Club Obi Wan

Hey all

Recently I have had problems with the TH knot coming lose on my 10' Morgan. After sending it back to Morgan, having it repaired and receiving it back only to have it immediately come lose again, Bernardo DelCarpio made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He said that he would repair the Morgan for me quickly for since he was here in the US. I sent it to him and he provided me with some great history and info about my whip. A very knowledgeable guy. I got the whip back today and it is just great. He even went so far as to use a dark roo hide to match the age of the rest of the whip. Needless to say the knot is super tight and looks more like a Morgan than it ever did before.

Thank you Bernardo for your great work and kindness.

-Nebraska

Well that's no surprise; Bernardo is a gentelman and a scholar.

A bit dissapointing about Morgan though... I have whips that are 20 years old and NOTHING has moved on them so to have this happen from the man himself is a bummer. But all's well that ends well.

Just curious, how old is your Morgan?

Glad you got it fixed. I bet Bernardo's knot won't come loose again.

Boggstandard wrote:Just curious, how old is your Morgan?

A little over 3 years and it has had little use.

-Nebraska

I wonder if Bernardo, or another Morgan expert, can pinpoint when the quality of DM's whips began to diminish. Most of my Morgans are late 80s to mid 90s. But I do have a few post 2000. The main difference I see, excepting handle configuration, is a more "ragged," looser plaiting appearance in the newer whips.

I am sure Bernardo will do a good job of repairing the knot for you. He knows his stuff.

Boggs, I think I first started to notice the quality back slide around 2003-4 the strands started to become excessively heavy, wider to the point they where overlapping each other making the whips look sloppy and unrefined, The plaiting started to become less tight making the whips much more limber right from the get go. There also seemed to be a lot of complaints about quality from other in the whip cracking community around that time too, even a few sent back for repair or replacement, but the quality seemed to have improve considerably again in the last few years.

Nebraska, Did the actual plaiting come loose Or did the whole knot itself feel loose? A lot of Morgan bullwhips will have a little of a play in the Turks head area and base of the handle where they twist a bit. It's a result of how David attaches the lead tape at the base of the steel spike under the turkeshead. In some cases it becomes loose as the whips are used though it doesn’t effect the way they perform. Most of the whip makers here have improved on that design though making a much more solid foundation with out the bit of wiggle.

Considering the countless numbers of Morgan whips that have been made, I’ve rarely heard of anyone having that kind of trouble with the Turkshead coming loose on thier own. Some of the lower strands will slip around a bit due to the type of knot he uses though. I would be curious to hear Bernardo’s thoughts on this and maybe see some before and after pictures of it to expand on what he though the problem was. I suppose it’s very possible you just got a lemon (No offence Lauren). It happens even with the best of whip makers every now.

Dan

BullWhipBorton wrote: Nebraska, Did the actual plaiting come loose Or did the whole knot itself feel loose? A lot of Morgan bullwhips will have a little of a play in the Turks head area and base of the handle where they twist a bit. It's a result of how David attaches the lead tape at the base of the steel spike under the turkeshead. In some cases it becomes loose as the whips are used though it doesn’t effect the way they perform. Most of the whip makers here have improved on that design though making a much more solid foundation with out the bit of wiggle.

Considering the countless numbers of Morgan whips that have been made, I’ve rarely heard of anyone having that kind of trouble with the Turkshead coming loose on thier own. Some of the lower strands will slip around a bit due to the type of knot he uses though. I would be curious to hear Bernardo’s thoughts on this and maybe see some before and after pictures of it to expand on what he though the problem was. I suppose it’s very possible you just got a lemon (No offence Lauren). It happens even with the best of whip makers every now.

Dan

Dan

Yeah it was near the base of the knot and it was just a few strands coming lose but it was getting worse with each passing day. It may indeed be a lemon as the thong had a strand that was braided in the wrong pattern. I am sure Bernardo can provide better insight so stay tuned...

-Nebraska

Thanks for explaining that. I’ll be curious to hear Bernardos insight. I’d like to see that spot there the strand was mis-plaited too, I wonder if it was where they dropped a strand into the belly as they will change the pattern from I under to two under in that spot

Dan

;0

Since my input has been requested multiple times, here it goes )

Overall, I think Brad's whip is a nice example of Morgan's work from 2003-2005. In those years Mr. Morgan was able to get some very nice thick roo hides (grey kangaroo) that he likes so much for his bullwhips. These skins do not stretch as much as the red kangaroo, and consequently the strands tend to stay wider, if cut to the same width as usual. My second Morgan, which I ordered in 2004 is really similar to Brad's (made in 2005). It was also made using these heavy skins.

Regarding the knot, I have never seen a Morgan knot coming apart, but as Dan said, due to the type of Turk's head, sometimes one of the bottom laces will slip a bit over the base of the handle. As discussed earlier, Brad sent his whip back to Morgan for repair, and the original knot was tightened using a fid. In my opinion, it was very tight and unlikely to come loose. But, one of the laces at the bottom shifted over the base. According to Brad, this is how the knot started to come apart the first time.

This slipping seemed to be due to the angle at which the lace layed over the base. I took the knot apart, and used the same foundation since it looked just fine. Also, this would preserve the original shape of the knot.

There's also the glitch in the pattern. This is in the main part of the thong, a few inches after the ring knot. Instead of going under 3 over 3, the lace goes under 2 over 4. My theory is that this was most likely caused by a distraction. I am sure whoever braided the whip noticed the glitch too late to go all the way back and undo the braid. Since it is only a cosmethic flaw, they chose to leave it as it was.

I woudn't call the whip a lemon. It is a fine whip, with a minor aesthetic flaw. It cracks great and it should provide Brad with many years of whipcracking fun.

Here's a pic I took before I tied the new Turk's head.

Regards,

Bernardo

That IS a very nice example of Morgan's work. I really, really like the shape of the end knot on this one!