Funny thing just happened with my new Todds 8 footer

[sgmorton]

Just got my 8 footer from Todds and when I took it out of the box i thought I got the wrong one! It looked short to me, I was sure I had a 6 foot whip by mistake. I took out a tape measure and sure enough it's 8 foot. So here is the funny part. I've been learning to whip with a Mexican 8 footer I've had a few years. So I pull it out and sure enough 10 feet long! All this time I've been struggling to learn to crack a 10 footer! I could not get outside fast enough and ####, I can now crack the he'll out of this thing! It's so much easier to crack than that heavy Mexican whip... I'm in heaven!

My only complaint so far is how to remove the white "spew" that is all over it. I want to start treating it but I think I need to get the white crud off first. It certainly looks cruddy. I've tried a cloth and a damp cloth that worked but it was a lot of effort for a small section. Anyone have a suggestion?

Sam

[riku1914]

It'll work its way out over time. No need to remove it before giving it leather dressing. My whips used to spew, but they very rarely do anymore. I wonder why...

Edit: btw if they greased the strands like they should have, it will continue to spew for a while. ( based off my experience with spew ) so there's no point in removing it now because it'll soon be replaced with more! If you have enough patience to remove it ( but not enough to wait for it work its way out ) then wait until you've had it a few weeks before removing it.

[sgmorton]

Does spew look like dried soap? My whip is almost white in some areas from all of it.

I am trying to get it ready to wear to a convention and right now it looks like it has dried shaving cream smeared everywhere.

Sonyour advice is pecards and use?

Sam

[riku1914]

Yes it does. In my experience, it sort of seeps out in between strands. If it's literally covering each strand ( sort of a thin layer of residue on the strands ) then that's just plaiting soap that was never cleaned off, or a mixture that didn't agree with itself ( there is a lot of leeway with plaiting soap, but there is a point with every ingredient where there is too much or too little, that could be the problem, though I could never say this for certain ).

From the whip makers side, that sort of thing is easily cleaned off when the whip is rolled, and I also take a rag and wipe down the whip while it's still really greasy. Now that it's completely dry, I'm not sure. I wouldn't suggest using a damp rag, like you mentioned, because from what I've heard about Todd's whips, they come quite dry. Dry leather will soak up any moisture it's given, and you don't want that to be straight water. That will damage the leather, if not immediately, definitely in the long run.

Do what you can to, how can I put this, buff it off. After you've done what you can with reasonable effort, give it a light coat of pecards leather dressing, let that soak in half an hour, then dry off the excess. Perhaps the pecards will soften up the soap residue and make it easier.

Also, do not overdress your whip. One light coat of leather dressing every 3-6 months is usually sufficient. Since the Todd's whip is quite dry, dress it once, then again in several days to a week. Please do not put multiple coats on in the time of several days, this will cause the strands to loosen up and the whip will very quickly become a wet noodle.

[sgmorton]

Thank you for the advice. I will try to buff off what i can. The treat as you have described.

[kwad]

I got one of the 'roo hide whips Todd had a while back and it looked liked they dipped the thing in wax.
I think the guys who are making these things are using bees wax as plaiting soap.

[sgmorton]

As advised, I buffed and buffed and buffed. It got better but the stuff is still everywhere. Anyway I treated with the Pecards, waited an hour and rubbed off the excess. It made the whip look much better! I can still see the white stuff but it's greatly reduced. I am going to get out and crack this thing for a week to see if I can work it into a "used" looking whip. Thanks for all the advice I think I am getting much closer to my goal.

Sam

[riku1914]

I'm glad to hear it helped!

[Inv8r]

Kinda off-topic, but don't want to necro-post one of the older Todd's whip threads. You say you just got it, was that one of the new batch that jut came back into stock? If so, do you know if it varies from the ones available last fall at all? I'm really close to grabbing an 8' tan myself, but the pics look...different to me somehow now - like the braiding is looser, or utilizes less plaits or something just...off. Also, all of the reviews I've seen here seem to be for the v2 from, what, 2010, not the newer version of his whip. Your thoughts on the purchase would be greatly appreciated!

[sgmorton]

I "just got this" as in Feb 2013!

I am not sure what you are asking and I really have no point of reference on the other whips. This is my first Indy style of while before now I only had the heavy 10'+ (jeeze) Mexican 8 plait whip.

I don't know if it varies from the ones last fall.

I am happy with the whip but again it's only the second whip I've ever owned. I want a C&C hero 10' version at some point but this is going to be my costume version so I wanted one I could crack easily and was not to heavy.

Sam