Wow 2000 whips in 6 years Gus! So you've been making 1 whip per day since you started making whips, without taking time off for holidays or anything? Lol, does that include whip hatbands or something?
Bluzharp,
A quality whip can't be compared to any other costume whip. A kangaroo hide whip, like your Joe Strain, has many layers of plaiting and solid leather in the internal construction that are tightly packed in together to form a dense solid leather thong. It has body to it and weight and a good taper that responds lively to your minor movements, and that is what makes a whip crack really well, and quite loudly. It is a fine tool that takes the small amount of kinetic energy you put into a whip(say you throw your arm at about 1mph), and accelerates it down the length of the whip to the tip(which will end up traveling at about 750-900mph). A costume whip will likely have limp rope, or paper(even newspaper), plastic trash bags, even just a few strips of leather, and the overlay is made from a cheap leather that isn't very dense or compact, and on top of that it is braided very loosely compared to the roo hides. So the construction doesn't lend much to physics. Granted you can get it to crack, but it won't be as loud, and you will have to put more effort into it, and work harder to get it to crack(which is the exact opposite of what a good whip is designed to do)
There really isn't anything better than a well made whip!
Hi Josh,
You asked for it, so I am going to give you my honest opinion, straight up:
From a whipmaker/whipcracker standpoint: "Jrzjoe" whips are complete rubbish. If you are wanting to learn whipcracking, and think that these whips are a good inexpensive way to start, I would suggest not to throw your money away on one of these whips. The best proof is to find someone in your area with a well made roo hide whip and compare them side by side. You should be able to tell from just seeing them side by side, or picking them up in your hands. If you crack them both then there definitely will be no doubt left in your mind. Adam Winrich's 4 plait IOAB whips are the best quality "budget" whips you can buy. And I think the main reason is that he makes high quality roo hide whips as well. He knows how to taper and weight a whip properly so it has a similar action to the roo whips. If you are looking for a "budget" whip that is good to learn with before going to a roo hide, then it is well worth saving up a bit more for a IOAB.
From an Indygear standpoint, For $35 bucks you have a whip that will look great on your belt as a costume piece! Of course it is not completely screen accurate, but it will do it's job for opening night, and the average movie goer(read that as non-COW member) will think it looks spot on!
So I would say you got exactly what you were hoping to get out of it, and I hope that this encourages your enthusiasm for whips and whipcracking. Have fun at the premiere!!!
Regards,
Paul Nolan
www.midwestwhips.com