Club Obi Wan

I recently finished a bullwhip for Brady Marz, which was a redo of the one I originally sent him back in August. He was afraid of some loose areas breaking down with use, so I told him to send it back to me so I could have a look at it. I reaized that it wasn't so much the overlay that was the problem, but the bellies inside the whip needed some tightening up. SO I stripped the overlay off of the whip and cut out a new set for it. I also took the original second belly and re-wrapped it with a nice tight bolster that also fit over the handle of the whip. From there I began plaiting the overlay and retying the knots on the whip. In my opinion, Brady now has one heck of a whip! It cracks like a cannon, it's well balanced from the butt through the thong, and the plaiting is the tightest I've ever done. It took me twice as long to plait the overlay on this whip as it usually does because I was striving for maximum tightness. I plaited slow, pulled hard and put all 200lbs of my body weight into each strand. I hope that Brady will kindly give a review of what he thinks after he uses it for a few days.

If anyone wants to take a look, I've posted a couple of thumbnailed pics on my website, http://www.ecwhips.com

Hey,

Your site looks great!.Nice whips,Keep up the great work!.

Best regards,
INDIANA_7

Wow, Jim! The whip looks fabulous! I didn't see a before shot, but this one just by itself is beautiful! Brady should be a happy guy.

Hi
Your whups certainly look a #### of a lot better! You should be proud!
-Scott

Jim,

Great looking whips! thanks for the pictures.

Dear Jim,

In the closer up picture on the left, when I enlarged it, I saw some gaps in the plaiting, plus it looks as though the strands should have been cut with a taper in them instead of with a lace cutter. Also, there is a strand missing the in butt foundation knot that only has two passes to it, right against the handle pattern. Also, I can't quite figure out what is going on in the plaiting pattern in the thinner portion of the thong about 1 inch from the turk's head knot in the handle to thong transition. Of course, it could have been the picture.

Good job on pulling harder, which is the right way to do it.

Sincerely,

Paul Stenhouse

Paul,

Please bear in mind that I'm not flying off the handle with this response, just clarifying a couple of the observations, as I do appreciate your input.

The strands were cut by hand, and I've never used a lace cutter, which was the advice given to me by Mike Murphy. Getting that perfect taper is something I still haven't gotten down yet. As for the gaps, what you are seeing may just be the edges of the strands which got very dark from the grease as I plaited. The only spot I rememeber a gap was way down the thong where I dropped a strand in. The spot that looks like two passes on the knob is actually three. The third strand is under one of the other strands. I left it that way because it is on the side of the knob and didn't seem to be too big of a deal asthetically, especially since that was about the sixth knot I put on this whip. They weren't coming out the way I had wanted, and I finally took the whole knob foundation apart and started from scratch. I reshaped it and did the knot again, this one being the final result. Maybe I should be more of a perfectionist than that, but live and learn.

Anyway, thanks for the critique.

Regards,
Jim

So, I was right, it was the picture. It's hard to tell from just a photo, when compared to picking it up and looking it over. I think that knot is a pain in the ###, also. I didn't think you're flying off the handle, though.

Sincerely,

Paul Stenhouse

Brady here (AKA Dr. J),

Thanks Jim for being so attentitve and thorough. The whip looks a heck of a lot better and I can't wait to crack it!!! Your attention to detail and reponsibility for your products is admirable and much appreciated! I will write a review when I receive the whip and have had a chance to crack it!

And yes, ITG, I am a VERY happy guy!!!

Regards,

Dr. J

Hey all,

I said I would write a review of my Roo whip from EC Whips when I got it and here it is:

The whip is AWESOME!!! I had sent it back to Jim to tighten up the plaiting in the thong and this he has done. The whip is now nice and tight with beautiful plaiting. The weight and balance is nice and it cracks like a cannon!!! It also looks great! There is no doubt that this is an "Indy" whip! I have definitely seen an improvement in the craftsmanship of Jim's whips and I know that they will continue to improve with time! Thanks Jim, for your attention to this matter; Your customer service and attention to quality is second to none!!!

Best regards,

Dr. J