Club Obi Wan

I just wanted to introduce myself a little and say HI! I am a horsehair hitcher and braider. And I have to say that I AM impressed with this group! I have been braiding and hitching for a number of years. My interest in whips came from a horse friend of mine. She asked if I could braid bullwhips. I told her no ... I had never tried ... but it piqued an interest and curiosity in me.

A bit of "ability" history. I CAN do all of the braids ... from 4 plait to 32's. And I can do the long pineapple knots, Turk's heads with gaucho interweaves, herringbone interweaves, heel knots, cowboy knots, blah, blah, blah. I braid bridles, bosals, bracelets (using 3/32" strings) and have all of the "stuff" ... Roo hides, splitters, cutters, bevelers, etc. So I ordered the Ron Edwards whip book and thought I was golden. GUESS AGAIN! WRONG!!!! I am REALLY struggling here! I give you ALL a tremendous amount of credit!!!! I am DYING here!!!!! LOL!!!!

I haven't been able to browse all of the board ... but I am grateful to all of you whipmakers who have taken the time to explain a lot of things that are Greek to me! I did start a whip over the weekend! I pulled one of my very nice hides (one that I was saving for that "perfect" bridle!) and have cut into it up for a whip! I started with a stock whip because I didn't want to clear a path to my lathe! I did get the belly done .. I THINK! I have NO idea what I am looking for here! And at this point ... when this whip is done, I'm going back to BRIDLES!!!! LOL! They are MUCH easier to do!!!!

Anyway ... I'm here and glad of it! THANK YOU again for all of you who take the time and effort to help us "newbies" learn!!! I hope to partake in a few discussions and ask a few questions along the way! While I AM struggling .. I like nothing better than a good challenge. And I think that I have found it!
Love and Light,
Maeve

Welcome to the board.

Since it sounds like you have an extensive background in braiding, I doubt you're 'dying' while making this whip.

Like with all gear, functionality comes before looks. I myself stick to whips since I know how they function, and stay away from horse gear (except for the occasional quirt) since I know next to nothing about horses. Knowing a bit about whipcracking and having some whips to study might be of help, should you decide to make more whips.

I know Chris Hall, aka Indiana Hall, is also in Florida and is quite an accomplished nylon whipmaker. Perhaps he'll chime in here and you two can exchange notes.

Also, with the Edwards book that you bought, you were lucky to start with the stockwhip design and not the bullwhip design. The kangaroo stockwhip design in his book is solid, but his bullwhip design is, as David Morgan put it, "for the birds."

-Adam, www.winrichwhips.com

Hi, Maeve ~

I'm not one of the whip makers on this board, just a user (hmm...that didn't sound right)! LOL!

But I do want to welcome you to the message board, and hope we will be seeing you more often! I'm sure you will continue to find that the people here are great with offering help & advice.

Cathy

winrichwhips wrote:Welcome to the board.

Since it sounds like you have an extensive background in braiding, I doubt you're 'dying' while making this whip.

First, thank you, both, for the welcome! It's always scary "testing the waters" in places! But yes, I do have to say that I AM dying here for all of the reasons that you state! I am out of my element! I know that on a bosal that is to be 5/8" that I must start with a core that is ... whatever. I know NOTHING about whips! I was pretty pleased with my plaiting on Saturday. I wasn't expecting it to be dead straight! (I do practice that on all of my reins and bridles) I've never plaited with tapered strings before! And I think that the biggest strings that I have plaited 7/32" and .8mm thick. This is a whole new ballgame!

The two aspects that are killing me are the freehand cutting and the core. I had to give up on the cutting freehand with a knife before I trashed this gorgeous Roo hide of mine! I had an "audience" here ..... and after they got done laughing hysterically at my attempt, neither of them could offer any help! They just kept insisting that NO ONE could do what I was trying to do! I politely (maybe it wasn't!) asked them to leave (you can do that to a husband and his friend!) After they left, I pulled out my trusty Fiskars and made some acceptable strings that worked okay. I should have kept that secret to myself. When I was "found out" ... all I heard about was making a "scissors holster" so I could ride the range with my tools!! My husband is so compassionate!!!

Having read all of the advice here, (short of cores!!! WHERE IS THAT INFORMATION?!?!) I feel that I may be on a good track and in good hands! I still am clueless about the diameters of whips, the weight, etc. etc. etc. So I am feverishly reading the board here, hoping to pick up the bits and pieces!!!! I'm never afraid to ask for help .... so you wlll probably here a bit from me!!!! Thanks again!
Love and Light,
Maeve

David Morgan's book "Whips and Whipmaking" is pretty thorough on all the different parts of a whip - including cores. It's very informative and may well answer a lot of your questions. He has another good book called "Braiding fine leather" which also outlines how to make good use of a roohide for whipmaking and about lace cutting in general. Obviously, you've stated you know how to braid - but you might find some useful iformation on how to taper strands and get a tapered thong etc. Also, there is a good section on how to skive the laces (bevel the edges).

Welcome Maeve,

I agree with Adam and whiskey man regarding the books though I don't have the braiding one. Ron's book is more detailed in the overall construction especially on stock whips. He does go into how to make a bullwhip, as you know, but not in the manner of the Indy bullwhip design. David's book talkes about the rolled core a bit but not about attaching it to the handle - maybe I should ask someone.

I'd be very interested in seeing any pics of your progress, the finished whip, or even those fancy knots you wrote about and maybe you'd be able to give us a few tips. There are many talented whip makers here who are quick to answer any of your questions.

Best,
Herr Jones

Thank you, again, for the warm welcome! Yes, the ROLLING part of the core is what I do not understand. I will post a picture of the belly that I did on Saturday ... along with an arrow to show a spot that made me VERY unhappy! I am used to splitting my strings to dead level! And I don't know if I should, to what thickness, etc. with this new endeavor. This "perfect" hide that I have here had a thick spot (probably an old wound of some sort) that I tried to deal with "after the fact". It plaited thicker in that one spot. I pulled it out and skived the leather a bit and replaited. Again ... it was still too thick! So I ripped it out again, re-skived it and put it back. I decided after the third time that it was meant to be! But here's the arrow! (I hope I'm doing this okay!!!!)


This is a picture of a bitless bridle that I designed and made for my mare ... and a set of romal reins (you can't see these that well) that were sold:



And another sent of braided romals ... also sold:



And a bracelet and scarf ties that were auctioned of at a horse conference last Feb. :


I put the belly on a fabric cutting board as the squares are 1" square ... I thought that would help give a size reference. It is 7 1/2' long .... and any help is appreciated!!! I hope these pictures work!!!
Love and Light,
Maeve

WOW - that's some fancy work there!!! I'm sure you'll make a great whip eventually.

Hi Maeve & welcome! The pics of the bridle & romals look quite impressive. Anyone who has the patience to learn to tie intricate knots & very detailed bosals can, in my opinion, learn to make a whip! One of my favorite books is now out of print, but you can still get it~ Whipmaking: A Beginner's Guide by Dennis Rush. It's very simple to understand & shows a bullwhip & stockwhip design. Good luck & thanks for the pics!

Steve.

Well thank you again!! And thanks for the book recommendations! I was hoping that this wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg to learn to do this! After all .. it is for one whip for a friend! LOL! Famous last words, eh?? I'm feeling a bit guilty about all of this. I have a TON of orders for stuff .... and here I am ... learning something new instead of filling orders! I hope that none of you are ones that are waiting! I promise ... it's only a couple of days that I have strayed away from the bridles and such!

Anyone who has the patience to learn to tie intricate knots & very detailed bosals can, in my opinion, learn to make a whip!

Actually .. I feel quite differently about all of this! I SO admire the whipmakers! Their abilities are incredible! Learning the knots was tricky ... but cutting the strings is simple stuff ... unlike this whipmaking art!!! But when I learn something, I learn it RIGHT. No cheating! So I'll beat my head against the wall until I get this perfect! Then I'll go back to braiding my bridles!!!

Speaking of that ... I have already informed my husband that HE will be the one that cracks the whips! *I* am afraid of them!!!! Right!!!! I ride a horse that has thrown me more than once, fractured my shoulder .. and I'm afraid to crack a whip! Sheesh .... there's something wrong with this line of thinking!
Love and Light,
Maeve

jabahutt70 wrote: One of my favorite books is now out of print, but you can still get it~ Whipmaking: A Beginner's Guide by Dennis Rush. It's very simple to understand & shows a bullwhip & stockwhip design. Good luck & thanks for the pics!

Steve.

Thanks! I found it tonight and ordered it! I'll look forward to it arriving!!!!
Love and Light,
Maeve

Nice shots of your work Maeve.

7 1/2' for your belly? That's about what I had for my bullwhip with the overlay still to go and I was planning on an 8 footer. How long do you plan on the finished whip to be? Handle length? Well looks good to me, I hope you're being compensated for all this fine work.

Best,
Herr Jones

Herr Jones wrote:Nice shots of your work Maeve.

7 1/2' for your belly? That's about what I had for my bullwhip with the overlay still to go and I was planning on an 8 footer. How long do you plan on the finished whip to be? Handle length? Well looks good to me, I hope you're being compensated for all this fine work.

Best,
Herr Jones

Thanks! Yes ... it's 7 1/2' and I have NO idea how long this is supposed to be!!! I'm going by the book! I'll have to double check it to see if I'm right. I'm lousy at math and I'm having to do all of the conversions to inches. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if I was WAY off!!!!

Compensation?!??!! What's that?!?!?! This is me being curious as to what goes into whipmaking! IF I figure this out ... and my friend wants me to make one for her husband ... and IF I feel like it after I finish this one .... I'll make it for her at the cost of the hide! I call it "learning"! We'll see how I feel about this when I finish this one! I haven't been able to touch it since Saturday and won't be able to touch it until Thursday (at best). But I'll post my progress if anyone is interested!
Love and Light,
Maeve

Maeve, welcome to Club Obi Wan!

That's some really nice stuff you've got there!

G'day Maeve.
The belly looks good on the stock whip, just the shape it should be. For a tutorial on how to make a bull whip you might like to to try my site at this page http://www.em-brand-whips.com/bulltutorial.htm I have a 4 page tutorial there.Hope this helps.

listen to this man here bernie knows his craft and has been at it forever, he'll shoot you straight on any problems you might have

bernie47 wrote:G'day Maeve.
The belly looks good on the stock whip, just the shape it should be. For a tutorial on how to make a bull whip you might like to to try my site at this page http://www.em-brand-whips.com/bulltutorial.htm I have a 4 page tutorial there.Hope this helps.

Thanks, Bernie!!!! WHEW! I'm breathing again! I did happen upon your pages ... and almost e-mailed you with some questions! But I'm shy .... I'm just glad that I found this group! I'll bet my waiting horse tack customers aren't! LOL! I'll go back and look at the tutorials again. I always find something new as I progress. Things seem to make more sense when you have taken a few baby steps! Thanks again for all of the support here!

Oh .... and I pulled out all of my old Indy TAPES and watched the first one yesterday ... just so I could feel like I fit in a little better! I forgot how much fun they are!!!
Love and Light,
Maeve

Just email me if you need any help.