Club Obi Wan

When working with leather, cow, goat, or roo, is it better to use bolsters or just to do plaited bellies? Is it a preference for the makers, or is it for the function of the whip? Getting prepared to move up to leather and was just wondering what everyones thoughts are on the topic.

For me, bolsters have always been an integral part of my whipmaking...I currently use one belly and two bolsters. The bolster helps to smooth out the taper of the whip, and allow the braiding to slide over top of the underlying layers without binding.

When I was working with leather, I used to only put a bolster over the belly...But now that I'm working mostly in Nylon, it's two bolsters....

I put a bolster over the core and filler, and over the braided belly, as well. Works well for me!

I think it's safe to say that every whip maker has his or her preference when it comes to this subject. I've tried both and they both have pros and cons I suppose. These days I'm using two four plait bellies with two bolsters, and here's why:

-The four plait is easy and fast and makes a solid basis for the rest of the whip.
-The bolsters add rigidity, protection for the plaited bellies from dust and such, fill-in the gaps between each strand of the bellies, create a "buffer" between each plaited layer so they can be plaited tighter and with fewer air pockets, are very useful in controlling the shape and taper of the thong and last but by no means least, help in making the dropped strands unobstrussive to the shape of the thong.

Now keep in mind this is only my opinion and there are lots of them out there. In the end it comes down to what works best for you. You're the one making the whip after all, you should enjoy the process and not always be fighting with it...

Hope this helps.

Franco

One of the things that I really enjoy about making whips is trying different things. Unlike a lot of things there is no right way to do it. I like trying to make a whip several ways and pick the one that I liked best. That way I know why I prefer one over the other.

Also one thing that bolsters do that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet it that it adds a bit of weight into the thong. For Example a whip that is built: core, plaited belly, plaited belly would be lighter than one that is core, plaited belly, bolster, plaited belly, bolster and the latter example would be thicker.

So if you were trying to make a lighter whip, then eliminating a bolster or belly might help.

xoxo

Louie
http://www.bullwhips.org

The first few whips that I made, I was sure I was going to make only 4 belly whips. For some reason I thought that it made the whip perform better.

The first time I tried to use a bolster I had a very bad experience with it. The leather was very uneven, and at that time I did not have a leather splitter.....I gave up because the leather was so hard to work with. But that was on the 4th whip that I had ever made.

I was talking with Paul Nolan, and he suggested I try using bolsters again. So I decided I'd give it another go. I had a leather splitter by this time, and making the cowhide even was an easy thing to do.

Basically, I was amazed how much better my whips turned out. It seems like bolsters give an added level of fluidity to a whip that does not exist when a whip is just made up of plaited bellies. Aside from that making whips with 4 plaited bellies will drive you insane....it takes a lot longer.

pretty much every maker thinks differently though.

Thank you, everyone.
I like to examine the pros and cons before beginning an adventure such as this. Did the same with the para-cord cord whips I made. Number three and four have started but I want to try leather. I can now see how the bolster would be more scructual then I previously thought.

Thank you again.

One big advantage to going the two belly and two bolster route, is that if you plan things in such a way as to have the second belly end roughly halfway down the length of the thong (give or take), this allows you to taper your overlay strands until this point and lets you start dropping strands where the plaited section of the second belly ends and the strands from the belly run loose. What this does is that the strands that you drop from the overlay can now lie inside the core along with the free strands leftover from the second belly. This means that you do not have to thin down your strands because they are lying between the bolster and the overlay, which if not thinned down would cause a noticeable bump. You only need to taper them when the whip needs to tpaer some more. This for me, is one of the big advantages of using bolsters instead of lots of bellies (more than two that is).

Also, if you lay your bolsters with care, the seam where the two edges of the bolster meet, will run in a straight line and this can help in making a whip fall straight (in my opinion). It also imparts a bit of the "spine" or natural tendency most whips have of curving in one direction. Since in most kangaroo hide bullwhips there are two bolsters, you can even choose to have this seam line run on opposite sides of the thong, to sort of "cancel each-other out", or inversely, you can have them both run down the same side of the thong to reinforce this "spine".

Hope this hepls.

Franco