Club Obi Wan

Just curious if anyone here has ever bought one of the kits and made their own whip. They seem to be real reasonable in price and quite a savings over buying a pre-made one. Fedora

The only kit I am aware of now is the one from Robert Duke.

http://www.dukewhips.com/

Robert Duke sells an instruction book with precut laces for the overlay, belly's, bolster, etc. I believe an 8 foot bullwhip kit runs around $90 for an 8 foot, 8 plait, kangaroo hide. I have personally met Robert and he is an extremely nice guy.

Matt Welsby out of Australia was the only other one I knew of that sold kits. But he had run his business into the ground and is basically written off by most people as a shyster.

But I'd say go for it Fedora. I plan on getting one of these kits as well. This summer my plans are to be taught by one of the best for 1 on 1 instruction. The more I now going into it the better.

-Sergei

Thanks for the heads up on this Welsby character. I was actually thinking about buying a kit from him. That's the good thing about this site. By the way, his site is still online at: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~welmat/blkit.htm

So that's where is site is now. Thanks for the tip.

BTW, make sure to tell Robert I sent ya! He'll take care of you.

Sergei and Fedora,

All I can say is good luck to you on trying this. You'll be much happier if you set your sights a little low with your finished product. Trust me on this! Initial efforts can be frustrating, to say the least. But, on the other side, you'll also be pleased as this was something you made for yourself. It's quite satisfying.

Sergei, so when are stopping by for lessons?!

Best Regards,

Paul Stenhouse

Really, braiding is right up my alley. There wasn't much to do growing up on a farm in rural Mississippi back in the 50's and 60's, and my dad, uncles and grandpa all used to braid leather. I learned at an early age, but have not done it since. I need a refresher. I might think twice before attempting it if I was a greenhorn. I assume that if you know how to braid a round braid, it shouldn't be that difficult. Correct me if I am wrong on this. Fedora

Round braiding is not too bad. But when you are braiding a 2 belly whip with bolsters and an overlay, it can be quite a nerve racking experience using kangaroo hide. Roo hide you can cut much thinner than cowhide, but you have to be careful in the stretch and possible snap. The hard part is applying a lot of tension when pulling the laces after a braid ("Braid loose, pull tight"). And then making sure that the laces don't break on you, constantly checking for a nice even taper, minimizing lumps when dropping strands, etc...

Fedora,
Braiding can get as complicated as you can make it. It can also be really easy and fun, too. And then sometimes it gets complicated for no reason! Other than the things Sergei pointed out, and a few other tricks that I learned along the way, it's a piece of cake!

Remember too, that you can always undo what you have plaited and start again. The biggest thing I try to pass on is to think about what you are doing when you have a problem, try it again using a slightly different technique. Although, it's hard to roll several generations of whipmaking evolution into a couple of weeks at your house. In other words, whips that I can make are due to the years of hard work put in by people with the patience to figure these things out; what works and what doesn't. That doesn't make me smart, just able to copy imitate.

Best Regards and Good Luck (don't forget the patience)

Paul Stenhouse

Well, if you want to try it, Fedora, then I wish you the best of luck. One suggestion that I make is (as Paul said) not to set extremely high standards for the finished product. Learning to make whips is a learning process, and it will take a while for the whips to start turning out well. I just got into whip-braiding within the past few months and have braided a couple so far (working on a third whip at the moment). I can tell you from personal experience that whip-making is a trial and error sort of thing. Fortunately for us, most of the errors have already been made, so all we have to do is learn from the work of others.
Best of luck to you in learning.

High Regards, Indiana_Hall