The Incredible Dissappearing Cracker!

[RandallFlagg]

Dangit! That's TWICE I've lost a cracker!
What is it with these things? I put the cracker on through the loop as it shows in all the books I have and it comes off. But that's not the problem.

I can't find the dern thing afterwords!

Do they slam out of our space/time continuum when they hit supersonic speeds, or what? The first time was at work I got a really loud sidearm in a very open area of the building and after I turn to recover from the hit, I notice the cracker missing. I look, and look, and look and can not find the thing for twenty minutes. Finally I gave up.

THEN, this evening we went to the in-laws house to have a late Christmas dinner and I show off the power of The Beast (the first bullwhip I made) in their large backyard. After the second sidearm BOOM, the cracker's gone again. My Father-in-law, my Sons, my Wife and I looked for a half hour. Nothing!

It's not as if they cost anything, but the mystery's killing me!

Next time....SUPERGLUE!!!

[MaxPlague]

They can really fly (since they're moving at Mach 1+ hehe). Always try looking about 20 or 30 feet ahead of your crack direction. That's where mine ended up the one time I lost my cracker.

If you tie the tip of the fall instead of the cracker it should solve the problem. I haven't lost one since I began using that method. Someone here has a neat drawing of the technique. Basically make a "9" with the end of the fall, stick the cracker up through the hole and hook it on the end of the fall, then pull the thing tight. A pic would be better wouldn't it.

[BullWhipBorton]

They seem to vanish in to thin air, only to reappear every now and then while mowing the lawn.

Is the knot coming undone, or is it breaking off with the cracker? Power cracking will have a tendency to blow the popper and the whole knot right off the fall especially if the fall leather isn’t very strong. I noticed in your photos that the poppers you are using look really thick and heavy; you might want to try using thinner lighter poppers. Try nylon upholstery thread, which is available at most fabric stores or even polypropylene baling twine, both work very nicely. There are also several ways to tie them on so you might want to experiment and see if one of the other methods gives you a more secure hold.

Dan

[McFly]

Photos by Jerryrwn

That's how I do it... hasn't failed me more than 5 times in probably a little over a year now.

Tighten it up before cracking, and secure it with a good (but not soft and not super-powered) Circus Crack or two before getting too serious.

(Admin - Will resize if neccesary.)

In Christ,
Shane

[Indiana Jerry]

Dalexs suggested putting a wee bit of Pecards on the knot to help lube it while tightening it - worked GREAT. Nice tight knot before even the first pop.

J

P.S. I only ever lost ONE, believe it or not, in a year - and it dematerialized as well. Just what IS the direction of the crack when you are doing an overhead, anyway?

[Indiana Texas-girl]

You could try buying/making some neon colored ones. Those will be easy to spot. I like McFly's photo illustration.

[BullWhipBorton]

Good pictures Shane, that is the way I tie them on too. Its one of the more traditional ways of tying a popper to a Australian type fall. I don’t think I have ever had a popper come off that knot once it has been cinched tight and cracked a few times.

Dan

[RandallFlagg]

IndyMcFly - That's how I had it tied both times.
BullWhipBorton - It isn't breaking off of the fall. The fall's remained intect.
Indiana Texas-girl - Neon's a great idea. I wonder how it'd look under a blacklight.
Indiana Jerry - Pecard's on it sounds like it would solve this. I wonder if anyone's plaited a whip with Picard's as plaiting soap.
MaxPlague - But the first time it warped away was in a 24' x 40' closed room. I looked over the ceiling girders, behind doors, down pipechases.

It's probably in the same place that un-paired socks end up.

Thanks for all the replies. This is a fun thread.

If a ratty cracker falls out of the sky and nails any of y'all in the head in the next four days, I apologize in advance. I'm going to be working graveyard starting tonight and intend to take my whips and play.

[Indiana Texas-girl]

After you put it on, try standing on the cracker itself and then pulling on the fall to make sure it's ultra tight.

[RandallFlagg]

After you put it on, try standing on the cracker itself and then pulling on the fall to make sure it's ultra tight.

Done that as well. Lately I grab both ends and give 'em about three good yanks, then crack the whip a good couple of times. The problem isn't them coming off -I kinda expect that. It's: Where the heck did the thing fly off to?

BTW, is that your pic?
I always say that all the best looking ladies come from Texas.
(That's a compliment -not a flirt. I'm happily married. You're safe )

[Indiana Texas-girl]

No that's my twin sister, she's better looking than me. LOL! Yes, it's me and thanks, you're too kind.

[RandallFlagg]

Heh! People around here look normal, compared to me: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/ ... /LoveW.jpg

[Snakewhip_Sable]

Indy McFly's pics and instructions are so good, I think this thread oughta be sticky-fied.

[Indiana Jess]

Heh! People around here look normal, compared to me: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/ ... /LoveW.jpg

I dunno you look pretty normal to me. At least you've found the normal gearhead way (or at least a popular way) to cope with trying to get screen accurate gear.

[Mola Ram]

http://www.freewebs.com/omarswhipbazaar/htacrackers.htm
try that too.
The problem probably isent the knot it self coming off,
uasually if the fall is cut to large, then it will also have a tendency to
come off, as the larger size prevents the knot from getting as tight
as it needs to be.
Adam

[jabahutt70]

As has been mentioned, there are quite a few ways to tie on crackers. On my last couple of whips, I cut a small slit in the end of the whitehide fall, pushed the looped end through the slit, take the opposite end and pull through the looped end. Pull tight and it's done. This works gr8 on whitehide falls, not sure if redhide would work well or not. Redhide tends to wear more, and the slit may eventually tear, losing the cracker.

Steve.

[jerryrwm]

That's how I do it... hasn't failed me more than 5 times in probably a little over a year now.

Tighten it up before cracking, and secure it with a good (but not soft and not super-powered) Circus Crack or two before getting too serious.

(Admin - Will resize if neccesary.)

In Christ,
Shane

Shane, glad you found those pictures. I just had someone ask me if I could send them a tutorial on cracker tying. I think I made that little tutorial about 2 years ago for someone. It was done with a large piece of redhide and a piece of sash cord for picture clarity.

Thanks,

Jerry

[Sergei]

I like this method as documented by David Morgan:
http://www.davidmorgan.com/cracker.html ... ence=25785

I believe Kyle or Paul noticed that whips coming in from Terry Jacka were tied using this method (that was around 2001). IT's very streamline. If you do it right, man that cracker stays on.

[McFly]

Shane, glad you found those pictures. I just had someone ask me if I could send them a tutorial on cracker tying. I think I made that little tutorial about 2 years ago for someone. It was done with a large piece of redhide and a piece of sash cord for picture clarity.

Thanks,

Jerry

So you made those! I was just going to post and tell Sable that I didn't take those. I had them saved on my PC, *just in case.*



Glad I could help you out - even if with your own pics!

In Christ,
Shane

[Paul_Stenhouse]

Sergei,

I get to take the blame, or credit for showing that to David after I accidentally figured out how to do it. There are two ways to make that knot. The way David shows it, but also, using the pictures Shane put up. Once you get to that point where you are ready to pull tight, stop, and straighten the fall out. That's how I accidentally figured it out!

Pull it twice, once on a normal angle to the fall, with the fall resting in your hand, and the cracker hanging between the ring and middle finger, then pull it along the axis of the fall, with the untrimmed end of the fall pointing away at a 90 degree angle. Go crack it lightly a dozen times, and then trim it off with about 0.125" left over. Happy cracking. I've had falls stay on for years with this method.

Best Regards,

Paul Stenhouse

[Ark Hunter]

I've lost one cracker but had two "fall off" (the tip of the fall actually broke off, it didn't come untied). I looked all over the yard for it and never found it. The grass had just been cut too, so it was short and should have been semi easy to find. (except it's black and the grass it dark green)

I use the way Shane demonstrated to tie new popers on.

[Sergei]

I've lost one cracker but had two "fall off" (the tip of the fall actually broke off, it didn't come untied). I looked all over the yard for it and never found it. The grass had just been cut too, so it was short and should have been semi easy to find. (except it's black and the grass it dark green)

I use the way Shane demonstrated to tie new popers on.

If the fall is cracking off at the tip, I would recommend greasing your fall prior to cracking. Also, before I put it away into my bag, the fall gets greased again. I find that after cracking that the fall either gets dried out from the low humidity or - when getting wet from the dew, Pecards does wonders.

[Ark Hunter]

Yeah, I try to keep it greased with Pecards (usually after cracking), but it doesn't always get done.