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!"
His name isn't on his web site but he has a pretty comprehensive description of what he does and describes his early experience with whips. So, with no name I was wondering if any of you folks here have had any experience with this whip maker and are his latigo whips any good and is he around here?
I like what I see on his site but would like to know more. Thanks in advance for any heads-up folks.
Sorry, only pictures of the whip, not the cat. But I liked what I saw but was seriously outbid about midway through. Sure would have gotten that whip to play with though. Oh well, some things weren't meant to be.
Anyway, if anyone knows about this whip maker please share.
I never heard of him (or her...?), but the whips look nice. I like
latigo whips at all. Great leather, tough and reliable, and a good
price. I can't say anything about the whip's sold here, never
wielded one. But at least the pics tell an interesting story.
I won one of his auctions and the whip was beautiful. Trouble was it was so heavy and thick I could not crack it, and I'm not a little guy. Had a nylon fall too which added to the difficulty.
To his credit he refunded my money. These whips are great wall hangers but not something I can see as a tool.
Interesting...Wonder whereabouts around here he is...Not much info on the site.
Bullwhips are frighteningly subtle things to get right. I myself started in leather, and honed my craft in Nylon as of late. I've been making whips since 1994. only now do i feel I'm ready to make a kangaroo model for real use...And i have so much left to learn.
I have no experience with this particular vendor's wares....but from the small amount of feedback, one can speculate anything. They look OK, but there's the catch---It's hard to make something that looks AND performs well...Especially for users that know how a great whip handles.
...Which is why I'll probably never sell whips, no matter what good feedback I get....
I find it interesting that he uses Herman Oak latigo, and says that it's the best cowhide for whips.
I had a long telephone conversation with one of Herman Oak's representatives about using their latigo for whips. He actually talked me out of buying their leather for whips, saying that I could find alum-tanned latigo and chrome-tanned cowhide that had better tensile strength than their latigo, which is veg-tanned.
I'm also not a big fan of putting a nylon fall on a leather whip. His plaiting looks really good and it's almost a shame to put a nylon fall on such a good-looking whip.
rjallen70 wrote:he described them as test whips or experimental to see how they would handle in his auctions.
Ron
Cheers Ron,
I get it now! test whip as in a tester.....I was thinking it was some American style whip I'd never heard of for a minute there....
I'm with Adam regards the fall a nice leather one on a leather whip...Vic Tella went through a stage of putting nylon falls on his snake whips a few years back, I didn't get it then either
Thanks for the feedback gang! Maybe with a little more research we can find out a little more about this whip maker and his wares. Hopefully some other folks here that haven't seen this thread yet may have some experience to share.
His construction methods interest me as they seem to stray from what I have read as being traditional construction. What are the experts thoughts on this? I don't have a lot of experience with this so I would like to learn more and see if his methods are sound.
It sound to me like he might have been making whips for several years now but is just now opening shop, offering his whips on e-bay for now until he gets a wider range of clients. Just a guess though.
I seem to be the topic of conversation of late and reading through the posts I would be happy to answer your questions to the best of my ability. As always I may be contacted through my web site or now in this venue as well.
Well howdy and a big welcome Florida Cracker! I have to say I've really enjoyed what I've seen on your site and it's a shame I didn't win your recent auction. Hopefully it was someone from around here so they can share their prize. I have also enjoyed reading the construction portion of your site. Very informative to a new whip cracker.
Will you have any further auctions in the future and will you be offering 8' versions of your 12 plait latigo on your site?
Also, how long have you been making whips? Sorry, I'm just one of those weird folks who enjoys researching and asking questions.
Well, we are happy to have you here. Enjoy your stay.
Thank you it is good to know that someone has taken the time to read some of the content on my site, I have tried to make my site as content rich as I can and I understand why you ask questions it is wise to do so it is the only way any one can make an informed decision. I will construct 8’ 12 plait whips if a customer requests that size and I have no doubt that I will auction some of my whips in the future. I have been making whips for about 10 years although I have only recently begun offering them for sale on line.
Aha! So you are another 'Tampanite'. Now I'm starting to wonder if I've bumped into you anywhere...Like maybe the 'Tampa Bay Whip Enthusiasts' meetings? I haven't been in a while....
Good to have you aboard! I look forward to comparing handiwork in person one day....
I've always found it a mystery how the best redhide (as it's called in Australia) is tanned, but there is definitely a difference in suitability for whipmaking between the types of latigo available. The best redhide is very tough and resistant to abrasion and makes great whips. I've never known if the best stuff is veg or alum tanned.
I read everything on the Floridacracker website regarding the leather and it certainly looks like this veg tanned latigo is excellent.
I was using redhide for a while, after my initial experiments with regular old cowhide. It does indeed make an incredibly rugged whip---even when my cowhide whips are in semi-retirement, the redhide models are still going strong...
The problem I had with it, which is why I switched to Nylon for the time being, is the weight issue. It just became impossible to find thin enough redhide, and splitting it down was both wasteful and difficult. I have nothing against it, but I'm soon trying my hand at Kangaroo.
Now in reading his site, it appears that his latigo & Australian red hide are rather different leathers altogether. I may be wrong in this, so maybe Florida Cracker or another one of our leather experts can please clarify for those of us who don't carry such knowledge. Florida Cracker explains in part about the latigo he uses, maybe we can get a more in depth explanation of the two from him?
In my opinion red hide as referred to in Australia is typically alum tanned cowhide ware as in the states latigo has become synonymous with vegetable tanned cowhide hot stuffed to produce a limited stretch leather specifically for the purpose of whip making. Limited stretch in leather is a very important property in whip making. The main difference in the too leathers is that regardless of how they are hot stuffed alum tanned leather tends to rot more readily when exposed to very damp conditions due to the protean binders used in the tanning process.
I just commisioned a 10' 16p Indy bullwhip from Floridacrackerbullwhips and I can't wait to see how it comes out! So far I can tell you he's very quick with communications and open to questions. I'll post some pics of my new Indy style Floridacracker whip just as soon as it arrives!
