Late 80s DM

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knibs7
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Late 80s DM

Post by knibs7 »

What do y'all think of this DM whip? It is said to have been from the late 80s

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii12 ... ips013.jpg

Nibs
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Post by JMObi »

It looks to me like a DM. Looks in very good condition for an 80's DM. If it's authentic it might be kip, as kip doesn't darken as quickly as roo. It looks like kip to me, but the photo is blurry and it's hard to tell. Whatever it is, it looks like a nice whip.
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Post by BullWhipBorton »

Hi Nibs, Its probably a Morgan bullwhip, but the picture is a little unfocused to see the finite details.

In some ways it matches characteristics that show up in David’s late 80s whips in other ways it doesn’t. The appearance of a slightly shorter handgrip with only 10/11 diamonds between the knots is rare for those earlier whips, the strands also seem cut a bit wider then usual too. Wider cut strands had been more common on Davids whips after 2000, the whips themselves where also thinner back in the 80's too. But with nothing for scale in the photo Its hard to say. I'm also not seeing evidence of the wear leather underneath the handle plaiting droping off just before the bottom turkshead, which causes a noticable divit right before the knot and is common on the older whips. Photos can be deceiving though and since there were variations in each and every whip David made, anything is possible. It’s a very nice looking bullwhip, thanks for posting the photo. Who’s is it?

Unfortunately color isn’t really a reliable indicator of age, I’ve seen lightly used whips from the 80s that still look almost new natural tan, and I’ve seen newer whips heavily used or prematurely aged that looked very dark like you’d expect them to be decades old. If its late 80s, it would have been Kangaroo. Kip was only used in some of the very early on whips prior to 1981.

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Mulceber
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Post by Mulceber »

Nice whip. As Borton said, if indeed it is late '80's, then it almost definitely isn't kip hide. Morgan switched to Kangaroo almost as soon as the ban on it ended around the time Raiders was released. Still, based on what you've shown, it looks very LC. Where did you find it? -M
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Post by JMObi »

I knew about the use of kip being dropped in the early 80's. It's just that the leather where the paring (or skiving) has been done looks different to what one normally sees with roo leather (best seen here just after the ring knot). Also, the leather generally looks thick, so it must have been quite a thick hide. Anyway, it was a suggestion. It looks like a great whip. Do you know anything more about it?
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Post by moses »

Are you sure it's a Morgan and not one of Bernardo's kip whips - they are very authentic looking!
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