Caring for those Spare falls

[BullWhipBorton]

This is just public service message of sorts that came up as a result of a discussion that I had today regarding a spare fall. This spare fall broke shortly after it was put onto the whip and its owner wanted to know what was wrong. While it seems like common sense, I though it might be a good idea to mention it here as well. Many whipmakers today often supply a maintenance kit with their whip that usually includes some leather dressing of the whipmakers choice, a few spare poppers/crackers, a extra fall. This is a great service and can make life easier if you accidentally snap a fall, but depending on use and wear, most whip enthusiasts will probably only ever need to change there falls once every couple of years, if that. While your spare fall is tucked away in storage, it’s important not to just forget about it. Be sure to check on them every so often and make sure they don’t start to dry out on you. Treat it with your favorite leather dressing, like you would your whip. This especially true for white hide, which tends to dry out faster then the heavily oiled redhide falls. Dry falls are weak falls, and if they dry out too much they can start to deteriorate resulting in early breakage. Keeping your spare falls well greased over time will help keep them good shape so that when the day comes that you need to replace that worn down old fall, your new one is greased, strong and ready to go.

Dan

[racerx]

That is so true, I remember once reading somewhere, where it was suggested to store falls in a plastic bag that was full of grease/dressing,
which would allow it to seep in over time into the fall.


Dan,
have you ever heard such a thing?

Just something from a ways back, I still take everything with a grain of salt, but I figured I'd mention it anyway.

Cheers


Jim J.

[midwestwhips]

Hey Dan and Jim,

This is something I picked up a couple years ago, I forget who told me, but when storing falls, I usually make up a bunch of them and put them in a plastic ziploc bag, and when I do I take pecards/fiebings, just a small scoop from my fingers, and I wipe it on the inside of the plastic bag. That way when I close it up and put it aside for a little while the grease will still soak into the falls and keep them conditioned. It's logical, makes sense, and I've been doing it for years and it has worked out well.

Regards,

Paul Nolan
MidWestWhips

[racerx]

Right on! I knew I heard that or read that somewhere, ,


Thanks mate.







Jim J.

[Bufflehead Jones]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I just went in there and put Pecard's on my new falls and put them in a ziplock bag. I never thought about it and just had the falls in a plastic bag. It makes sense that they would eventually dry out.

[BullWhipBorton]

Jim, Paul, I have heard that too. That’s pretty much how I store my spares, though I tend to load up the fall and place it in the bag rather then smear the grease in the bag. Another way that sounds good, is if you have a can of leather dressing that’s getting low, use that as your storage container. Though don’t keep red hide and white hide falls together or you may get a white fall with pink stripes.

Dan