

Regards,
Swindiana