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!"
Hi all
I am about to attempt to make my own crackers for my 8 foot bullwhip.
I have heard braided nylon cord is good!
I'm not sure about the thickness either?
Can anyone advise me where to get the best suited material??
I live in the UK so a UK supllier would be best but not essential!!
Cheers
I can recomended twisted polypropylene twine. It gives very good crack, it's easy to make and cheap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_cdJeNFafk here is how to make good and fast crackers. You have to use twine twisted with two strands. I'm making crackers that way and it'svery good.
I've found that an ordinary nylon string, found in most craft stores or sections, works great. Easy to find and really cheap. Cut 2 pieces - twist 'em tight - bend 'em in half so the twist together again - tie a knot w/strands hanging out - and crack on!
You can make them out of just about any string or twine; polypropylene twine is good and cheep, though it wears quickly if you do a lot of cracking.
Heavy Nylon upholstery thread works very well and is what I prefer to use. It can be found in craft/fabric stores and some department stores. I also use polypropylene poppers on matched pairs though, as its less likely to tangle if they the whips touch/ Artificial waxed nylon sinew also works quite nicely as does nylon mason twine.
Here’s a video of how I make most of mine poppers, the process is a bit more involved but I think it’s worth it for the results.
Poly is easy and cheap and makes a stiffer cracker, which means it won't get tangled up as much as one made with a more pliable material, such as nylon thread, but it doesn't last as long as nylon. So once more, we are in a world of compromises and one has to choose which is the lesser of two evils.
Length is also a factor and personal preferences asside, there are some basic common sense points to keep in mind; the cracker is where all the kinetic energy of the whip comes to an end and explodes in a crack, so if a cracker is too short, it might not give the best results as a slightly longer one. But one which is too long or has too long of a fuzz (the frayed part), will dissipate too much energy and not crack as readily as one with a bit less fuzz or slightly shorter.
When I worked with a certain stunt coordinator a year or so ago, he liked shorter crackers than me, and his experience was not to be dismissed, so I made them how he liked them. But it didn't change my personal tastes.
Case in point, I make my crackers about the length of my hand with the fuzz about the same as the width of three fingers at the base. It's a simple way to measure which doesn't require any fancy measuring tools and this comes in handy in a pinch. I've learned to devise a few such body measuring areas; from this to that for a fall, from here to there is so many feet, so on and so forth.
Just a bit of advise about tying on a new cracker to your fall, if you have a bit of extra length to the fall beyond the cracker, it's a good idea to crack the whip a few times with the new cracker to really "set it", before doing any trimming. This way you are assured that the cracker is properly tied on and whatever is left of the fall beyond the cracker can be trimmed off. I would say however that you should try to get in the habit of tying your crackers in such a way as to not really need to trim anything, otherwise you may find yourself looking at your whip one day wondering where all your fall went...
Another point on poppers, take some time and experiment. I have different poppers of all lengths and weights for my different whips. From a short 2 strand, to the massive 12" 8-strand. I have and use them all, as each whip is different.
hollywood1340 wrote:Another point on poppers, take some time and experiment. I have different poppers of all lengths and weights for my different whips. From a short 2 strand, to the massive 12" 8-strand. I have and use them all, as each whip is different.
Thanks all, I have now ordered some heavy duty nylon thread almost identical to your pic. I guess i will experiment with the amount of strands and see how it goes
