This is the longest roo-hide whip I have made so far and I think the nicest 'cracker'. It is very easy to get a nice pop out of it.
It is six and a half feet long, which I found is a great intermediate length. I really enjoy shorter whips, even though they might not look so nice on the belt.
The style I built this whip in is LC, but it has three bellies, instead of two, so in the end the thickest portion is ~25 mm in diameter. The handle is slightly thinner.
I used 0.8 mm thick roo-hide. I have never worked with thicker roo-hide, but I hope to someday. This hide is much better than cowhide, but still it tends to break sometimes. During the plaiting I need to take care a lot, but usually I stretch the strands with such force that if they do break it is during the stretching.
Unlike most of my previous builds I abandoned paring the strands completely. I like the look and I find it takes nothing away from the finished whip:
Here you can see the taper:
You can see the nice high-resolution pictures (as well as a few additional ones) here:
https://imgur.com/a/6npo51A
And a video of me cracking it here (don''t forget to choose 1080p resolution):
https://youtu.be/QQiUBCzb5bA
Thank you for checking out my stuff!
Cheers,
Bear
My newest Indy whip - A 6.5 footer
Moderator: BullWhipBorton
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Re: My newest Indy whip - A 6.5 footer
Another great job with great taper. Why 3 bellies? How does that affect the feel?
- bearbeast
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Re: My newest Indy whip - A 6.5 footer
Thank you, IndianaJustin!
The third belly adds some weight to the whip and also makes it a bit stiffer, giving it a nice curve.
I used a third belly instead of a lot of binding. Honestly, I will have to see myself what all the effects are, over the lifetime of the whip.
Cheers,
Bear
The third belly adds some weight to the whip and also makes it a bit stiffer, giving it a nice curve.
I used a third belly instead of a lot of binding. Honestly, I will have to see myself what all the effects are, over the lifetime of the whip.
Cheers,
Bear
Re: My newest Indy whip - A 6.5 footer
You say you had problems with breakage - are you cutting away the weaker parts of the hide? Scars? Also are you greasing the stands enough? Generally, after cutting the overlay, I would generously grease the strands and leave them overnight befgore stretching and skiving. Then while braiding, be sure to keep the strands well greased so you can get a tight braid with less risk of breakage.
Keep up the good work!
Keep up the good work!
Re: My newest Indy whip - A 6.5 footer
Also - I never needed binding. Good tight braiding is enough
- bearbeast
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Re: My newest Indy whip - A 6.5 footer
Thank you for the tips, Whiskyman!
Usually, I leave the hide with grease overnight, before cutting the strands. And I use a little grease when stretching... I will have to try your way, it sounds very promising!
I take care for defects in the hide as much as possible, but I am sure I do not catch all.... I must be more careful...
Regarding the binding.... I have been using less and less binding in my whips. Most of the tutorials I have seen are for binding... My plaiting is quite tight and I would like to forgo binding as much as possible! I am so glad to hear you don't use binding, as well!
Thank you again,
Bear
Usually, I leave the hide with grease overnight, before cutting the strands. And I use a little grease when stretching... I will have to try your way, it sounds very promising!
I take care for defects in the hide as much as possible, but I am sure I do not catch all.... I must be more careful...
Regarding the binding.... I have been using less and less binding in my whips. Most of the tutorials I have seen are for binding... My plaiting is quite tight and I would like to forgo binding as much as possible! I am so glad to hear you don't use binding, as well!
Thank you again,
Bear