LOOONNGG Whips. Purpose?

[DarenHenryW]

I have often wondered, outside of it looking really cool for movies, stunts, shows, tricks, etc. what is the practical application for a whip much longer than, say, 8 feet? I mean, if you are using a bullwhip for its original purpose (herding cows?), what is the point of a really long whip?

Have cowboys always used extremely long whips, or has the long whip (10-20 feet) just been more a product of the entertainment side of whipwork?

DHW

[nicktheguy]

Perhaps they are for giants to use. 20 feet is too long - I have trouble with anything over 12

[DarenHenryW]

I've never cracked anything longer than 10 feet. I'm perfectly handy with a 10 footer though. In fact, I have four whips that length. Depending on the whip, I can even occasionally volley with one. Because of Anthony's instruction, I'm able to do many compound cracks with a 10 footer, but yeah, it's not super easy. So outside of showing off and merely enjoying the long roll out, why would anyone use a 10 or 12 foot whip (or longer) for any practical reasons? (swinging from branches, trunks of stone elephants, hanging lights and wires not withstanding!).

DHW

[tomek9210]

Long whip has long range, so cowboys could control their herd from longer distance. I've read somewhere that stockmen in Australia used 12ft stockwhips. A friend of mine worked once with such a herd and he used 8ft bullwhip. He said it was perfect length to work with cows or horses.
And they are perfect for wraps

[Canuck Digger]

As Tomek just explained, they were designed for greater reach when working with not so much cattle, as a long bullwhip is harder to control than a long stockwhip, but mainly when teams of horses or oxen were used to pull very heavy loads, since the heavier the load, the more animals were needed to pull and so the longer the team went on in a line.

As an example of a similar nature, an uncle of mine used to work up northern Quebec, where (at the time) dog sleds were still in use, and the local Inuits had 20' long whips (basically bullwhips) with which they controlled the team of dogs.

Otherwise, there isn't much point in having very long whips I'll grant you.

Hope this helped.


Franco

[Gaucho]

Daren

I have the same opinion about long whips.
For me, a very longer whip is very hard to crack, and hurt my sholder. The best size for me is a 9 foot.
I have a experience with a 10 foot and I don't like, but, in another time can be better.


Regards.


Gaucho

[hollywood1340]

Long whips are a pure joy. Let the whip carry the weight and do the work, I'm a firm believer a whip is as good as the person handling it. As far as the discussion at hand, medium length all around seems to be the best compromise.

[bobm2004]

Hey!!! My very first whip that I ever cracked was a 14 footer. I learned the side arm, cattlemans and the overhead with it before getting a shorter whip!! I find 6 foot whips to light!!! 8 footers are okay, but where I seem to like it is in the larger area. I have several 10's, a 12, a 14 and a 22.5 footer! And believe it or not a forward flick and an overhead can be done with a 22.5 footer!! Forum friend Adam has even brought over the 44.5 footer he recently acquired and that was a hoot to crack! I tried to win a 50 footer on ebay but lost the bid. I just love the long whip!!

[DarenHenryW]

As Tomek just explained, they were designed for greater reach when working with not so much cattle, as a long bullwhip is harder to control than a long stockwhip, but mainly when teams of horses or oxen were used to pull very heavy loads, since the heavier the load, the more animals were needed to pull and so the longer the team went on in a line.

As an example of a similar nature, an uncle of mine used to work up northern Quebec, where (at the time) dog sleds were still in use, and the local Inuits had 20' long whips (basically bullwhips) with which they controlled the team of dogs.

Otherwise, there isn't much point in having very long whips I'll grant you.

Hope this helped.


Franco

So, help me out here, Franco. How does one physically use a 20 foot whip similar to a bullwhip, with presumably a handle of not more than about 12 inches, in this type of situation? Wouldn't something like a stockwhip or a driver's whip, where there is a very long handle work better? I don't see how you could hold the long whip and crack it over the dogs' heads. Wouldn't it be dragging on the ground the whole time? Wouldn't it get tangled and caught up in the team of dogs? I would love to see how this works because I can't picture it. I know what it looks like when a cowboy carries a 4-8 foot whip while riding a horse. The "fall" may drag on the ground, etc. But the long length and short handle don't seem to mix well when you are maneuvering with a team of animals and a sled and anything else, at least not in my imagination. I'm clearly not arguing against it as a possibility, because its outside of my experience, but again, it just doesn't match with what I can imagine possible.

Thanks!

DHW

[louiefoxx]

The point of a long whip is that they are just plain ol' fun to crack!

Here's me learning to sidearm my 29'2 bullwhip: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 988&hl=en#

For a bullwhip that's almost 30 feet long it's got a short handle (only 12 inches)

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

[Canuck Digger]

As Tomek just explained, they were designed for greater reach when working with not so much cattle, as a long bullwhip is harder to control than a long stockwhip, but mainly when teams of horses or oxen were used to pull very heavy loads, since the heavier the load, the more animals were needed to pull and so the longer the team went on in a line.

As an example of a similar nature, an uncle of mine used to work up northern Quebec, where (at the time) dog sleds were still in use, and the local Inuits had 20' long whips (basically bullwhips) with which they controlled the team of dogs.

Otherwise, there isn't much point in having very long whips I'll grant you.

Hope this helped.


Franco

So, help me out here, Franco. How does one physically use a 20 foot whip similar to a bullwhip, with presumably a handle of not more than about 12 inches, in this type of situation? Wouldn't something like a stockwhip or a driver's whip, where there is a very long handle work better? I don't see how you could hold the long whip and crack it over the dogs' heads. Wouldn't it be dragging on the ground the whole time? Wouldn't it get tangled and caught up in the team of dogs? I would love to see how this works because I can't picture it. I know what it looks like when a cowboy carries a 4-8 foot whip while riding a horse. The "fall" may drag on the ground, etc. But the long length and short handle don't seem to mix well when you are maneuvering with a team of animals and a sled and anything else, at least not in my imagination. I'm clearly not arguing against it as a possibility, because its outside of my experience, but again, it just doesn't match with what I can imagine possible.

Thanks!

DHW

Right, well let me first say that I've only seen Inuits do this once, so I'm far from being an authority on this, and this is something that an uncle of mine reported having seen whilst working up north. I myself didn't much believe him because I was having a hard enough time (back then that is), using a 10' bullwhip that I could scarcely conceive of anyone using a whip twice that length with animals.

But here is what I saw; The handle is short, less than 12", probably closer to 9" or 10", and I presume that the reasons for this short handle may have as much to do with the origins of the design (for more on this, just read David Morgan's book "Whips and Whipmaking, Second Edition"), as from the lack of readily available materials to fashion a longer handle with the appropriate characteristics (keep in mind we are talking about a VERY cold environment in which a given material that works fine in warmer climes might actually shatter because of the cold, so finding a suitable material out of which one can make a long handle that will withstand the cold is not an easy feat, especially since THERE ARE NO TREES there!). The whips were made of either seal (very likely) or caribou (possible) hide and were rather crude compared to an Indy whip. It's doubtful the braid was even round and it probably looked very much, if not exactly like, the Inuit whip in Morgan's book. What the musher did was to let the whip unroll behind the sled and throw it forward so that a loop formed and this loop rolled forward until it finally reached the end of the whip, near the troublesome dog. There was no fancy overhead cracking. This is not a stockman atop a horse with a kangaroo stockwhip, this is a musher covered in ice and snow throwing a simple, yet effective loop that unfurls until it cracks. I don't think they gave their whip much thought beyond an occasional greasing of seal fat. Like I said, as far as I can gather, this was as utilitarian as it gets. Still, the whips WERE 20' and they DID crack!

Hope this helps,


Franco

[rjccj]

One of Steve Huntress's older blog posts is about Inuit whip cracking. If I remember correctly, there was a video of a guy cracking a 15 or 20 foot seal whip and hitting cigarettes. The article he linked to was about a guy who actually used it for hunting. It was really interesting if anyone wants to look it up. There's an interesting use for long whips.

[louiefoxx]

I don't remember that Inuit's name, but legend has it he took down a Caribou with his whip!!!

Louie

[WhipDude]

Simon Tookoome. I've read about this guy in multiple places.

He's an author and somewhat popular among the Inuits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-lSp1I5RiY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47Kw51El58o

[louiefoxx]

The best part of that video is how Simon Tookoome works the crowd at the end.

Louie

[Marhala]

I myself have a very strange obsession with the longer whips, whether Mule, Horse, or Bullock whips. I may make one of each when I develop my whipmaking skills further. I'd better ask the Master himself about these whips.

Whenever I make a Horse or Mule whip, I'll let you know guys!!!