Bullwhip Myths
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:22 pm
"We mentioned that we would dispel some "Myths" that are floating around regarding BULLWHIPS and their USE....MYTH:It is best to start with a 6 Ft. whip if you are a beginner because it will be easier to crack. FACT: A 6 Ft. is great for a child or very small adult-its short length actually makes it more difficult to crack because it has less length to make the hairpin turn which makes the TIP travel faster than The Speed Of Sound and hence: the CRACK. A 10 Ft. is MUCH
easier to Master the CRACK with as it provides more room for error and more of a radius for a typical adult arm to move in. Think of it this way: a car with a very short wheelbase takes less steering wheel movement to turn than does a car with a very long wheelbase. Try a 6 ..THEN try a 10..NOT ONLY
DOES IT PACK MORE HITTING POWER..It's a Pleasure To CRACK and
for beginners cuts down on "Backlashes" and the dangers of backlash- The 6 foot will hit most people in the face-the 10 Foot will go up and to their side on an underhand forward throw for instance.
MYTH: Use Neatsfoot Oil On your WHIP [Yet ANOTHER Aussie Whipmaker has now seen the light{the company initials are "EM"} and NOW does not reommend the use of neatsfoot oil with whips-he must have been educated by our WhipSite. Again, [and we were the FIRST of ANY Whipmakers to advise you of this- FACT: You can use Neatsfoot Oil on a brand-new piece of natural, vegetable-tanned russet leather but..that's all it's good for..NEVER use it on YOUR BULLWHIPS whether old OR NEW. We recommend using OUR SPECIALLY Formulated "TexSteer"(tm) LEATHER CREME/WAX it is for use on all TOP-GRAIN LEATHERS. For VERY OLD WHIPS in Need Of A GOOD CLEANING and RESTORATION--WE Recommend SENDING THEM TO US (eMail us, provide a phone # and we'll give you a firm quote after discussing options)
MYTH: WHIPS with thin, spliced-in Falls Crack More accurately and are better suited for target work. FACT: They Crack very nicely if their falls would hold up but.. the fact is..they don't ..We've broken off the ends of MANY spliced-in fall whips(NOT OURS ,OF COURSE)with ONE CRACK! THAT's WHY WE HAVE NO SPLICED-IN FALLS IN OUR WHIPS. Some say that the Integral TIP passes too much energy through the thong and can break the whip..NOT ON OURS! We've owned and USED some of our personal WHIPS [the SAME type of models we offer to our customers] for over 25 YEARS and They Still Crack Beautifully and THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH HARSH DESERT and TROPICAL CONDITIONS(Our "TexSteer"(tm) Leather Creme/Wax took care of that).
BIGGEST MYTH: Kangaroo Leather has more tensile strength than Cowhide. BIGGEST FACT: NO WAY! and ESPECIALLY NOT IN WHIPS!
Kangaroo used in shoes and Boots has shown to be very susceptible to cuts and it abrades quite easily, much more than Bullhide, or Cowhide --even some EXOTICS are STRONGER THAN Kangaroo. For whips, while it makes for beautiful and fine plaiting it doesn't allow for strength because IT ALWAYS has to be what WE call spliced. The average Kangaroo Hide is only 4 Square Feet in Size! True, a thin 1/32 x 1/8" strip of Kangaroo can be stronger than the same size strip of Cowhide [IF the Kango is new and perfect-since it comes from a Marsupial--a cross between a dog and a rabbit, but more dog-- it IS VERY susceptible to drying out and gets brittle fast], HOWEVER, Nobody in their right mind would level down Cow Hide to that thickness...with Kango-there is NO Choice as it comes pretty thin naturally, so a lot of strips HAVE to be used for any kind of strength...12-Plait Kango is fine and safe for reasonably hard use in whips, but ANYTHING more really has its drawbacks: 16 should be THE Max and, 20, 32 or 64 is Ridiculous and borders on "Arts & Decorative Crafts." Those high, multiple-plait VERY high-priced whips are STRICTLY for indoor use by a seasoned pro and still; you have to treat them with care. However, the makers don't want to tell people that. There are some very high quality Aussie and New Zealand Whips out there, but there are also a lot of poorly-made, high-priced ones...but even the great ones WILL NOT outlast a QUALITY COWHIDE WHIP for HARD USE OUTDOORS...In our collection, we have COWHIDE WHIPS that have been used HARD on TEXAS RANCHES for over 100 YEARS and they're still CRACKING LIKE DESERT NIGHT LIGHTNING! A former TIGER & LION TRAINER from GERMANY came to see us in Texas recently and HE COULD REALLY Crack a whip LOUDLY!! He did overhead cracks with our WHIPS that actually overtook the noise on the freeway next to his hotel and-HE was VERY impressed with the quality of OUR WHIPS. He too said that he ALWAYS USED COWHIDE WHIPS when training his LIONS and TIGERS in the GERMAN CIRCUS. In fact, a VERY Competent Whipmaker in NEW ZEALAND {initials "PJ"} on his own web site recommends his Stockmans Whip in COWHIDE as being "more resilient to rough use than Kangaroo.".... We've dealt in Hides from all over the world during the course of our business and the BEST AND STRONGEST LEATHER for WESTERN LEATHER PURPOSES and BULLWHIPS is COWHIDE and it COMES FROM THE UNITED STATES, EUROPE, CANADA or ARGENTINA and THEY are ALL EQUAL in quality having VERY GOOD to ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT tanneries in each country. TRUST US on this, WE were making and selling whips on a mass basis all over the world BEFORE ANYBODY. We're giving it to you straight. REAL ADVICE on REAL-WORLD use and care of WHIPS."
Comedy is truely an art! Newbies beware of those who shout a lot!
easier to Master the CRACK with as it provides more room for error and more of a radius for a typical adult arm to move in. Think of it this way: a car with a very short wheelbase takes less steering wheel movement to turn than does a car with a very long wheelbase. Try a 6 ..THEN try a 10..NOT ONLY
DOES IT PACK MORE HITTING POWER..It's a Pleasure To CRACK and
for beginners cuts down on "Backlashes" and the dangers of backlash- The 6 foot will hit most people in the face-the 10 Foot will go up and to their side on an underhand forward throw for instance.
MYTH: Use Neatsfoot Oil On your WHIP [Yet ANOTHER Aussie Whipmaker has now seen the light{the company initials are "EM"} and NOW does not reommend the use of neatsfoot oil with whips-he must have been educated by our WhipSite. Again, [and we were the FIRST of ANY Whipmakers to advise you of this- FACT: You can use Neatsfoot Oil on a brand-new piece of natural, vegetable-tanned russet leather but..that's all it's good for..NEVER use it on YOUR BULLWHIPS whether old OR NEW. We recommend using OUR SPECIALLY Formulated "TexSteer"(tm) LEATHER CREME/WAX it is for use on all TOP-GRAIN LEATHERS. For VERY OLD WHIPS in Need Of A GOOD CLEANING and RESTORATION--WE Recommend SENDING THEM TO US (eMail us, provide a phone # and we'll give you a firm quote after discussing options)
MYTH: WHIPS with thin, spliced-in Falls Crack More accurately and are better suited for target work. FACT: They Crack very nicely if their falls would hold up but.. the fact is..they don't ..We've broken off the ends of MANY spliced-in fall whips(NOT OURS ,OF COURSE)with ONE CRACK! THAT's WHY WE HAVE NO SPLICED-IN FALLS IN OUR WHIPS. Some say that the Integral TIP passes too much energy through the thong and can break the whip..NOT ON OURS! We've owned and USED some of our personal WHIPS [the SAME type of models we offer to our customers] for over 25 YEARS and They Still Crack Beautifully and THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH HARSH DESERT and TROPICAL CONDITIONS(Our "TexSteer"(tm) Leather Creme/Wax took care of that).
BIGGEST MYTH: Kangaroo Leather has more tensile strength than Cowhide. BIGGEST FACT: NO WAY! and ESPECIALLY NOT IN WHIPS!
Kangaroo used in shoes and Boots has shown to be very susceptible to cuts and it abrades quite easily, much more than Bullhide, or Cowhide --even some EXOTICS are STRONGER THAN Kangaroo. For whips, while it makes for beautiful and fine plaiting it doesn't allow for strength because IT ALWAYS has to be what WE call spliced. The average Kangaroo Hide is only 4 Square Feet in Size! True, a thin 1/32 x 1/8" strip of Kangaroo can be stronger than the same size strip of Cowhide [IF the Kango is new and perfect-since it comes from a Marsupial--a cross between a dog and a rabbit, but more dog-- it IS VERY susceptible to drying out and gets brittle fast], HOWEVER, Nobody in their right mind would level down Cow Hide to that thickness...with Kango-there is NO Choice as it comes pretty thin naturally, so a lot of strips HAVE to be used for any kind of strength...12-Plait Kango is fine and safe for reasonably hard use in whips, but ANYTHING more really has its drawbacks: 16 should be THE Max and, 20, 32 or 64 is Ridiculous and borders on "Arts & Decorative Crafts." Those high, multiple-plait VERY high-priced whips are STRICTLY for indoor use by a seasoned pro and still; you have to treat them with care. However, the makers don't want to tell people that. There are some very high quality Aussie and New Zealand Whips out there, but there are also a lot of poorly-made, high-priced ones...but even the great ones WILL NOT outlast a QUALITY COWHIDE WHIP for HARD USE OUTDOORS...In our collection, we have COWHIDE WHIPS that have been used HARD on TEXAS RANCHES for over 100 YEARS and they're still CRACKING LIKE DESERT NIGHT LIGHTNING! A former TIGER & LION TRAINER from GERMANY came to see us in Texas recently and HE COULD REALLY Crack a whip LOUDLY!! He did overhead cracks with our WHIPS that actually overtook the noise on the freeway next to his hotel and-HE was VERY impressed with the quality of OUR WHIPS. He too said that he ALWAYS USED COWHIDE WHIPS when training his LIONS and TIGERS in the GERMAN CIRCUS. In fact, a VERY Competent Whipmaker in NEW ZEALAND {initials "PJ"} on his own web site recommends his Stockmans Whip in COWHIDE as being "more resilient to rough use than Kangaroo.".... We've dealt in Hides from all over the world during the course of our business and the BEST AND STRONGEST LEATHER for WESTERN LEATHER PURPOSES and BULLWHIPS is COWHIDE and it COMES FROM THE UNITED STATES, EUROPE, CANADA or ARGENTINA and THEY are ALL EQUAL in quality having VERY GOOD to ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT tanneries in each country. TRUST US on this, WE were making and selling whips on a mass basis all over the world BEFORE ANYBODY. We're giving it to you straight. REAL ADVICE on REAL-WORLD use and care of WHIPS."
Comedy is truely an art! Newbies beware of those who shout a lot!
And to think, at one point, I was going to buy one!
