Club Obi Wan

While I was working on an Indy whip today I was really pleased with how it was turning out. It was coming out the way I would like an Indy whip to be for myself, and I started wondering how many people look for the same things I do in an Indy whip. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would find the many answers very interesting, because over the years I have had requests of all kinds for specific - and sometimes conflicting - things that were considered "Indy".

So I figured I would pose the question: What do you look for in an Indy whip? No matter how much you know about whips or don't know about whips, what particular things do you think make an Indy whip? I'm looking for specifics and general things. More than anything I'm trying to spark discussion of differing opinions, and I would like to see what the general consensus is.

I would state here what my thoughts are on this, but I don't want to bias any opinions.

So let's here it! What do you look for in an Indy whip, and what do you think makes an Indy whip an Indy whip?

Regards,

Paul Nolan
www.midwestwhips.com

When I'm looking at whips and writing down which ones I want to look into later on (if I can't buy them at the time I'm looking) I look at ones with:

Smooth, tight plaiting; I don't like the DMs now - the plaiting looks too chunky and looks like it's not flush

A large sqare-ish Turk's head

A light natural tan color; I'd love to watch it darken

A wrist-loop

A medium-short length handle

12 plt / 8-10 ft

My list isn't very technical or anything, but those are the things I look for. Currently my favorite whip (the kind I want really badly) is Bernardo del Carpio. I think his whips look amazing!

In Christ,
Shane

Personally from a looks stand point for me it's the butt knot and the "chunkier" strands that make it and Indy whip.

Now that I'm dabbling in making a few whips, as far as constructions goes it's the HEAVY 8 inch handle.

xoxo

Louie

honestly, while I don't really consider it to be SA, I really like the clunky, diamond shaped knot I've seen on some of gio's whips. however, the nicest looking whips I've seen seem to be pagey's. there's something about the dark knot and ring that just looks good. it looks solid.

I'm very happy with the way Bernie turned out my Indy-style whip (it's the one pictured in the new sticky). It had a large, almost tear-drop shaped turk's head knot that I really like. The handle is non-tapered (I didn't specify when I ordered it), which I also like on this whip, but have recently developed an appreciation for the whips with a slightly-tapered grip.

IndyMcFly wrote:When I'm looking at whips and writing down which ones I want to look into later on (if I can't buy them at the time I'm looking) I look at ones with:

Smooth, tight plaiting; I don't like the DMs now - the plaiting looks too chunky and looks like it's not flush
Shane

I know what you mean - I also like smooth braiding. It's worth pointing out though that Morgan's whips were always like that! That's his style - check out the scene in Raiders when the monkey clambers over Indy's whip to steal a date - you can see the chick chunky strands nicely!

I hope it's not tacky of me to post someone else's whip in your thread, but here goes.

This to me is the perfect looking Indy whip, off Joe Strain's page.



The color is beautiful, and the leather is nice and smooth. Also, the curl and taper seem very consistent. I've seen a few whips where the taper gets a bit lumpy and uneven towards the fall. The knot at the fall looks flush with the rest of the whip, indicating to me that nice thin leather strips are used. There are some knots that look to be almost double the width of the rest of the whip's end. The turk's head knot is also smooth, not chunky.

As far as looks go, I personally LOVE the chunky, rough appearance of the plaiting on my David Morgan. For me, it's as integral to the overall Indy-whip look as the knots and handle length. This rough and, some might say, imperfect element lends the whip a ruthless, reptilian appearance - giving it a cruel, not-to-be-messed-with vibe that seems missing from the smooth-as-a-baby's-bum replicas. It really looks mean enough to beat the living #### out of someone and not give a ####; as opposed to something that looks like it belongs in a glass cabinet, neatly coiled up on a velvet cushion.

Don't get me wrong, from what I've observed in pictures here, I think the level of craftsmanship on the replicas is often outstanding. And I'm sure they handle beautifully. But it's a bit like comparing a perfectly made, smooth waxworks model to the inherently flawed person it represents - the latter will always have more character. And, IMO, it's the imperfect appearance of Indy's on-screen gear in general that gives the items the character of genuine, rough-and-ready adventure gear.

Although I really like smooth braiding, for an Indy whip I like the strands cut wide Morgan style. I also like a long, but not too long handle - I find the handles on early Morgan's a bit too long, althugh it's partly optical and due to the thinner thongs. I like the thong to be of medium weight and to end in a reasonably heavy point. An early 90s Morgan is my idea of perfection - for the Indy whip!

Though I realize it's not exactly SA, I too prefer nice smooth braiding that obviously sits in well, and tapers down to a pretty fine point and small fall hitch. I don't love the huge chunky wide strands, but it's important to me that they're meaty, and not TOO thin. Like some people have been saying, there's a rugged look that an Indy whip definitely needs to have to feel like a real Indy whip.

One other thing that's important to me for the actual performance of the whip is the tightness of the braiding and the firmness of the core. In a brand new Indy whip, I really like the transition section to be almost excessively tight and stiff, and then the section closer down toward the fall hitch to gradually become slightly less tightly braided. Indy whips made like this seem to hold up better and crack better, IMO, which is absolutely one of the most important things to me!

Lemon Lauren

I like the knob/turk's head to be large, but not TOO large.

And I like the plaiting to be smooth, but not TOO smooth.

And I like the plaiting to be tight, but not TOO tight.

And I like the handle to look long, but not TOO long.

And I like the strands to look wide, but not TOO wide.

And I like the whip to crack loud, but not TOO loud.

And I like the fall to be white, but not TOO white.

And the cracker must be black, but not TOO black.

And the whip must be kangaroo, but not TOO kangaroo.

And the whip must be leathal, but not TOO leathal.

And the whip must have some play, but not TOO much play.

And the whip must have some weight, but not TOO much weight.

And the whip must have some swing, but not TOO much swing.

And the whip must be awesome, but not TOO awesome....

Okay, I've had my fun

I guess when I think Indy whips, the one that I think is the perfect Indy whip is the whip pictured in David Morgan's books and his catalogs as the 455 bullwhip. The strands in the handle are wide, yet the plaiting looks smooth, and the knob has sort of a tear-drop shape. Note to Bernardo: if you can make a whip exactly like the one in that picture, I just might buy it.

I think Joe Strain makes beautiful whips, though the strands in his Indy whips are too thin for my taste.

In regards to the tightness of the transition, I think it depends on how the whip will be used. I like a loose transition for whips to used indoors, because they seem to do the flick better. I'd want a tight transition for outdoor use and for doing really fast multiple cracking.

-Adam

"..., but not TOO kangaroo."

Heh.

What does the 'heh' mean?

Does it mean 'heh' as in: "whatever, dude. As if."

Or does it mean 'heh' as in: "I must say I found that mildly funny."

Or does it mean something totally different that what I've written above?

-Adam 'Soon to be in Australia' Winrich

"I must say I found that mildly funny." Short chuckle.

Oh, I forgot. One feature I want in a whip is it's gotta be LOUD. Needs that nice satisfying pop.

Mind you, the only whip I've ever tried is my floppy 8' Mexican. It's like trying to crack a rope.

Adam,

I found that a bit more than mildly funny...it almost produced a good laugh!

The idea of duplicating the look of the Indy whip pictured in DM's book sounds interesting, and challenging. I'll do it as soon as I find the time, and I'll let you know how accurate it turned out.

For me, an Indy whip has to be made either of thin cowhide/kip or heavy kangaroo, it has to be moderately heavy, naturally weighted, it has to have wide strands, a 6 strand point (if it's a 12 plait whip), an 8-inch steel handle foundation, it has to be lead loaded at the butt, and this in turn will produce a substantially sized knob and the characteristic balance of the whip.

In my opinion, those are the minimum design parameters of an Indy whip, since it was designed as a heavy-duty american style bullwhip built using australian techniques. All the other cosmetic details are meaningful only when the basic requirements are met.

Just my thoughts...

Bernardo

www.delcarpiowhips.com