i finally finished my first selfmade whip, thanks to the help of Robert Duke and the fantastic "How to make whips" by Ron Edwards. I have mixed emotions regarding the (almost ) finished whip. It is almost finished because I still couldn´t figure out the way to do the Turk´s Head properly so the pictures are withouth the final head plaiting. I have mixed feelings because I am happy with it as a first attempt and I now understand how it feels to make a whip by yourself. So the process alone gave me a lot of insight and satisfaction. On the other hand I can see all the imperfections in my result and I am determined to make another one, a better one in the future. My approach was to make a first whip to gain experience but at the same time produce a whip that could be used for the gear. For myself I have achieved both goals, but surely the professional can detect the gaps in the plaiting at first glance, the taper that could be better and if you could touch the whip you could feel that I will have to plait tighter in the future. But having said all that the feeling remains that it was well worth the effort, the time and the money spent on the whip, and I am proud to have followed the path of people whose accomplishments in their craft I now better understand and do respect a lot more than before. I can only encourage everybody to try it on their own. After all, all you need for a start is a piece of leather, a sharp knife, a steady hand, and some patience.
) Lust but not least the pictures:
http://public.fotki.com/indianafink/indygear/whip1.html
http://public.fotki.com/indianafink/indygear/whip2.html
http://public.fotki.com/indianafink/indygear/whip3.html
I hope the links work. Sorry for the crappy pictures, but my girl friend is away with the good cam
)The whip is 10 ft, core, bolster, 6 plait belly, 8 plait belly, 12 plait overlay. I used dark brown cowhide, about 1 mm thick, not the best quality, I decided to stay within a budget for the first whip, but I plan to do a roohide whip someday in the future. Cost all in all was about 120 Dollars including book, tools, leather.
I didn´t have the chance yet to crack it properly, but I do think it could produce some nice cracks. After all I will be using this as the gear whip with no intention to crack it regularly.
Happy to answer any questions.
Greetings,
Patrick
I read your description before I looked at the pics and I will be honest, I was expecting results different from what I saw. You are way too hard oin yourself! For a first time, that is amazing! Can't wait to see what your second attempt looks like!
