Club Obi Wan

Hey I was thinking of which whip to get. I already have a couple of older whips, not Indy replicas though. I'm hoping to get a 10 or 12 footer done like the Morgan whips in the movies. I may go with Dave Morgan, but Joe Strain whips and EC whips also have received a lot of praise on here. So I just wanted some opinions or thoughts to help me in my decision. Thanks

In my opinion, David Morgan and Joe Strain are the leaders in the Indy style bullwhip making business. I own a JS 10' that I bought through Western Stage Props. It is absolutly FLAWLESS! You most certanly get what you pay for with a JS. Joe Strain is about $400 and David Morgan is a little over $600. If cost is not a concern then go with a David Morgan or Joe Strain, otherwise go with ECwhips or Paul Stenhouse. Just make sure you ask as many questions about the process and materials of the whip as you can before they hang up on you .

Please ask me any questions you might have about my whip.
-Targetpopper

I have a 10' Morgan whip, and since DM made the screen used whips, it is, of course, the closest you'll get to 'correct'. I do, however, think that if one is collecting for acuracy, then go with the original suppliers (ie. MBA, Wested, Morgan, Aldens etc...) HOWEVER! as one who will not be able to afford Alden's, and think that an Akubra is VERY close to screen accurate, I can make a cost-cutting close-enuff exception. And a DM whip is probably the most expensive piece of original Gear coming in at $600. Alden's and HJ's being in the $250 -$300 range.

Getting back to my point...I have not tried one of the other whips other than my DM so I am very biased. I LOVE my whip and have cracked it every chance I have had (great for stres relief, and a great work out of the uper body!) It is of OUTSTANDING quality and workmanship and is quite heavy compared to other (non-Indy style) whips I have handled. If budget is not an issue, I recommend a DM ALL the way!

(I have also seen pics of ECWhips and they are quite nice looking, too. Others with these whips will chime in eventually)

Hope this pointless ramble helped

No rambling there, all good points guys. It seems to me that those are the big 2 The DM and the JS. I too like the idea of getting the original maker, but if the Joe strain is a high quality whip then why not save a couple of dollars... I noticed that on Joe's website their are no examples of his Indy whip... so I would love to see some pics of anybody's whip...no matter who made it, but I would love to see some JS whips to compare with the Dms I have seen. Thanks for all your suggestion and comments. Brett

Joe strain does not make his whips exactly like David's whips out of respect, but if you ask him, Joe will make it almost identical to a DM.
-scott

Well Joe's whips are high quality and thats what really concerns me, screen accuracy not being as important as a top-notch product. If his whips are well made then his version of the Indianan Jones style whip which looks dead-on pretty much anyway will suffice. But I am still deciding. Brett

I highly reccomend robert duke, hes a great guy
and makes great whips. I bought a whip kit from
him about 5 weeks ago and i was very happy with it.
It was to make a 6 foot whithide indy whip with a 8 plait
overlay and a 4 plait belly, and i think it came out very
nicley! he included lots of extra things at no cost and
really helped me through the process of making the whip
by awnsering some small questions that i was not sure about.
But hey i know you want a long whip cause it looks good on the
belt right? i dont know if you are new to whipcracking or what,
it sounds like you are....(i was to not to long ago, 3 weeks) and if
you are dont start with such a long whip you will end up beating
your self up. The first week i started craking i was getting hit all over
and i practiced 2 1/2 hours a day....i will most likely get all scared
up. But if you are just starting most would reccomend a 8 footer...
but remder i have no backround on you so i dont know
if you are new to this or not.
Mola

Robert sent me this pic a while ago it looks like rick5150s whip

Mola

Naw...not new to whip-cracking here I started with my first whip when I was 10, an old ranch hand, showed me how to use it ...it was about a seven foot whip I have been workin' on my whip skills ever since, good training is the ole' ping-pong ball trick I learned at a mountainman gathering about 10 years ago that makes great practice. Since then I have owned a 12 foot and a 10 foot whip so I'm pretty used to the longer lengths. My cousin who was a couple years younger than me used to have a really nice 14 foot plus whip...Seriously...that thing weighed a ton it seemed. But I never had any luck in finding a true Indy lookin' whip until recently, so I want one of the best out there. Great pic by the way! I really appreciate all the input. Brett

Here is a link to some pics of a Joe Strain 8' in natural tan. The whip is a few years old and will darken even more. The owner is Rabittooth, a member of this forum.

http://www.rabittooth.com/propreplicas.htm
Scroll down till you see the pics.

Here is another link of a JS whip, this is not the same whip as the one above-
http://www.adventurersplace.com/IJPages/whip.htm

Can you describe the ping pong ball trick you learned at the mountain man gathering?

Strain.

Certainly Major Mike, the ping-pong training technique I guess you could call it was suggested to me from and old grizzled whip maker at a mountain man gathering about 15 years ago. Having purchased one of his whips (my old trusty 12 footer) he askd if I new how to use it. I replied that I had a couple of smaller whips in my youth and that I was a fairly decent whip-cracker. He told me that if I wanted to improve my accruracy and handling of a whip to try this. To get myself some ping-pong balls, several of them,and scatter them about my lawn or a grassy place. Then standing a good distance from the balls ( the length of your whip) to try a quick forward lash and snap back so that you hit right under the bottom of the ping-pong ball. If done correctly and fast enough the ball should fly straight up and land right back where it was originally resting. He told me that a really good experienced whipman good get the balls to fly up a good 10 to 15 feet straight up. I have tried this technique a lot of times and after some frustration and long hours I have been successful in getting the balls to fly straight up off the ground a good 6 or 8 feet on occassion. Its a lot harder than it may sound "Trust me". I would recommend trying this out and to see how you do or how much your whip handling skills may improve. So give it a shot or a lash. I really appriciate the great pics and input from you guys!!! Happy "crackin!" Brett

Dear Indycraze71,

Sounds like you're doing your homework and I was going to encourage you to do so, but you appear to have a good handle on it. There are many different whipmakers, that make many different styles, that not everyone likes. Same reason why we don't all drive the same cars. Good luck in your search.

Best Regards,

Paul Stenhouse

Thanks Paul...It's just coming down to the decision and matters of the pocketbook... All the input and pics have been greatly appreciated and I'd love to see or hear more if anyone else wants to chime in. Brett

I don't think you can go wrong with a Morgan, Strain or a Stenhouse. They are all great crackers, I am not familiar with the others.

My vote however would be for the Morgan. David Morgan is the man who made ALL the I. J. whips as well as bringing the Australian whip style to America and creating what is now the Indy style whip. Copied by thousands.

Mr. Morgan is in his mid 70s and will not be making whips much longer. With care your Morgan bull will last 20 year of whipping every day. Take the $300 extra you would pay for the Morgan today and divide it by 240 months. The Morgan whip will end up costing you an extra $1.25 a month.

Brett, I would tell you that all three will be great crackers but if you don't have a Morgan you will never have a real Indy whip. The extra bucks for me are worth the cost of knowing it is the real thing. It will be interesting to see if Morgan gets the nod for the whips in Indy IV. Honestly I would like to see Strain or Stenhouse get to do them. Both gentlemen have earned it.

Good luck
Bill Walton