From falls & poppers to plaiting & cracking technique, this section is dedicated in memory of Sergei, IndyGear Staff Member and Whip Guru. Always remember to keep "Celebratin' Life!"
I think I'm the first on my block to try to make a copy of a full-blown KotCS-style bullwhip.
I cut the strands a touch wider than what Jacka would do, just so I didn't have problems with gaps forming in the plaiting. I also made the handle 8" instead of 7" since I thought it might crack better. It's definitely loud, and it hurt my ears to crack it.
-Adam
Last edited by winrichwhips on Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Does Terry use the redhide falls? I'm just wondering if that's something you just did, or if that's on the KotCS whip. It goes very nicely with the color of the leather. What color would you call that? Saddle tan?
SWEEEEET WORK ADAM !! Its a piece of art work ..Nice taper.........just curious do most whip makers use pecards on the inside of there whips when building them like burni or soap ?? or any dressing at all ?? kind regards ............davey
On this whip I did use lots of Pecards on the inside of the whip and while braiding the overlay.
Andymac84,
Currently I'm not taking any whip orders as I'm going to be away from the shop performing with my whips for several months. With my performance schedule for this year, I'm thinking of only selling whips at my whipcracking gigs and not taking orders through the internet anymore.
Currently I'm not taking any whip orders as I'm going to be away from the shop performing with my whips for several months. With my performance schedule for this year, I'm thinking of only selling whips at my whipcracking gigs and not taking orders through the internet anymore.
We'll see how I feel when I get back from the renaissance fairs in Arizona and California as to whether I'll take orders from COW members.
One of the frustrating things about my internet business and performing as a whipcracker is that I got so busy that my customer service suffered, and my turnaround time got up to 3 months. It was also frustrating to go crack whips in public and have someone ask where they can get a whip, and then I'd have to say that I could them make one, but they'd have to wait 3 months.
Years back I had the most fun selling whips when I could show up to an event with a bag of whips and see if I could sell them all. It was exciting. Nowadays it feels like I'm selling whips to email addresses and PayPal accounts, so things have gotten a lot less personal than the old days.
Also, I'd like more time to make the whips I want to make. I've got a really nice dark grey buffalo hide that should make a wicked bullwhip, but I never started work on that project because I knew it would only increase the wait time for people who had already ordered whips. I also really want to make myself a 12 foot black latigo swivel-handle bullwhip, and I want to make another whip for the Glen Innes whipmaking competition in Australia.
Del Carpio, Strain, and Paul Nolan take good care of the people looking for kangaroo Indy whips. And for people looking for lower-cost cowhide bullwhips, Gus Caicedo cranks out whips faster than I ever could. So I think people looking for whips on the Internet have enough whipmakers to choose from if I stop taking orders.
Great looking whip Adam! I think the choice of the 8-inch handle is the right one.
I've done some measuring on the Indy 4 pics showing the handle, and the proportions are right for an 8-inch handle. At Aussie Saddle's website, they say the whip has a 6-inch handle, but what most people don't know is that they measure the distance between the top of the turk's head knot at the knob, and the bottom of the ring knot, hence, not the actual handle length.
According to them, the regular 11" handled Jacka is only 8". So, the short handled Indy bull whip should be more like 8".
Did you use a light, unloaded handle like Terry? I wonder about the balance of your whip.
Did you bind the transition zone? although Terry normally over does it, it looks like the Indy 4 whips don't have much reinforment, as they bend right after the thong.
Funny thing I also though of cutting the strands slightly wider than Terry for the same reason of avoiding gaps in the braid. Did you finish the point with 6 or 8 strands?
For the handle I used 1/4" steel rod. I did not put any lead loading in the handle.
I myself prefer nose-heavy whips, as they tend to be louder and faster than whips with a heavy load in the handle, so I like the balance of this whip.
I bound the transition a little, though not as much as I usually would, so the whip will coil up nice on a belt. I also noticed how well the Indy 4 whips coil up on Harrison's belt, and it made me wonder about the reinforcement. I know that no cable-cored bullwhip would coil up like that, unless it were tied together very tightly to hold the coils in place.
I finished with a 6 strand point. When I get back from my two renaissance faire gigs, I think I'd like to experiment with finer-cut overlays, to get closer to that Jacka look.
That's a fine looking whip Adam! I really like the color.
As far as waiting three months for one of your whips, I had no problem waiting for my IOAB. It is a great whip and I'm really glad I went ahead and finally ordered it.
