Club Obi Wan

The purpose of this post is twofold. The first is to show off one of the most beautiful whips that I've ever cracked, (and now proudly resides in my whip bag,) and the other is to act as a word of advice about choosing saddletan over natural because natural starts out too light for an Indy whip.

But without further ado:

This is my new 8' Nolan.



The specs: 8' 12 plait natural tan kangaroo that drops down to a 8 strand point.



8" spike handle, standard for an Indy, though the checkerboard pattern on the handle is somewhat short, so the transition knot is located about 6 inches up from where the handle begins at the butt knot, giving it a shorter, "Modern Dave Morgan" look. The butt knot has a slightly more orangy tint to it than the rest of the whip, as the hide used on the knot was a different hide than the one from the rest of the whip. I really like the contrast, though it won't last long with the way this thing is darkening. The difference was VERY noticable at first, not so much now, and lessening day by day. More on that later.



This is by far one of the nicest whips I've cracked, and considering all the Jackas, Morgans, Schultzes, Winriches, Murphys and Strains I've thrown around, that's something! Paul really outdid himself on this one!

It's still brand-new, so it's very hula-hoop like, but when it breaks in, it's going to be the pride of my past collection, (I've pared down on my whips lately.)

When I first saw this whip, it wasn't finished. No knots were on it. Paul was still in Ohio after the Annie Oakley Festival, and the weekend after that, he went with Gery and Barbara Deer and I up to an Independent Film Festival in Cleveland, where Gery and I were promoting the use of whip artistry in films, (for more on what we're doing, check out http://www.whipsociety.com) Paul and I roomed together at the festival, and he had his tools and this unfinished whip with him. Everything that was left to do to it was cosmetic, and I cracked it once without the knots, and decided that I needed to give it a good home.

Something that's kind of added to the "personal quality" of this whip for me is that I "helped" finish it, (though when I say "helped," I mean talked with Paul while he was finishing it to keep him from being too bored, held the strands for the knots while he beveled them, supplied an extra set of hands when needed, and held the whip while it was being shellacked.) Up until now, I've had no compunction about trading out, loaning out, or outright selling anything from my whip collection. This one's different. They'll bury me with this one.

Now the cautionary tale about color. When it was first finished, (knots, shellac, the whole 9 yards, it was only a little darker than the color of my skin, and as Paul, Adam and Cathy can attest to, I'm Conan O'Brian white, (though I was fairly lobster red after Annie Oakley.) In the three days since it was finished, (Paul finished it late Sunday afternoon. It's now Wednesday,) it is almost twice as dark as it was when Paul handed it to me. It has only seen moderate cracking and no leather conditioner at all, (theres still enough plaiting soap in it to keep it moisturized for a while.)

Natural tan darkens FAST. It seems to me that when whipmakers post pictures of newly finished whips that are getting ready to go out to their new owners, there's usually a feeling of disappointment because they're not that deep russet brown-red of the screen-used whips, so folks look to getting saddle tan instead. Within a year or so, with moderate use, saddle tan turns mahogany. Almost black at a distance.

Patience is a virtue, and with natural tan, you don't have to be THAT patient because after a week of cracking, your whip should look REALLY good, (if you're going for that "Indy" thing. I personally can appreciate that, but I'm more concerned with how a whip throws and handles and how beautiful it is unto itself, without comparing it to an on-screen icon that we're still debating the exact design specs of.)

I wish I'd taken some pictures of the whip at the festival and over the last couple days to really show "Before and After" pictures so you could actually see just how dramatic the change has been, but after whirlwind a month of being out of town EVERY weekend, and then recovery/planning for the next, I couldn't locate my digital still camera.

But I'll keep posting pictures of this one as it darkens so you can all see just how fast this happens.

Now, Saddle Tan is beautiful, and my next whip will probably be saddle tan with copper accents, (think the Zorro whip only russet red with copper instead of black with silver,) but if you're wanting an Indy whip, and just are worried that the color won't be dark enough, I think you'll be much happier buying a good natural tan whip from a good whipmaker and letting it age naturally than to go for instant gratification, and end up with a black whip a year or so down the road.

Just my two cents. All the best and happy cracking.

By the way. Thanks again to Paul Nolan. You're a brilliant whip maker, and an even better friend. Hey Hey, Kick a Dumpster...That's the thing to do!

-Dan

Dan,

Congrads on the new whip, man - it's a beauty! Crack it in good health....

High Regards,
-Chris

You are right about natural tan darkening up fast, but I'm a little impatient, so I purposely suntan my natural colored whips! I make sure to dress them before & after, so I don't dry them out. I takes about a week or so to get that nice, rich almost saddle color to them...

~Jace

Oh, man - you make me feel bad about my whip! Mine is a whiskey colored Stenhouse. I think it feels and handles like a Morgan, but I suppose I should get around more with other whips before I decide exactly how close it is. I hope it doesn't end up looking black...!

I originally wanted a natural tan whip, but the drought in Australia took away a bunch of natural tan hides for Paul (and consequently me). So if you're ever looking to give away a natural tan whip...

Beautiful color. Excellent!

In Christ,
Shane

Nice whip! I just luv Paul's whips, mine is breaking in nicely! Congratulations!

Thanks for the kind words Chris, Jace and Ripper. The pictures were shot about 20 minutes before I posted this, and about 20 minutes AFTER the first caffiene of the day. So the pictures hardly do it justice.

Don't sweat the color too much Shane. Each whip is different. There is no such thing as consistancy when it comes to gauging how each kangaroo hide will color or age. Even natural tan can eventually turn almost black.



The first REALLY GOOD whip I ever cracked was a 6' Strain Indy in natural tan. That was over 3 1/2 years ago. At that time, the whip was about 6 1/2 years old, and it was that beautiful orangy-brown that natural tan turns. This whip had been Gery Deer's first nice whip, and he'd used it CONSTANTLY: In shows, in classes, out at his parents farm dragging it through the grass and cow manure. This whip had seen A LOT of use, and it was still this beautiful bright color.

Just 3 years later, you wouldn't recognise it. Nothing really different has happened to it in that three years. Gery uses it just as often as he always did, and does maintenance the same as always, but the darkening process just decided to accelerate for some reason. It's now a beautiful deep mahogany color, and from a distance, you can't tell it from a 6' black Indy whip, (for reference, that 10 year old Strain is the whip that Gery uses in his right hand to actually snuff the candles in the America's Got Talent clip. It was ONCE natural tan!)

When Paul first tied the knots on this new whip, the only color difference in the knots and the thong was that the thong was slightly darker, (due to all the plaiting soap in the leather of the thong.) It wasn't until after Paul sprayed on a light coating of shellac that the orangy color really started to stand out on the knot. And it's FAR less pronounced that it was even just day before yesterday, as the thong is now catching up with it in the darkening process.

So fear not, Master McFly! That Saddletan Stenhouse probably has a lot of years of Indy-like goodness left to it's finish.

I don't so much think of it as the whip changing from a desirable color to an undesirable one. I think of it more as a Whipmakers Artwork Still In Progress

All the best,

-Dan

On a sidenote, suntanning my whips not only gets them darker, but it also sort of breaks them in. I think it may be the heat when I suntan them in my truck, but after a fews days of tanning, the whips seem more supple -- even ones that were very stiff & weren't cracked very much at all. I don't see how this could harm the whips, since I do dress them before & after to make sure they don't get dry. I must admit that I am one of the most impatient people on the planet, so breaking the whips in this way is probably better than forcing a brannew whip to crack by using too much wrist action. Take from this what you will, I'm not necessarily condoning this as the best way, but I've had great results with whips that are now many years old & still going strong. And BTW, very nice whip, Dan! Way to go Paul!!

~Jace

thefish, Congratulations on a very nice looking whip.

You make a very good point on the color of an Indy whip. The day that I got my David Morgan, in natural tan, I posted a picture of it. It was almost white looking. Almost immediately, someone posted that it looked too light colored. I just said for them to wait a week and check back with me. I couldn't believe how great it looked for an Indy whip even a week later.

For an Indiana Jones whip, natural tan is the way to go. You don't have to be impatient. It starts turning color right away and looks great while it is doing it.

Now, there are some other great looking colors for whips. We have some whip makers around here that can make a true work of art, with different colors in a whip, just not for an Indiana Jones whip. If it is not going to be an Indiana Jones whip, go ahead and let one of these guys make you a masterpiece. If it is an Indiana Jones whip, get natural tan and watch it turn screen accurate right before your very eyes.

Sweet looking whip Dan, I have always liked Pauls style of whipmaking,
really great.

Crack on,

have a good one.



Jim J.

Just a small point - are you sure it ends in 8plt? There seem to only be 6 strands in that close up of the hitch.

It's 8.

Trust me.

The point is small enough to look like a six strand point, but
I counted them.

I've also spent a lot of time examining the plaiting on the whip, and looked to see exactly where Paul dropped those strands, (on a straight herringbone plaiting pattern that most thongs have, you can tell the number of plaits by counting how many laces a strand passes under before it emerges into the plaiting pattern on the opposite side.) Of the six strands that you're seeing in the picture, there is strand that's almost entirely obscured by another about 90% of the time, (freaked me out because I thought Paul had dropped down to a 7 strand point which would just be odd,) and the other strand that you're not counting is looped back over the knot and is bound under the loop in the fall, holding the hitch together.

Well, it seems that when I say "Trust Me," I, like our fedora-wearin' hero, should be regarded with some consternation.

Moses, you are correct, sir...It DOES end in a six-strand point. The other two strands, (which are much narrower than the rest,) are the 2 final strands that were dropped in the overlay, and that if I had counted how many strands passed over each strand on BOTH sides of the pattern, then I would have noticed that while they DO go under TWO on one side, the pass under only ONE on the other.

I just counted 8 strands sticking out of the point, and didn't do ALL of my homework. Apologies.

Thank the maker, (not C3PO's manufacturer/god, but Mr. Paul "Midwestwhips" Nolan,) for clarifying that. Now I know, and knowing is half the...Well at least half of the exposition!

In the meantime, as pennance for my blunder, a VERY recent picture, (taken not more than 15 minutes ago,) of the whip in question.



When I took the previous pictures, it was a very clear day. Today is somewhat overcast, and the image isn't as accurate as I'd like it to be. It's much darker and going nicely. I don't suntan my whips, I like them to age gracefully. It seems it's peaked for a while and has slowed down over the past week or so. I should have pointed out that my earlier post on natural tan and darkening was directed at folks who are going for a particular shade mimicking any of the various whips from the movies.

The reason I wanted this whip, (and any whip for that matter,) is the beauty it has unto itself, and how well it throws, not because of cosmetic resemblance to any other whip, (cosmetic meaning appearance. I do like whips if they throw like a whip I admire. This one did.) It's getting prettier and more fluid each successive day.

Thanks again to Paul Nolan for such a beautiful piece of work, and for the correction to my claims.

And Moses. You caught me out. If this was Marvel Comics, you'd have the No-Prize! (God, I'm dating myself aren't I? Do they even DO that anymore?)

Cheers!

-Dan

Hey Dan, Congratulations on the new bullwhip. That is a great looking whip, Paul did a really nice job on it. Enjoyed the story on your assist with it too. Glad to hear it cracks as good as it looks.

Dan