- short handle, with a diameter of maximum 19 mm
- thong of around 22 mm
- eight point fall hitch; not SA, but I have wanted to do one for a long time
Unfortunately I made a horrible mistake, where before the last 2 feet of the whip the taper is messed up. It was the place where one of the bolsters ends as well as too many strands from the previous belly.
Secondly, I am not too happy with the heel knot, but I have re-done it four times and I am sticking with the current look I achieved.
A third problem, which I only noticed when finishing the overlay and starting work on the handle knots: the overlay had no darkening whatsoever from the Pecards, which I use for plaiting. At first I thought I had simply used less than usual, but the edges of the strands were definitely dark... And that is when I carefully read the labels of the skins I had received:
"KANGAROO HIDE, LIGHT BEIGE"
I hurriedly checked my order, and it definitely said natural. The beige colour is completely identical to the natural colour of roo hide, before it is exposed to conditioner and sunlight. So much so that it fooled both the store when sending it out and me for over 10 days while I worked on the whip. So now I have a whip that will not darken, however the dye will wear off in time, as it has already started to do this in the main friction points.
Aside from these issues, I am quite happy with the plaiting, I left no gaps and the strand-drops are quite nice.
But enough of this, here are some pictures, plus a video of me doing a few quick cracks:
And here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BYrjRjxrQM
Cheers,
Bear
