Club Obi Wan

As some of you may recall, I've had my 10ft David Morgan since early September. Due to weather and work constraints, I've been practising on average for about an hour every 10 days. I've generally avoided trying to get loud cracks from it and focused on performing the movements gently. But occasionally I've put a bit more effort into it just to get a buzz from hearing a louder bang.

Anyway, I've noticed that the thong is breaking in and becomes increasingly looser as it gets towards the fall. However, one thing that concerns me a little is that the thong is still quite stiff from the top of the handle to about half way along its length. At this point, the thong suddenly becomes noticeably looser, seemingly without any gradual reduction in stiffness. This is apparent when I coil the whip, as at this particular point the thong is suddenly able to coil much more acutely, producing a more sharply angled, rather than round, appearance at that point in the coil.

Is this normal? I have also noticed that the external plaiting has a couple of thinner strands placed just before wider strands around this point. Could that have something to do with it?

Right about 1/2 way down the thong is where the braided belly ends, so that's probably why it's looser from that point on. If you look at most pictures of whips (new or broken in) when they are coiled loosely you can see a slight angle at this point.

Also if you check the plaiting around the two thinner strands, I bet you'll notice that it goes from a 12 plait to a 10 plait. The thinner strands are probably the two that he's dropping.

xoxo

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Satipo,

Where the belly ends, there are loose strands and bolster carried on. The trick with this transition is to plait it tight through that section to strengthen the change from plaited belly to loose belly. It's more noticeable when the plaiting in the overlay is loose to begin with. I like to plait tighter than a few people, and haven't ever had this problem.

Best Regards,

Paul Stenhouse

I have noticed the same thing and was going to drop into David for him to have a quick look at it.

Satipo, I’ve never noticed that on any of my whips while I was breaking them in, though I seem to remember my Morgan’s breaking in pretty quickly. It’s not uncommon to get a little extra play as the whip thins out, especially in longer whips but if your relatively new whip is going from a very stiff thong to suddenly dropping off at the halfway mark and becoming limp, that could be a concern. As mentioned, it could very well just be caused by the transition where the plaited bellies end. It’s possible it wasn’t plaited as tightly as it could have been. Unfortunately with out actually seeing the bullwhip it’s hard to make diagnoses.

I have also noticed that the external plaiting has a couple of thinner strands placed just before wider strands around this point. Could that have something to do with it?

Is this what your seeing? If it is, that’s normal, its where he drops a strand in to the belly. If not can you post a picture?

Either way, I’d give David Morgan a call and ask him about it. If it’s nothing to worry about, it will at least put your mind at ease.

Dan

Thanks for all the great input, guys! I suspect it is a transition point where the number of strands change. Dan, I wouldn't say it goes limp at this point, but it's noticeably looser. Here are some pictures - focus on the centre of them:


Left side view

Popper end < > Handle end



Right side view

Handle end < > Popper end

One thing I noticed in your pics is how beefy the strands look. I've noticed that the thinner the hide is, the smoother the transitions can turn out to be, as in my Russell Schultz whip. This picture was meant to show off the fall hitch I accomplished with a little help from the folks on the COW. I just noticed two light colored rings that are right where the transition is (at the top right of the picture). They are not noticable to the naked eye, but they sure showed up in the pic!

I have also read that the "less smooth" transition has no discernable effect on how the whip throws. So there could be more to it than meets the eye!

Ravenswood

Hello Satipo,
In my whips to avoid this risk, I have developed this solution:
Where the belly ends, I wrap tighter the transition “plaited belly - loose belly” up to the total length of the loose belly.
After I put and bind the bolsters and at the end I plait tight the overlay.
With this solution I haven't ever had this problem.
I hope that my explanation is clear
Cheers
Giovanni

Thanks for the pictures. That is common on all David’s whips, It is where the strands are comming in and crowding together a bit, Since he cuts them wider they tend to crunch together a bit, particularly as the whip narrows down with the taper. It’s more noticeable when it’s set next to a slightly narrower strand, It might also leave a slight kink in the thong but shouldn’t effect the way the whip performs. If however you feel that the looseness you are describing in the latter half of the thong is affecting the performance of the whip, again don’t hesitate to talk to David Morgan about it.

Ravenswood could you scale your picture down a bit. Part of the reason the plaiting looks beefy on the Morgan whip, is because of how wide the strands are. Russell Schultz is known for very thin, fine plaiting done in the Australian tradition. That’s why they tend to break under the point. David’s are know for being wider, in order to stand up to harder use under rougher conditions.

Dan

Ravenswood, it's very interesting to see the difference in the thickness of the hides in our close-ups. It really demonstrates why Morgans are so chunky looking compared to smoother alternatives.

Giovanni, I think I get what you're saying, but what is the distinction between the plaited belly and the loose belly? Are they separate things?

Dan, the whip is responding better each time I use it, so no complaints there. The forward throw and circus crack are much easier to achieve now, whereas previously I'd been sticking with the overhead. The plaiting detail and looseness was something I'd really only observed when coiling it.

As usual, thanks for all your valuable input, guys!

Satipo,
in a DMwhip, the second plaited belly is long about 1/2 of the total length of the whip.
(id. whip 10ft = II belly 5ft)
when you stop to plait the 4 strands for the second plaited belly, the remainings loose 4 strands will be used as filler for the part of the whip extending beyond the second belly. So the second bolster will wrap the second palited belly and the loose strands. The length of the second bolster will be a little shorter than the total length of the whip.
I hope that my explanation is clear
Cheers
Giovanni

Thanks, Giovanni, it's a lot clearer now.

That is why I like to have four plaited bellies in my bull whips and the last belly is plated the full length of the whip.
Kind Regards
Bernie