Club Obi Wan

I just got my new Paul Nolan 8 ft. a couple days ago and it's a great whip. Want to see? ;P It's a "greasy whiskey" color.

Hope you enjoy it,

thats the one i was in the middle of buying,

But had to cancel just as he got the check

regards,

Adam

No worries, I'm sure he can make another one.

Congrats on your new whip. You must be very pleased. But there is one thing that perhaps you or some of the others here in COW can help me to understand. Why would someone shellac a fine piece of leather work like that? Is it simply for the asthetic (not sure of the spelling)value to make it shine? And again, I am no expert, but wouldn't something like shellac be the last thing you would want to put on fine leather? What happens to it after you begin to use it and break the whip in? Does it begin to break down and eventually come off? Is it something that you can keep reapplying to keep the shine? I've always liked the dull worn in look of a whip after it's been broken in and really used. But thats just me. I understand that the majority of folks in here are after the authentic Indy look in their whips, but I can't recall any of Indy's whip shining like a piece of polished furniture. Please don't take this the wrong way, I just want understand the purpose of it. Again, you have a beautiful whip there and I hope it brings you years of enjoyment.

Best regards,

Jay

Yeah, I'm told it'll just flake off after some use and breaking in and would be somewhat proctective till it comes off. I don't think it's that Indy either, so can't wait for it to ware off. I don't think I'd get it again if I got another whip and no I wouldn't have any reapplied.

Excellent whip IndyDoc,
then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from Paul N, .

The shealack will ware off with use as stated, one good thing, its doesn't stop the penatration of whipdressing, although I'm sure Paul has it well greased from the inside out.

So have great time breaking in that Nolan and be sure to post updated pics after the shiny stuff wares of, if you don't mind.



ATB

Jim J.

Thanks! Will do.

I had a chance to see that whip before Paul finished, if it is in fact the one that was originally intended for Molorom. I would say that it ended up as a nice hybrid between a Strain and a Morgan as it has qualities of both makers.

The shellac can help bring out the color of the leather. Paul told me the color of the whip was somewhat drab-looking when he finished it, but after he shellaced it the color really popped; from the pics I can certainly see what he meant.

I'm glad to see a post showing off Paul's work: he really doesn't get the attention he deserves.

-Adam, www.winrichwhips.com

Before Shellac





That would be it.
-Adam

Yeah, it really did bring out the color and looks nice, but dull is better for screen acuracy. I think the first couple feet of the fall end is already getting dull again.

Is there a dull shelac or something else to bring out the color with out making it shiny?

Yes, Paul is an excelent whip maker.

Nice looking whip you got there Doc.

I got a blister on my hand yesterday from cracking so much. WooHoo!

You're right Adam, Paul doesn't get the credit round here that he deserves...

And you know Paul, if you'd actually BROUGHT a sample of your wares to Annie Oakley this past weekend, I might well have been singing its praises as a happy new owner, (though, as I got a really nifty 8', 12 Plait cowhide Indy from Adam W, I feel justified. Much cheaper than a 'roo, is only slightly heavier than my 8' Strain, and is the best handling cowhide whip I've cracked! I'll post more about it when my wife returns from Lebanon with the digital camera. In the mean time, between the sun, the oil from my hands, and just this past weekend, it's weathering nicely already!)

In the mean time, a bit about shellac. I saw Canasta this past weekend as well, (and he and Adam Winrich put on one H-E-Double-Hockey-Stix of a show with Canasta's fire whips! I'll post some screen grabs of the my video of it soon!) and he mentioned something I hadn't thought of.

Canasta said that he does ALOT of shows in the heavy-heat summer months, and every few months will shellac the handles of his whips to keep the salt from the sweat on his palms out of the roo. It acts as a protective, (and somewhat selective, as the conditioner gets through it,) barrier against stuff you can't avoid that will start to break down a heavily used whip.

So, shellac it seems is a nifty way of increasing the "OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH"-factor of that new whip, and a nice way to put some sparkle into the one you've already got broken in. But unless you're out there every weekend doing 222 cracks in one minute like Canasta, re-applying shellac is strictly optional.

Chris, if I fouled up any of what you told me in the above, please feel free to correct me.

Thanks!

-Dan

To shellac or not to shellac: That is the questions which perplexes us.

Shellac's purpose on leather is to seal up the edges of the strands, among other things. It'll quickly come of the faces of the strands when you get to using it. In fact, I'd wager that by the time you get your whip broken in, the shellac will have cracked and peeled off the faces. But, it's a protectant to the edges of the strands. It helps keep water out of the leather grain. Liken it to sealing up the end of a piece of wood, which is much more willing to accept liquid, than the face of the same piece of wood.

But, one must imagine the tedium that sealing the edge of each strand would bring, post-construction. So, we lazy whipmakers like to smear it all over the outside, so that some will penetrate into the edges of each strand, and seal it up. The shelac doesn't penetrate into the face of each strand, because it's not nearly as porous.

Make sense? Also, shellac helps to hold knots in place, and acts as a sort of glue. When I put corking on the tuning pins of my bagpipes, the glue was a shellac. Holds it in place just fine once dry.

Besides that, it makes your whip shiny, which we whipmakers know you all want!

Best Regards,

Paul Stenhouse

To make sure that I'm barely still on topic--That's a very nice looking whip that you've received from Paul Nolan. I especially like the shellac! I'd give Paul my endorsement anyday (in fact, I've sent a few people to him).

Paul (Stenhouse),

Thanks for your indepth explanation on the purpose of shellac. Makes perfect sense to me now. My first impression was that something like shellac, (depending on its ingredients) would be quite detrimental to leather. Does it have the same affect on any type of whip leather? My Winrich bullwhip has a heavy latigo overlay that has only seen Pecards. The idea of sealing the edges of the strands sounds like a very practical thing to do. And with that said, would the shellac still penetrate the edges of the strands after having been treated with Pecards x amount of times? I'm not looking for shine, but sealing the edges and helping hold it together sounds like it may increase the longevity of the whip. I by no means have the expertise and knowledge that yourself and the other premier whipmakers in this forum posess, so any knowledge shared with myself and others is greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

Best Regards,

Jay

The general idea with cowhide is that because of its flexablity,
shellac is almost usless cause of how fast it flakes off. Thats
the general idea with most of the local whipmakers around here. We uasualy
use thinner leather, so that latigo may respond to it diffrently.
Adam

Thanks Pagey!

Never got an answer to this earlier from anyone that would know, is there a flat/dull shellac that would give protection and color w/o the shine?

Pagey,

I'm pretty sure that your Morgan whip did have it, unless you asked for it without.

I think you can put shellac on just about any whip, regardless of it's material or age. However, I'd be hesitant to put it on leather that is fuzzy on the faces (apron leather comes to mind, which I've used to make yard whips for my wife's horses).

Whatever isn't needed should eventuall flake off.

But, your cowhide whip probably doesn't need it. I wouldn't sweat it.

Paul,

Thanks for the post about shellac. I never thought about it shellac working that way, but it does make sense, and it's nice to know that it might actually be doing something useful instead of making whips look pretty for all of about five minutes.

I usually don't shellac my cowhide whips partly because I think the shellac would flake off twice as fast as it does on 'roo. Maybe if someone wanted an IOAB whip with shellac I would give it a try.

Have you been making any whips lately?

-Adam, www.winrichwhips.com

Last whip I made was a yard whip about 1 month ago for a magician. Watching to young'un is just too much fun. I'm probably going to start again in the winter.

Best Regards,

Paul Stenhouse