Club Obi Wan

I am starting to learn to whips, what is the best leather besides kangaroo to use while learning.

Hi,

learning to plait or to crack whips? If crack best will be nylon or IOAB or any other 4 plait cowhide whip from known maker.

If plait, use 2 mm cowhide sides. Chrome tanned will be fine for the first time.

Regards,
Karol Bilecki
http://kiscienwhips.knives.pl/galbullwhips.html

Veg Tan goat is good if you can find it, as is KIP (hide from younger cows).
If you already know how to plait these are excellent. But if not, I second the nylon parachute cord. It is already even and consistent.
Ron
www.nylonwhips.com

I don't know why everyone is scared to start with kangaroo. It's not that much more money than cowhide and kangaroo is super easy to work with!!

Lately I've been making a bunch of "budget" bullwhips out of cowhide and whenever I take a break from those to make a kangaroo whip, I can really tell the difference...kangaroo is much better! I can't wait until I'm out of the cowhide that I have so I can get back to doing more kangaroo whips.


xoxo

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

I did braiding in veg. cow, veg. goat and of course kangaroo yet.

veg. cow looks also great, but I wouldn't do it again in 2mm since it is too thick therefor. 1.5 to 1.7 is much better IMO
ceg. goat is not of much use since it snaps very easyly, but it's cheaper than cow (at least in my arrea)
kangarooskin is quit expensive to start with, but if you did some craftwork before you could start with rooskin aswell. In braiding fine leather there are some very nice small project discribed which are great to get started in cutting and braiding especcialy with roo leather.
Also, don't underestimate the force of plaiting soap. Very easy to make, it helps you alot to get nice results

Thanks for the information.

I am adding my 2 cents in here, To be honest with you when I first started leather braiding I did not have alot of access to the Internet and the only place that I knew where to get leather was a local Tandy Store and they do not supply or carry Kangaroo, Not everyone has access to certain supplies some people today still do not have the Internet and there are alot of people that I have sold to and had disgussions with in smaller towns who didnt even know that Kangaroo was available in the USA let alone making whips out of, so you do have to put that into consideration. I started learning with Veg Tanned Cowhide and I think that everyone one time or another needs experience in all types of leather to broaden your Horizons and it gives you a much better understanding of the different uses of Leather, what to watch for what to use what not to use, I make an Excellent looking and very well made Cowhide Whip because I did start with Cowhide and I have had some good reviews because my Cowhide bullwhips look very clean and similar to kangaroo Whips and that is because I only had access to cowhide and I wanted to make a cowhide whip that looks very good compared along side a Kangaroo whip, Of coarse you cannot get a fine strand like you would with Kangaroo but I think its experience in all types of leather that makes you a good Leathercrafter and Whipmaker. So please don't Bash any of these Poor Cows because you never know one day Kangaroo hides Might not be as Widely Available and I think it is a good Idea to learn with all types of Leather.

Take care,

Nick

Thanks Nick, I will probably try cowhide to see if I enjoy braiding or have the necessary skill set to make a whip.

tlivin wrote:Thanks Nick, I will probably try cowhide to see if I enjoy braiding or have the necessary skill set to make a whip.

It sounds like your starting to learn to plait. If that is so, I would agree with the other posts that suggest you start with nylon. It is uniform and if you use two different colors it quickly becomes obvious when you make a mistake. Once you can consistently get good results with the nylon, move on to the leather of your choice.

Jim

louiefoxx wrote:I don't know why everyone is scared to start with kangaroo. It's not that much more money than cowhide and kangaroo is super easy to work with!! ....

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Ummm,,, where are you buying cowhide that costs almost as much as kangaroo?

I just got into this whipmaking thing lately, but where I go the 2-3oz cowhide costs from around $2.50 to $4 / sq. ft. The $2.50 is typical-grade and the $4 one was a very high grade side, with no brands or scars and very few tickmarks.

The kangaroo costs $18.50 / sq. ft.
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I would agree that kangaroo is so much stronger that I'm wondering if I'll ever bother with cowhide again.
The cowhide is certainly MUCH cheaper, though.
When you're starting out whipmaking you will make silly mistakes, and it's much cheaper to make them with cowhide than roo.

One thing I will say about starting out and using any kind of leather: I have begun to do well enough that I can see when uneven hide thickness causes problems, and the only thing that can fix that is to have access to a splitter. Most all the other tools you need are fairly inexpensive, but the cheapest new splitters I've found so far cost around $140 or so.
~

Doug4k2 wrote:

louiefoxx wrote:I don't know why everyone is scared to start with kangaroo. It's not that much more money than cowhide and kangaroo is super easy to work with!! ....

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Ummm,,, where are you buying cowhide that costs almost as much as kangaroo?

I just got into this whipmaking thing lately, but where I go the 2-3oz cowhide costs from around $2.50 to $4 / sq. ft. The $2.50 is typical-grade and the $4 one was a very high grade side, with no brands or scars and very few tickmarks.

The kangaroo costs $18.50 / sq. ft.
-----
I would agree that kangaroo is so much stronger that I'm wondering if I'll ever bother with cowhide again.
The cowhide is certainly MUCH cheaper, though.
When you're starting out whipmaking you will make silly mistakes, and it's much cheaper to make them with cowhide than roo.
~

The leather I use is cowhide, Indian Tan Latigo and is just as costly as roo hide and just as strong...

2/3oz Kip is cheap but is not even close to roo or latigo when it comes to strength. Just because a hide is clean doesn’t mean it’s strong. English kip is much better than the kip you can find in the states but it’s more pricey. With good latigo you’ll have more prep work, ie spitting skiving ect. before you get to the braiding. With a good quality roo hide you can get away without splitting and cutting out is easier... My point is that if you go with a cheap hide you’ll get frustrated quickly and in the end it’ll end up costing more.. Like some have said Nylon is a good jumping in point.

skip

www.handmadewhips.com

There's an awful lot of waste on a side of kip compared to a roo skin.

xoxo

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

louiefoxx wrote:There's an awful lot of waste on a side of kip compared to a roo skin.

xoxo

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

That's right, after you cut off the neck, belly, and tail a good 3rd of the hide is gone.

skip
www.handmadewhips.com