Club Obi Wan

Hi all,

As some of you may remember, I mentioned a while ago that I was working on a Raiders bullwhip for Dan "Bullwhip" Borton. This was my third attempt at materializing his dream "Raiders" bullwhip, hence the MK 3 designation. The basic parameter was to make the closest thing to one of the bullwhips used in ROTLA, that was documented by our late Sergei. For more info on the story of this whip please check this link:

http://www.indygear.com/igRotLAbullwhip.html

Crafting this bullwhip took a considerable time, patience, minute attention to detail, and careful planning. It was both a challenge and a pain, but I think in the end all the hard work paid off, and I am very pleased with the results. I think I met all of Dan's specs, and I added a few more details on my own to make the whip look as close as possible to the original.

Most of the external dimensions are spot on, and others are very close. The complete list of features is too long to list, but some of the external details include:

-Overall slimmer diameter.
-The correct handle shape and diameter.
-Shape, height, width and orientation of the main Turk's head, in relation to the thong and the wrist loop.
-Shape, height, width and location of the ring knot.
-Width, length and orientation of the wrist loop.
-Length, width and knot orientation of the lace tag in the wrist loop.

You'll be able to see the similarities to the original whip in the photos below. The next thing to make this whip look closer to the original, is to crack it and make it see some action. I am confident that Dan will be more than happy to carry out the mission. The whip is now on his way...

I look forward to hearing your comments!

Regards,

Bernardo

http://www.delcarpiowhips.com

Sweet! I bet that thing will crack ever so easy!

Wow! That is one super nice whip! Always a pleasure to see Del Carpio's work! That is probably the best looking Raiders whip I've seen! Even the little strip is sticking out on the turks head too! Crazy detail! Enjoy that one

A thing of beauty.

Very nice whip.

Regards.

Really good job! Excellent attention to detail.

I did wonder when I first saw all the hand drawn diagrams and measurements who would be the first to do a copy as exact as possible

That one really does look as exact as is possible, a couple of years of use and sunbathing and it'll be really hard to tell the difference I think....great job and you can now also make a valid claim to be the original as no doubt now you've done it others will follow....really excellent job! NICE

Dan I'm sure you'll love and enjoy your new whip congratulations, it'll be very interesting in say a year for you to do a thread of comparison pictures to see how even more accurate it has become....

Tony

Bernardo went all out on this one for me, in fact I probably drove him a little crazy with this project at times, but he was a good sport. I’m usually not strict on specifics details but this whip was a special case and I wanted it to be as close as possible to the original.

His skill and attention to detail was put to the test, It took a while to get everything ironed out and a lot of patience on both our parts. Based on the photos though I could not be more pleased with how it turned out.

It's is on its way to me now so I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that it gets here safe and sound, and quickly. I can’t wait to give it a good work out.

Dan

Hi Bernardo! Absolutely incredible! It seems you'll never cease to amaze us!!!

What can I say? I bet it was pretty hard to achieve that level of perfection. Eventhough I'm usually very keen when it comes to details... I admit I had never seen all those little differences you listed! There's no better proof than that series of pics you took for comparison. That takes a lot of guts!!!

Dan... congrats on being the new owner of such a beauty. I recall the MK1, which got a strand slashed, but I can't remember reading about the Mk2... I'll have to look it up to see.

Gentlemen, my very best to you both.

Aldo.

That is the most SA whip I have ever seen!

I wish I could have one of those, great job Bernardo

Brilliant! I'd love to have one of those in roo and another in kip. Another thing Bernardo always gets right, as well as all the other details, is the size and shape of the handle 'diamonds' in the braiding. Very Raiders.

¡Un trabajo impecable, Bernardo! Simply amazing to look at. You have "resurrected" the very essence of the Raiders bullwhip. I am sure that Sergei would be proud to see this project come to fruition. Dan, I am green with envy ( as most of us probably are) and very happy for you at the same time. Please let us know in full detail how she handles after you´ve taken her out for a spin.
Congrats!

IndianaBravo

Thank you so much to all of you for the kind and sincere words!

Making this whip was difficult, and to be honest, while I am happy now that it's finished and I see the results, it's not something I look forward to do constantly. However, it was a good project to experiment and change the construction a bit to bring the whip closer to the old Morgan whips of the Raiders era. I'll incorporate some of these new "old" features in my standard Raiders whips.

I hope Dan gets his whip this weekend, since he mentioned John Leonetti may stop by his place, and as you know, John takes awesome photos!

Thanks again!

Bernardo

http://www.delcarpiowhips.com

Awesome! Very beautiful whip! Very, very great job!

Nice job!
I'll take one just like it!

Chris

PS
I'm just kidding about the "I'll take one just like it" bit.

Bernardo, why didn't you cut two of the strands too thin like on the original?? Just ribbing you - nice work, and very well observed.

Hi Bernardo,

my compliments very beautiful whip
cheers
g

Congratulations Dan!

Man, that is one fine looking whip. As always Bernardo does such amazing work!

Crack On!
Allen

This whip is just so beautiful! I want one, Bernardo!

Thanks All, My new Raiders bullwhip arrived safe and sound yesterday morning and I could not be any more pleased with it.

It is very well made, as I have come to expect from Bernardo; but he clearly put a lot of extra work and effort into getting it just right. It’s hard enough to make a good whip, let alone trying to make one to include certain specific details and measurements that existed on a bullwhip made some 28 years ago. Yet he managed to nail all the details that I felt where important to me on this project and even included a few that I hadn’t mentioned.

As good as the photos are, the pictures posted in my opinion didn’t do the whip justice. The plaiting is clean and precise, but retains the heavy overlay that these whips are known for and that give them their added durability. It was plaited tightly and the seam work as is straight and even. Thought this whip is thinner then many other Indy style bullwhips made today, it maintains a proper taper and has a good weight & balance, giving it very substantial feel. Not only did he hit a home run with the look of the whip, but I worked with it for a while this afternoon and thought that it handled very well. It’s a bit stiff, as new well made whips right out of the package are but it cracked readily and with ease. I had no trouble at all putting it though a multitude of just about every crack imaginable, and a few “Indy” combinations just for fun.

I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to handle many whips in my life including Indiana Jones bullwhips by many whip makers, including David Morgan's screen used bullwhips from Raiders of the Lost Ark & Temple of Doom and this one Bernardo made had that instant familiarity to it as soon as I unpackaged it, it just looked and felt right.

All in all, I am very pleased with this bullwhip; It’s a good whip.







Dan

Congatulations, Dan!

I just sent Bernardo payment for a 9' Raiders whip. And he told me that from now on he plans to make the ring knot darker, as it is on your whip, making it more SA to Raiders.

Can't Wait!

DarenHenryW

Having placed an order last month, it's great to see that subsequent whips will benefit from this project. Fine work as always.

Bernardo is absolutely one of the top whipmakers we have, in my opinion. He's in my top 2 with Joe!!

Looks great, Dan! Congrats!!

Shane