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 finished another whip this weekend. It is an 8 ft brown and black goat hide. There were several firsts for me on this whip. First goat hide, first 8 inch handle, first time I broke strands while plaiting. And I broke 5 of them, all the brown leather, the black was great to work with. The first break wasn't bad because I was ready to drop a strand anyway. The others weren't so easy. Two of them broke at the same place in the thong. So all told I think I plaited this whip 1.5 times. But on the bright side it did give me a lot of practice in adding strands back in. Another first was that I used shellac. I'm not sure yet if I like the look of it or not. We'll see how it goes. Did the Indy whips by Morgan have shellac? Oh, and this isn't a first -- my fall knots still s**k And as usual, suggestions on improvement are welcome.
Last edited by Cracker on Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:53 am, edited 2 times in total.
I'm pleased with it. Underhand, side arm, circus, overhead, forward throw, which pretty much covers what I'm am capable of, are easy. It handles better than the last one I made and I think the tighter binding in the handle transition made a difference.
Thats your best effort yet Jim, looks really nice, and if you managed to snap 5 strings a sure sign your plaiting tight enough thats just goat skin for you.....the checkerboard looks good, and straight too, you'll be onto roo hide and selling them before you know it....
Thanks Arthur. It is much better than the chrome tanned cowhide I used on the last whip because it was stiffer. However, the brown hide had a lot of weak spots, but the black was very tuff. They were both about 1 mm thick.
Hey Cracker, nice looking whip, I think you did a good job! I understand what you mean about the shellac, as I still have mixed feelings about it myself. Some colors look better with a bit of shine, and some don't. But good job, keep it up!
The shallac like everything else with whipmaking is just a matter of learning to apply it right Cracker......there is a thread on here somewhere that I posted on that tells you how to do it, plenty of other whipmakers posted on it too
Cracker, you can take it off again if it's too thick....just get the thick of it off with alcohol on a cloth or rag, then go over the seams with a tooth brush and alcohol, let that dry out fully, clean the whip thoroughly with sadal soap, again let that dry fully, give the whip a good dose of quality leather dressing (I use Jay-el, but aussie leather dressing or pecards are good too) let it soak in for a few hours the buff the whip up and your ready to reapply the shallac then.....
But on the bright side it did give me a lot of practice in adding strands back in. Another first was that I used shellac. I'm not sure yet if I like the look of it or not. We'll see how it goes. Did the Indy whips by Morgan have shellac? Oh, and this isn't a first -- my fall knots still s**k 
And as usual, suggestions on improvement are welcome. 
Thats your best effort yet Jim, looks really nice, and if you managed to snap 5 strings a sure sign your plaiting tight enough 
my compliments!!!!