Club Obi Wan

Is there anyone in San Francisco or the SF Bay Area who'd be willing to let me drop by for a visit for a whip demo or (gasp) try one out?

The gestalt acquired from the forum is that it's not a hobby one can get into cheaply, therefore it would behoove a prospective hobbyist to check things out rather than investing blindly.

I would suggest checking out “Bullwhips by the Bay” a twice monthly whip enthusiast meet/workshop held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park

http://www.laughingbear.org/whippery.html

Dan

Wow... I've seen dog training, various big time bands and now whip cracking in Golden Gate Park.

Perfect, thanks for the pointer.

The polo field is where I was imagining practicing anyway!

The stars finally aligned - fair weather in Golden Gate Park and a free Sunday.

My son (age 6) and I both attended, and old hands Jonathon (Grizzly) and Andrew were present (another gentleman joined later, but I didn't catch his name). My son got cracking pretty quickly with some personal training from Andrew, and after he got tired I tried - w00t, cracked first try. (Admittedly with what I'd probably incorrectly describe as a 5-foot pocket snakewhip - incredibly easy; I think 19 of my first 20 throws cracked). Then Andrew had me doing left-handed cracks, figure-eights (in front and on the side) and overhead cracks pretty quickly with a 7(?)-foot nylon bullwhip. My arm is still a little sore from the backwards cracks.

Lousy iPhone photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/3520222150/

(Yes, his arm is too low in the follow-through.)

So.... highly recommended to anyone in the Bay Area who wants to check it out. My son wants to go back next weekend... which of course means investing in the new hobby.

PS: Recommendations on vendors of nylon/paracord "indy-style" whips? (Nylon for cost and convenience; it's often wet here on the left coast.)

Looks like the current choices are:
* Midland Whips
* Classic Bullwhips

Anyone else I should be considering?

Check out Steve Huntress at http://www.neawhips.com

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

I haven't cracked a Midland or Classic Indy Bullwhip yet, but I have cracked a good handful of nylon whips, and I've always been impressed with the bullwhips Steve Huntress makes - consistently well made, firmly braided, and nice to handle. His website is http://www.neawhips.com. I believe Ron Allen also makes Indy style whips, and there may be a few more folks as well - I'm sure I'm probably leaving someone out accidentally, and if so I'm sorry... Just poke around through the archives here, and maybe do a few searches on Google.

Good to hear you and your son had some fun on your first whipcracking expedition! He must think you're a pretty cool Dad .

Good luck,

Lauren Wickline
http://www.midwestwhips.com

Here is the short list of experienced pros in the U.S. All can do Indy's fine.
http://www.cowwhips.com
http://www.neawhips.com
http://www.21stcenturywhips.com
http://www.nylonwhips.com
http://www.classicbullwhips.com
Indiana Hall (Chris Hall) makes a heck of a nylon Indy too...but no website. P.M. him here.

Outside the U.S.
http://www.midlandwhips.com

Hi,

I purchased an 8 foot nylon Indy whip from Rhett Kelley at cowwhips.com. The whip is awesome. Here is a link to a posting soon after receiving the whip, the pictures don't fully do justice to Rhett's work.
http://indygear.com/cow/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=359981

Rhett was great to work with, very patient, and he makes an awesome whip.

CJ

I also ended up ordering from Rhett Kelley (http://www.Cowwhips.com or http://www.Rhettswhips.com). I was attracted by the look of his nylon whips - they have more "character" than most of the other nylon Indy-style whips out there (going by online pics). I'm a novice, but I'd say it's the braiding style on the handle (wider checkerboard) and the coreless paracord which makes for flatter plaits.

I opted for a 7' "Indy style" bullwhip since it's my first and everything I've read (and tried!) indicates learning is easier with a shorter whip.

The whip showed up in my mail at work yesterday (yay, just before the weekend - I wasn't expecting it 'til next week) and I had a chance to take it out after work for a couple of throwing sessions. Works admirably - I was cracking in no time with the tips I picked up at Bullwhips by the Bay a few weeks back. Need serious work on my left hand and backwards throws, however.

Rhett answered emails promptly and kept me informed about his vacation dates, and took a rush order as well since he's pretty backed up with work. He asked lots of questions and offered advice during the process. My only issue with the process is that I didn't specify the colors accurately enough - I said "like this one: http://www.cowwhips.com/images/whips/bu ... 0x480b.jpg" but ended up with lighter colors than I was expecting. It looks great, though, I'm not disappointed at all. It's got the two-tone pattern that drew me to Rhett's work, and which IMHO makes a nylon whip have more of the character of a leather whip; single tone nylon tends to look more "plastic", at least in photos, so I'm very happy.

The whip has a solid feel, and curls nicely. It has a nice "meaty" sound when thrown/cracked. (The echo when I was throwing at http://bit.ly/IiU4S at dusk was rather nice.)

It came with an extra fall and three extra poppers, instructions on attaching new poppers and general whip safety, care and maintenance, and a sticker.

With all accessories:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/3600483319/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/3600486167

In better light:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/3600487191

Turk's head detail:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/3601303506

Fall and Popper detail:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/3600493183

Rhett doesn't visit this forum but is happy to answer questions via email.

I haven't heard of any nylon whipmakers who don't use un-cored para-chord. It's great to see that you like your whip and it does look great with the double diamond plait in two tone on the handle.
Enjoy it,
ST

Very nice whip. I think Rhett is often overlooked, but, his whips are quality. I really like the checkerboard he did on your handle.

Enjoy the whip!

connecticut jones

So, interesting twist in this tale...

Rhett ran across the pictures I'd posted on Flickr and noticed a subtle flaw in the braiding. He contacted me about it, apologized profusely, and paid to ship the whip back to him. He analyzed it and ended up making me a whole new whip which he promptly shipped back to me.

Picture of the new whip (unfortunately, on a not terribly contrasting background):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inexorabletash/3674370308/

Talk about customer service!

I live in Castro Valley, and I have a few whips I'd be willing to let you try out. I've been to Anthony De Longis's ranch, and he gave me a full day's worth of training, and I work with my whip and teach people whenever I can, so I would be more than happy to let you come by some time and I can show you what's what.

But, I'll be gone for the rest of July, so if you are interested, we can set up something in August.

Regards,
DarenHenryW