Swinging whip!

[riku1914]

It's the dream of probably every indy fan to be able to swing on a whip. Well they have whips you can swing on, but they don't crack, or they barely crack, and on top of that, they don't even look like a whip!

Well, I've fixed that. Ever since I started whip making, I have been coming up with a design of a whip that can hold the weight of person, but that looks like any normal whip, and on top of that it cracks like a normal whip! Since the design is completely unique to me, I'm not going to give out too many details, but I still say that the very core of the whip is comprised of 2 hallow paracord strands, which is what mainly holds the weight. Other than that, the whip has the regular internal construction. 8" handle foundation, leather core, 2 roo plaited bellies, 2 leather bolsters, and a 12 plait overlay ending in a 6 plait point. And on top of all that, the dimensions are normal ( 25mm start of the thong, 7mm point! ).

I was SO nervous when I first swung on it. While I knew that it wouldn't be a problem, I was just nervous! I cracked it a few times before I swung on it, then I cracked it a few time after, and it cracked the same! The seams didn't shift or separate, and the whip didn't stretch at all. The whip cracks almost like a normal whip. The only reason it doesn't crack like a normal whip is because of the special paracord fall I designed for it, so the end is a little light feeling, which is nothing you can't just get used to. The paracord fall actually tapers, and even where it doesn't taper in size or width, it is tapering in weight.

Here's some pictures!



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As you can see, it looks like a normal whip!



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Let me know what you guys think!

[backstagejack]

That's astounding. And great job sir!!!!!

You may have cornered a market!

[Indywanabe91]

It looks great!

[jedichase]

Great looking whip, but we need pics of you swinging from a tree in full gear.

[IndianaBravo]

Great looking whip, but we need pics of you swinging from a tree in full gear.

hear, hear, and fantastic looking whip BTW!

[tomek9210]

Great idea! You're the first if I am not mistaken who made real swinging whip, which looks like an indy whip.

I have also had problems with paracord falls being too light, so I developed my own one. I take one piece of hollow paracord over 4ft long and one piece of hollow paracord over 2ft long, I put the shorter one into the longer one and then fold it in half and put the filled half through the hollow part. It makes very strong and heavy fall, it cracks as well as redhide one.
You may think about it and redesign it, feel free to use my idea.

Did you use nail/spike for handle? It may be the weak point then. Tension is the biggest at the ends.

[riku1914]

Great idea! You're the first if I am not mistaken who made real swinging whip, which looks like an indy whip.

I have also had problems with paracord falls being too light, so I developed my own one. I take one piece of hollow paracord over 4ft long and one piece of hollow paracord over 2ft long, I put the shorter one into the longer one and then fold it in half and put the filled half through the hollow part. It makes very strong and heavy fall, it cracks as well as redhide one.
You may think about it and redesign it, feel free to use my idea.

Did you use nail/spike for handle? It may be the weak point then. Tension is the biggest at the ends.

Thanks everybody!

As for the handle, no I did not. I can say with 100% certainty that the way the paracord is attached to the handle is not a weak spot. I'd be more

worried about the paracord itself breaking than the connection there breaking.

The paracord fall, if you can't quite see, is a 3 strand paracord flat braid up until the half way point. The eye is double reinforced ( I put a strand of paracord inside it self , and the part sticking out is what makes it a 3 strand plait instead of a 2 strand twist ).

The paracord that I put inside extends out for about half the lengths of the flat braid, so that is the weight taper. Then I put one of the 3 strands inside another, and do a 2 strand twist. Eventually I had the strand that was inside cut off, so there's some taper, then I keep twisting a bit longer. Then I put one strand inside the other, and that's the solid portion you see where the cracker is attached.

Thanks again guys!

[tomek9210]

Please change color of the fall in next whips, black just doesn't suit Indy whips

And video or it didn't happen

Just joking, but it would be great to see it in action.

[riku1914]

I've been thinking about getting a video done.

And yes, I'll be doing a different color next time for the fall. I'll probably do white unless otherwise requested.

While it doesn't suit indy whips well, I thought the black looked nice on a natural tan whip, that's just my opinion though

edit: what do you think about the fall hitch paracord? I think doing that in white wouldn't look right at all. I'm thinking of getting a tan or beige color, but then again that won't match when the whip darkens some. Maybe a chocolate brown? That would probably be best in the long run. Lemme know what you guys here think.

[Canuck Digger]

I made one once back in the 80's with a Dacron core that extended as the fall. It worked great and cracked as well, but then again, I was a bit lighter then too ;-)

The danger is always the weakest link in a chain, so keep an eye on that...

Good stuff!

Cheers,


Franco

[riku1914]

Thanks Franco! The areas where there would be a weak point are all double reinforced ( a strand in the core of the paracord ) and zero pressure is put on the leather, so whatever the breaking point of two strands of hallow paracord is, is the weakest point. Supposedly a hallow paracord strand is rated for 225-300 pounds, but I've never seen just a hallow piece tested.

[riku1914]

I got several requests for a video, so here it is. I had to shoot it in two in order to ensure I had enough battery power for the two ( wrapping and then unwrapping it takes up extra time ).

First, I swung on the whip, so here's that. It's short, but it shows that the whip shows no sign of distress when being swung on. It also shows that you can put weight on the heel knot for support because of the way that I attached the foundation differently than a normal heel knot, which I personally wouldn't put that much weight on a normal heel knot. Here's the first video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkzqgSYj ... e=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And now I took this immediately after it was swung on. It also gives a quick close up of the whip at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP0inGU_ ... e=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Weston]

That's fantastic! Great work!

I haven't attempted to swing on a whip since I was 12 years old. Man, that looks like alot of fun.

Weston

[riku1914]

It would have been if I wasn't so worried about the branch breaking! It was the most suitable branch to swing on for an 8 foot whip, out of all the trees around, but the end of it had started to die. The part that was wrapped was good, but you might have noticed I kept looking up at it. It made me nervous!

[Canuck Digger]

Looks good.

One thought; you might want to consider a higher branch in the future so that you can swing in an upright position from it. Reason being is that curled up as you were, if something happens you will either fall on your back, thereby knocking the wind severely out of you or potentially injuring your spine (sounds dramatic I know, but a bad fall with an unfortunate rock hitting your back can have surprising effects), or worst still, on your tail bone risking fracturing it, and that is not something you want to go through just because you were trying out a "trick". Play safe, you'll have plenty of opportunities to put your health on the line later )

Mother hen out.

[Strider]

Quick question, how will the leather itself hold up after multiple wraps and swings?

This is an awesome idea, btw. Great work!

[riku1914]

No pressure is put on the leather if it is used correctly. By that I mean just the fall is wrapped, not the thong. The fall is replaceable, the thong, not so much.

Mother hen , , Normally I would have held the whip higher, but I was trying to display how I did the heel knot foundation so that you can put weight on it. Thanks for the concern, it's definitely appreciated

[riku1914]

Just a little update, I was able to test this whip with up to 175 pounds, and the whip showed no sign of distress. I have complete confidence that it could hold a lot more weight, I just have no way of actually testing it. Each hallow strand of paracord though is rated for much over 175 pounds, and it has two of them in the core of the whip.

[drewtheman]

Nice job riku! That looks like a whip, I could add to my collection.

[riku1914]

Thank you! I am selling them, and they can be made custom...

Thanks

[riku1914]

Oh, for those who didn't see the vendor post, lookie here what I got asked to make...



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I owe the credit of the idea to a member here named The Dude, and he even did a little review on it in the Lao Che's Table section of these forums. Right HERE

It took a long time, and the fingers got to cramping quite a bit throughout, but they're really cool!

Unless otherwise requested, I'll be making the wrist loop a little thinner and slightly longer on them from now on, but either way it is still really interesting! It has the correct handle knots, proper proportions to an actual whip handle, and even a 12 plait roo overlay, even though it's at approximately a 1:3 scale, the strands were .5mm thick and about 2mm wide. I wanted them slightly thinner but the .5 turned out to look perfect, so that's what I'll be using.

What do you guys think of those?

[drewtheman]

Sweet! I have been looking for one for my keychain. What is the price for one? Thanks

[riku1914]

Pm sent!

[kwad]

Jeremy,

You simply amaze me. You came here not that long ago asking about bindings and bolsters and the next thing you know you are building functional works of art.

Keep it up!

That key chain is way cool. I might have to buy one off you when I get paid.

[riku1914]

Thank you, I really appreciate it!

[Marhala]

Jeremy, I just think it's great you came up with that idea. It is always good to try new things out, and I'm glad you tackled one of the greatest reasons, perhaps for most of us around here, why we secretly got into whipcracking and whipmaking... SWINGING FROM A WHIP!

I used to swing from a four-plait rawhide bullwhip when I was young too. I think the thickness of rawhide and its stiffness compared to tanned leather is superior and better suited for this kind of coarser work.

For Adam and Jamie (because we secretly know you lurk around ): We no longer need you to make an episode on this! Jeremy has already answered it: Plausible, you can swing from a whip, but not from any kind of whip. And as you state, your whip is the closest we have seen to an actual, regular cracking bullwhip.

Congratulations,


Aldo.

[riku1914]

Thanks Aldo!

Maybe they could do a new mythbusters indiana jones episode. Swinging from a whip, is in fact, now plausible

I tried to record the original one, but the episode information was incorrect and I got some other episode, and haven't been able to find it since

[Zuiun]

Maybe they could do a new mythbusters indiana jones episode. Swinging from a whip, is in fact, now plausible

I think they'd still have to go with "busted," because the myth is about a standard whip. Your whip would fall into their "what do we have to do to make the myth work" category.

But that's not meant to take anything away from what you've come up with.

[riku1914]

True I guess.

Ya know how they always, once it's been thoroughly tested, take it to the extreme? I'd like to see them get one of these whips and test how much pressure it takes to actually break it. I'd assume just what the paracord breaking point is ( I've changed my design slightly since making the one in the picture, the core is now just 1 strand of military spec paracord that has the inner strands still inside ) but as it was pulling on it, you'd see at what point it starts to stretch out the whip also.

That point wouldn't come until it was well above any weight that would be put on one of these, but it would be interesting to see.

[Marhala]

Maybe they could do a new mythbusters indiana jones episode. Swinging from a whip, is in fact, now plausible

I think they'd still have to go with "busted," because the myth is about a standard whip. Your whip would fall into their "what do we have to do to make the myth work" category.

But that's not meant to take anything away from what you've come up with.

I had a difficult time myself trying to come up with what they would think. I see the program now and then, but their criteria for grading the myths is way out of my league. Thanks for clearing that up Zuiun. I totally agree with you.


Aldo.

[The Intercept]

Sweet concept. I remember Winrich did something like that. So ??? were the gaps in the braid from maker error or caused by the swinging? how do you know these will hold up? Prepared to offer money back guarantees the shape won’t distort and that it’ll hold up to repeat uses? Nylon falls on leather whips arent unheard of an can work well if you do them right. Might want to reexamine your design to make it better. If your selling these as cracking bull whips that you can swing on. if it breaks if someone gets hurt swinging on it be aware you might end up liable. Just sayin that those things to think about young padawan whip maker.

Peace.

T~I

[riku1914]

Sweet concept. I remember Winrich did something like that. So ??? were the gaps in the braid from maker error or caused by the swinging? how do you know these will hold up? Prepared to offer money back guarantees the shape won’t distort and that it’ll hold up to repeat uses? Nylon falls on leather whips arent unheard of an can work well if you do them right. Might want to reexamine your design to make it better. If your selling these as cracking bull whips that you can swing on. if it breaks if someone gets hurt swinging on it be aware you might end up liable. Just sayin that those things to think about young padawan whip maker.

Peace.

T~I

I assume the mean the gaps right past the ring knot? That was maker error. The whip has a bulge under the ring knot so the angle of the plait changes, and I didn't change it quick enough so there was 2 slight gaps.

The whip has been tested well. I even had someone that weighed 180 pounds jump off a ladder and into this whip, thus multiplying his weight and the whip didn't show any sign of stress.

That whip right there has been swung on 5 or 6 times, and the shape or cracking ability hasn't distorted in the slightest bit.

I know they will hold up because my design won't give up unless you place, like 600 pounds on it. There will be a certain weight point where the inner paracord will start to stretch and distort the whip, but that won't be for more than a human weighs.

It's not just that it's a nylon fall on a leather whip, it's that it's a really long nylon fall on a leather whip ( about 4 ft. long ). So it's not only really light from being nylon, but it's also really long. I'm fixing this as we speak, just waiting on some materials to come in. If this whip hasn't sold by then I'll do an updated cracking video of it.
The nylon fall I made would actually work better than a normal nylon fall, if it were a normal length. This is because it not only tapers by thickness and size but it also tapers in weight, even in the areas that you can't see this.

Also, the whip comes with a maintenance guide and I'm sure to let people know how to use them properly, that when they don't have to swing, and that when they do they are assuming all risks, that if they have even the slightest worry about the whip will not hold onto the branch, not to swing, etc.

I would repair the whip if for some reason the body of the whip broke with 250 pounds on it. I would not repair it if, for instance, someone that weighed 250+ did a cherry bomb jump into the whip and it broke. That is completely unnecessary use and any damage that may come to the whip from use like that is all on that person. Also if it broke because they were trying to see how much weight you could put on it, I wouldn't repair it.

I would be more worried about the branch breaking then this whip breaking ANY day. That's probably the best thing you can do with these as regards safety, find a good branch before even attempting a wrap.

Did that answer everything to your satisfaction?