Club Obi Wan

This looks to be a licensed product (not that that really means anything as far as quality goes sometimes).
Who is making these whips?
http://www.noblecollection.com/catalog/ ... 2&catid=69

I've never owned a whip and was wondering if a whip of this quality (or lack of?) would suit a beginner to learn on?
I'm 6'1", so would the 10' be the best length or an 8'?

Tundrarider wrote:

Tundrarider wrote:If you have $200.00 to drop on a whip, I would recommend saving up a few more dollars and getting a Strain or some other quality whip.

Michael

Okay, I just checked Joe's website and his whips cost a bit more than "a few more dollars ..." than $200.00.

I still believe that $200.00 is a good start toward saving for a quality whip. A reputable whip maker will back up their product. I doubt Noble Collection will.

Michael

I agree with you. If you are going to buy a whip, spend your money ounce. You may have to save a bit longer and wait a bit longer but in the end you will be a lot happier. I have bought items for example boots. I spend on a not so SA pair of boots trying to save money. Didn't like them and they just felt cheap. Scratch them. Bought another pair that looked SA but just started to come apart and had to have them repaired right away. Just checked them today after 4 months and now they are coming apart in another area. After the repair the total came to about what a new pair of Aldens would have cost. I will learn one day. Now I'm saving and waiting for a pair of AB Aldens.

I went this same route with hats, whips, shirts, etc, etc. I learning the hard way. I hope you don't

John what are AB Aldens?

These are my favorite Indy Aldens. They may not be SA but they just look so darn good.
http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com/2008/1 ... tage-indy/

Thats my point exactly. I could have had these boots by now. But I took the stairs instead of the elevator.

The AB Aldnes is what Marc Kitter from Adventurebilt hats had Aldens special made for him. They are more SA color and all then the reg. Aldens. I will be getting a pair fro him in his next run. I'm not playing around anymore. This way I know they will be quality boots and SA because they are coming from Marc.

If you are looking for value for the money, this guy from Laredo hand makes these whips in cow or goat hide:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 2759.l1259

Naturally, if its spare no expense, etc., one of the better known whipmakers in the forum can whip you one up for around $600.

I think in the category of whips especially, its best to save up and get a solid one, like a Strain, Del Carpio, a Nolan, or even the AB whip (which is Nolan). You don't want to get a cheap (really low price and construction) whip even to learn. If you wanted to spend less, whip makers could or may make you an 8 plait whip out of roo or even cow/kip and it would be cheaper, but still a solid whip.

Caicedo's whips you can't go wrong with. Those are probably one of your best bets for a starter or even just as another whip to have. His prices are very fair, and you getting a quality, SA whip.

But John is correct, don't buy something skimpy, then have to continually upgrade. Its not fun for you, or your wallet.

Sometimes people perceive low cost as cheap, low quality. This guy, link posted above, does not make cheap whips, they are just not as expensive. Just thought I'd clarify that.

TS, you must be careful. It looks really nice for the most part but I would like to know a bit more about the inner construction.

Disclaimer: I'm no whip wizard -

- That said, I had a great experience dealing with Gus Caicedo ( http://www.caicedoswhips.com/ ). While I've heard there's better, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better deal on a quality entry level whip or a more pleasant individual to deal with. He'll work to make you happy and the prices are VERY reasonable. I have two whips now, but my first was a Caicedo eight foot, eight plait cowhide. I've had it for about a year now and take it out in the back yard at least once a week for twenty or so minutes or more. It's reasonably screen accurate and plenty durable ( as I went through that learning curve where you tend to muscle the whip a lot before honing technique ). Compared to my second whip ( a Paul Stenhouse nine foot, twelve plait kangaroo ), it is very light, but I almost always go back to it to try out new cracks. Here's a pic of the Caicedo I have after just under a year*:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj29 ... IM2795.jpg

Again, a great starter, and the service is top-notch.

*please, no knocking the deck - I've since re-stained and sealed it

I think $200 is too much for what you get with the noble collection whip. I didn't buy my whip from them, I got it mine from WSP but I was looking seriously at the noble whip and I believe mine is the same construction. The taper of the thong is very aggressive right after the handle then the rest of the whip has very little taper making it a bit challenging to get it to crack without a lot of force. I have one of Gus whips too and would recommend it as far superior to the noble whip.

Hello Gus here, hey just incase anyone is thinking of where I am.. well I've been a little busy with school and work. I only have 2 whips on line that I am currently making. Also Im trying to get busy and ready for whip weekend dfw in october.

Wow whips, school, p90x , homework oh and those awesome honey do's Yeah just a little busy.

The school is for my daughter. Im helping her with homework. Making sure she passes all her classes. Thinking about joining the PTA too. But we'll see how it all plays out after October 3 and 4th.




Gus Caicedo Jr.
http://www.purewhips.com