Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

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LemonLauren
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Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by LemonLauren »

Hey Everybody,

Not an Indy Whip, I know, but I thought some of you might enjoy a peek at a new whip I'm developing. Chris Hall seems to not really be making these anymore, according to a few people I've spoken with who have chatted with him recently, and since I've been messing around with nylon lately I figured I'd give it a try. They're amazing whips - best performing nylon whips I've ever had the pleasure to lay my hands on - and I just didn't want the design and style to die.

So anyways like I said, this past Christmas I ordered a bunch of paracord to start fooling around with, which ended up turning into a sort of quest to make a whip similar to Chris Hall's (particularly because Paul never had the opportunity to get the pair he's wanted to order from Chris). In my spare time in the evenings, I'd been making and throwing out thongs for a couple of months now, trying to get the balance and performance just exactly the way I wanted it to be, when finally I managed to make one that I LOVED.

I'm giving that particular one away on the Cutting Edge Forum to help them expand their member base (those of you who know me, know Paul and I will both do anything we can to help spread the love and enjoyment of cracking whips), but I'm already working on making more now that I have a good pattern worked out.

For anybody who hasn't tried a whip like this, I'll try to explain why I love them so much. First off, they're not too expensive (I'll probably be able to make this length for somewhere right around $100 each). Second, they're nylon, so of course they can handle inclimate weather and cracking on abrasive surfaces better and with less damage than a leather whip. And third, they handle so well! Chris Camp and Adam Winrich both like and use this style of whip - they are made with a nice, simple cow-whip like construction, but they handle somewhat more like a stockwhip. The longer handle gives you the leverage, the whip is light overall but very evenly balanced like a good stockwhip, and the handle even flexes a tiny bit, just like toheti cane on a stockwhip will. To me, they even have a little bit of a bullwhip feel thrown in there too because the transition is more solid and not a hinged keeper - so as similar as they are to a stockwhip, they aren't exactly the same. But anyways, it would be a good whip for a beginner to learn basic cracks on, but it's also built to work well for more advanced folks trying to learn the fast and fancy routines.

Well, enough yakking - here's the picture of the first one, the prototype, that the CEF forum is getting. Our COW friends shouldn't feel left out though I hope, because we have always given fellow COW members a nice exclusive discount off of all our MidWestWhips Indy Whips. :D We're also working on doing a little something special for COW sometime in the coming months, but we're still working on the details for that so shhhhhhhhh.... stay tuned. 8)

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Lauren Wickline
www.midwestwhips.com
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Hollowpond
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by Hollowpond »

NICE!!!! :tup: Love the whip! Now...why do you people thrive on torturing me? SHHHHHHHHH? Stay tuned? I'll loose my mind trying to figure out what this little secret is!

Oh well
Nice whip
High regards

Travis
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by PyramidBlaster »

That style looks like what's known around these parts as the Florida Stockwhip. It differs from other stockwhips due to the aforementioned way it attaches to the handle---the base of the thong fits into a socket of sorts, and is attached by way of a pair of perpendicular, intersecting holes drilled into that socket...And now that you guys are making them, I'll just have to get one.... ;) Looks nice....
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by BullWhipBorton »

Lauren, So far everything I am hearing about these whips your making, sounds really good. You seem to really be putting in a lot of effort to make sure these perform the way a good whip ought too! :tup: It's a nice looking whip too.

Look forward to seeing what other surprises you have in store for Club Obi-Wan ;)

Dan
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by gsolideogloria »

Lauren - that whip looks like a beauty. I've been thinking of picking up a stockwhip and I like the looks of this new design. GREAT now I just might have to get one! :shock: I haven't checked yet, but are these now posted on your website? Keep up the good work.

Happy cracking, :whip:

Ryan
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by SHoWhips »

Hey Lauren,

That whip looks great! I really like the look of the handle. I also like the knots
you weave, very even and precise.


~Scott
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by Hollowpond »

I don't know what it is, but I keep coming back to this thread to look at this whip. It intrigues me, and I think it is calling to me! Can you guys hear it? Wait...listen..."Travis. Buy me. Buy me. I am made of awesome. Buy me." There it is again! I wonder what other color schemes there could be? I can't help but think that one of these needs to be mine.
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by LemonLauren »

Hey all, thanks for the responses and compliments! :D I've had to "hide" that whip from Paul and myself in a closet because we just can't stop playing around with it, and I want it to still look and feel new when I sent it out to its new owner! There's just enough space in our living room to pull off a handful of single-plane routines with it, so it was just too easy for us to pick up and play with every time we walked by it. I'm definitely going to have to make myself and Paul a pair when I can find the time. Right now I'm in the middle of working on a pure white pair with 8 seam handles in the evenings, which I think will turn out to be quite striking. You're right Hollowpond, all the different possible color combinations are really fun to think about.

For the moment, these whips are not on our website - I just wanted to give our COW friends a little sneak peek, whip fanatics that so many of us are. ;) If you're interested in one, you can email me, and we can talk about the colors I have and possible timeframe and whatnot if you'd like. We're both trying extremely hard right now though to lower our wait time for the 'roo whip orders, and since that's our main focus, it's got to come first.

PyramidBlaster, I've heard Florida cow whips called Florida stockwhips before - are we talking about the same thing, or is it something different? I know that the handle to thong attachment style on this whip is very much like a Florida cow whip - it's part of the "hybrid"ness in "Performance Hybrid."

Anyways, happy cracking!

Lauren Wickline
http://www.midwestwhips.com
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by ichnob »

So they're around $100 for COW members?! =P~

Sooo tempting. If only I didn't go on a shopping spree already this month. Gotta wait til next month, haha. Just one question: does it come in black and red for a Chicago Bulls fan? :whip:
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by LemonLauren »

LOL, yes... I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but I did pick up a bit of really vibrant bright red, and I still have plenty of black left too. Would that make it a "BULLSwhip," I suppose? :lol:

Lauren Wickline
www.midwestwhips.com
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by rjallen70 »

Here are a pair of Chicago BULLSwhips by Rhett Kelley...
So you can see how the Blk/red looks together.
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by LemonLauren »

I just love those pretty turned wood handles... and in red and black, too. Rhett is very talented!

Here are a few shots of the pure white pair I mentioned I've been working on and finally now have managed to finish. Paul and I recently bought a new digital camera after our old one started refusing to to even turn on 50% of the time, so we've been having fun taking lots of whip pictures with our cool new camera.

I still personally prefer the twisted nylon end on the original prototype, but for this pair I tried adding leather falls with a traditional fall hitch. It took a little extra tweaking to keep the weight and balance distributed right, but Paul and I took them out for a test drive the other day, and really the cracking difference between the twisted nylon finish and leather fall finish is negligible. I think it was a successful experiment overall, and I managed to improve a couple miscellaneous other cosmetic details on this pair as well, including adding a great idea Paul had about how to tie the thong into the handle (see the last picture).

First the obligatory overhead shot:
Image

A shot of the butt ends of the whips.
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Here are the fall hitches together, each with their own whitehide falls inside.
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Finally, and trying this was Paul's fun idea, the thongs are secured into the handle with a French grapevine instead of just a series of overhand knots.
Image

Lauren Wickline
http://www.midwestwhips.com

PS: I'm working on making a page on our website for the Performance Hybrid... hopefully I'll be able to finish it and get it online sometime in the next week or so.
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by Canasta »

Real nice Lauren!
Very handsome.

C
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Re: Performance Hybrid Nylon Whip Prototype

Post by BullWhipBorton »

While I'm not to fond of the pure white color ;) I am really liking what your doing with these hybrid whips and i think the way you secured the thong to the handle with a French grapevine tie is a big plus. Kudos to Paul for that suggestion :tup:.
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