Club Obi Wan

It seems we have waves of stuff on Ebay. First there was Texas Bullwhips, then Jrzjoe, and now we have olde-tyme-stuff-1 and cable core bullwhiops. Kangaroo cablecore it should be noted. On looks alone I am intrigued but not interested. Anyone know about these...things?

I'm curios as well. Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is a "cable core" whip? Is it as simple as it sounds? (In definition mind you, not craftsmanship).

Most good whips, well all, okay most as Adam did a pretty awesome one, whips are really a whip within a whip. The inner whip, or belly is plaited leather and adds to the structure and flow of energy in the whip. Whips may have one or two bellies depending on the length and the makers wishes. A plaited belly or two is the hallmark of a well made whiop, as plaiting over anything can be done. Rope, newspaper, and cable can be used as a "Belly" but not what I would look for in a whip. Maybe one of the makers on this board can chime in?
I would think cable would make the whip "hit" harder then hide.

This place (cow) has been about the best resource in finding a good whip to start with. Do you think a cable core whip would be a decent place to start? I'd hate to get an awesome whip only to screw it up as a novice! Those whips on ebay seem to go for a decent price. About 115 for a twelve plait beveled edge seven footer!

Whips are all about transmission of Kinetic energy from the user's arm to the cracker. The more efficient the transfer, the easier a whip is to crack--as more of the energy put into the handle makes it to the end. A cheap, 'wet-noodle' of a whip isn't efficient, so most of the energy is lost in the body of the whip before it makes it to the end.

When I started making whips way back in '94, I began by analyzing just how a whip works---And this is one of the first things I found. If I used aircraft cable as the core of my whip, it helped me get that Kinetic energy to flow much easer than anything else I tried. I could also add weight by using thicker cable.

Nowadays, I use some really thin cable, but it really does the trick---Giving my whips some extra 'Springiness'. I also don't have to worry about it breaking. A few makers use it in their whips. I find that although I still use it, I rely on it less and less as my design and craftsmanship improve.

I don't know much about whips with cable cores to be honest, but I can't really see a point to it if it's a well-made 'roo whip. A top quality professionally crafted bullwhip will have at least one (hopefully two in longer whips) braided bellies inside, which pack the internal leather into a dense, durable, and well-formed core - then the tightly braided overlay on top of that will pack everything in even better. That's what gives a good 'roo bullwhip the weight in the thong - there's no need for any extra weight from a steel cable to balance anything out or add durability. But I noticed that these ebay whips also say they have a leather "wrapped" flexible cable core - so probably no bellies.

IMHO, lead-loading or using a cable core in a longer 'roo bullwhip (especially as a substitute for braided bellies) is kind of a cheater way to achieve a feeling of a balanced easily-crackable whip without putting the effort into the internal construction that would make the whip durable, naturally well-balanced, hold its shape, and respond well to its owner. To be fair, I obviously haven't handled one of these cable core ebay whips. But it seems to be a universal truth in whips that you can't skimp on the insides without sacrificing overall quality in one way or another.

Lauren Wickline
www.midwestwhips.com

So I'm guessing they ordered the cable core whips for Indy 4 just to save money? I'd always assumed they wanted cable core whip to use in a "swinging" scene. (Of course I have ablsolutely no reason to assume that.)

Hi Mannie,

You were right in your assumption, they did order cable core whips to use for swinging. But they weren't just regular whips with a cable in the center (in place of the leather core), and a fall and popper on the end. The cable extended out the end of the braiding (where the fall and popper would normally be) and they attached the cable securely to where they were swinging from. So it was basically a swinging cable with kangaroo hide braided around it to look like a whip, so when they shot Harrison Ford swinging, all you can see is the middle section of the "whip" and down to where he was holding it, you never see the tip of the whip where the cable extends out and is attached to the swinging point.

I hope that clears it up.

Regards,

Paul Nolan
www.midwestwhips.com

Like Paul said.