I just recieved a 10 foot Joe Strain Indy whip. It is incredible! Now what do I do? I see there are care and maintainence stickys to read. How should a whip holder fit? I'll be making my own, so any ideas on proper size fit would help. Breaking it in? Learning to use it? Safety? Where does one practive if you live in an urban environment? My tiny backyard is not a place to practice.
Regards,
Indiana Jake
Getting started with a whip
Moderator: BullWhipBorton
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Indiana Jake
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didnt think that out BEFORE you bought it?
well you got yourself a cadilac of whips... you have two options
you can:
#1: sell it to me
)
or
#2: go crazy using the search function on this forum, or just scan thru the pages. the amount of knowledge here is staggering. Id suggest starting with the sticky-ed threads for the answer to most of your questions
viewtopic.php?t=19880
for a good intro to the basic cracks, it doesnt get much better than this: viewtopic.php?t=28123
but seriously, if you choose option 1, lemme know)
well you got yourself a cadilac of whips... you have two options
you can:
#1: sell it to me
)or
#2: go crazy using the search function on this forum, or just scan thru the pages. the amount of knowledge here is staggering. Id suggest starting with the sticky-ed threads for the answer to most of your questions
viewtopic.php?t=19880
for a good intro to the basic cracks, it doesnt get much better than this: viewtopic.php?t=28123
but seriously, if you choose option 1, lemme know
)
1. You have a JOE STRAIN WHIP, this is most important. He is the man and one of the best whipmakers around today. RESPECT THAT WHIP.
2. Like it was mentioned before, practice on grass...rough ground and gravel is NOT good for the whip as it will damage the leather.
3. If you didn't buy a whipcracking DVD and/or book...there are a lot of YouTube videos on the various cracks. Whipmaster and Hero-of-Everyone-Here ADAM WINRICH has posted some very helpful and informative videos on the various cracks...but I strongly advise watching and reading as much as you can, every little bit helps and one whipcracker might mention something that another one didn't (this happened to me and it helped me get the crack I was studying instantly). Make sure you study how the whip is properly held and handled while looking at all the videos. Keep in mind that the difficulty of certain cracks can vary with the length of the whip. For example, at least for me...it is easier to do a Tasmanian Cutback with a 8 ft. whip as opposed to a 10 ft. whip...so some cracks may be more tricky for you because you have a 10 footer and that's much more whip to keep in the air.
4. When first starting out, BREAK IN THE WHIP BY USING IT (as in whipcracking). Do not force the stiffness out by bending the whip with your hands as you'll just damage it. When you first start out, wear some protective headgear, glasses/googles, gloves and clothes (jacket,jeans). I'll be honest and say I basically just wore a hat and sunglasses as my protective gear and smacked myself A LOT and had a lot of marks. So be prepared for that. Keep in mind that the cracks are more about timing and relaxation and not overforcing the whip. Eventually you'll feel the whip as an extension of your own arm and you'll know when to change directions to get a good crack out of it.
5. DO NOT APPLY PECARDS ON THE WHIP WHEN YOU FIRST GET IT. The leather still has enough oils in it so applying pecards right away with overdo it on the leather. A lot of us apply pecards to the fall ONLY about every other whip practice session. Read more about pecards and when to grease up your whole whip in some of the other threads. I also suggest wiping down your whip with a 100% white cotton t-shirt after every whip session just to clean it up a little. The last few feet of the thong and the fall will get the dirtiest, so don't be afraid of that...the fall and crackers can be replaced by yourself.
6. Good luck and remember practice means perfect! We all can't be Adam Winrich in one day!
2. Like it was mentioned before, practice on grass...rough ground and gravel is NOT good for the whip as it will damage the leather.
3. If you didn't buy a whipcracking DVD and/or book...there are a lot of YouTube videos on the various cracks. Whipmaster and Hero-of-Everyone-Here ADAM WINRICH has posted some very helpful and informative videos on the various cracks...but I strongly advise watching and reading as much as you can, every little bit helps and one whipcracker might mention something that another one didn't (this happened to me and it helped me get the crack I was studying instantly). Make sure you study how the whip is properly held and handled while looking at all the videos. Keep in mind that the difficulty of certain cracks can vary with the length of the whip. For example, at least for me...it is easier to do a Tasmanian Cutback with a 8 ft. whip as opposed to a 10 ft. whip...so some cracks may be more tricky for you because you have a 10 footer and that's much more whip to keep in the air.
4. When first starting out, BREAK IN THE WHIP BY USING IT (as in whipcracking). Do not force the stiffness out by bending the whip with your hands as you'll just damage it. When you first start out, wear some protective headgear, glasses/googles, gloves and clothes (jacket,jeans). I'll be honest and say I basically just wore a hat and sunglasses as my protective gear and smacked myself A LOT and had a lot of marks. So be prepared for that. Keep in mind that the cracks are more about timing and relaxation and not overforcing the whip. Eventually you'll feel the whip as an extension of your own arm and you'll know when to change directions to get a good crack out of it.
5. DO NOT APPLY PECARDS ON THE WHIP WHEN YOU FIRST GET IT. The leather still has enough oils in it so applying pecards right away with overdo it on the leather. A lot of us apply pecards to the fall ONLY about every other whip practice session. Read more about pecards and when to grease up your whole whip in some of the other threads. I also suggest wiping down your whip with a 100% white cotton t-shirt after every whip session just to clean it up a little. The last few feet of the thong and the fall will get the dirtiest, so don't be afraid of that...the fall and crackers can be replaced by yourself.
6. Good luck and remember practice means perfect! We all can't be Adam Winrich in one day!
-
Indiana Jake
- Dig Leader
- Posts: 576
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 3:41 am
- Location: Seated in a Pan Am Sea Plane, flying over a map of Glendale, CA
- Contact:
In response to the posts above:
Shagbd - thanks for letting me know it is the Caddilac of whips. I purchased and returned an inferior whip from fleabay, and realized I needed a nicer one. When you are a leatherworker like I am, you realize what is quality and what's not. And no, I 'm not in the market to sell it!! It is an amazing quality whip, and I can't wait to learn.
Right now I feel like an eight year old with car keys or a gun. No experience with something that has great potential danger! But used properly can be alot of fun.
Bardon and Tyree, thanks for your info as well. Videos sound like a great place to start. I'll find a book as well.
How does one darken a whip without creating any extra problems? Too much oil, Meltonian's etc
Shagbd - thanks for letting me know it is the Caddilac of whips. I purchased and returned an inferior whip from fleabay, and realized I needed a nicer one. When you are a leatherworker like I am, you realize what is quality and what's not. And no, I 'm not in the market to sell it!! It is an amazing quality whip, and I can't wait to learn.
Right now I feel like an eight year old with car keys or a gun. No experience with something that has great potential danger! But used properly can be alot of fun.
Bardon and Tyree, thanks for your info as well. Videos sound like a great place to start. I'll find a book as well.
How does one darken a whip without creating any extra problems? Too much oil, Meltonian's etc
-
Indiana Jake
- Dig Leader
- Posts: 576
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 3:41 am
- Location: Seated in a Pan Am Sea Plane, flying over a map of Glendale, CA
- Contact: