Club Obi Wan

I heard from a friend of mine that cracking with longer crackers allows for you to crack better. I have done this and i find it very good for wraps. i also tend to put knots on my crackers before hand and they seem to crack real loud for that too.

also has anyone ever heard of doing target cutting using guitar string as a cracker? if so what is the right gauge?

It can be done but it's IMO stupid, dangerous, and not needed. As for the longer crackers my usual is 13". But I've found if I'm doing general cracking a shorter cracker will yield better results. It's about using a cracker for a specific need.

Guitar string does sound kind of dangerous, and I don't know if it would crack well... the materials usually used can fray, but I don't think the guitar string would, and it's likely to become sharp if anything.

If you want something a little tougher than nylon, you might try the polypropylene crackers that Joe Strain sells. They're a little stiffer than regular nylon.

Shane

And cracking "real loud" should be a result of good form and technique.

^ What he said!

Shane

Seriously, Do not use guitar string of any kind! This would be very dangerous to yourself and others for several reasons:

1. No matter what the guage, the string would be extremely stiff and rigid and could shatter when you try to crack it and could cause you to lose an eye or do worse to someone else.

2. Guitar string is wound, unlike our poppers, they are not the same.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_string

3. When cracking, you don't want you whip to go "sharp" or "flat"... sorry, being a guitar player I could not help it....

If you want a loud crack, then as James said "proper technique" will give you that, along with a poly prop cracker like McFly offered from Joe Strain's site. Keep in mind though, when you force the whip to crack really loud, you can be doing damage to the whip .

Crack On!
Allen

I finally made some crackers, and choose to make them out of nylon mason thread I found at a TSC store. I made mine about 8" long and they make a great crack. So far holding up very nicely, nice fraying on the end and seems to be strong. I may try some longer crackers later just to see how it is. Many different colors to choose from, I went with white.


Regards,

Soup

I know someone who's father, a whip artist and stage performer in Europe, would sometimes "cheat" by hiding a couple of copper wires, like the kind found in household electrical extensions, and have them as part of his cracker when he was doing cutting routines. He swears the apples were cut "like a knife in hot butter", but I think the general sentiment is that it is both unnecessary and extremely dangerous to everyone within ear shot. Don't do it!
Play safe,


Franco

I figured guitar string was a bad idea. Glad i never done it yet, I did manage to cut a pepsi can open with a regular nylon cracker. I did not know that There was a such thing as Polypro crackers ...I will now have to look into that...

Thanks guys!!!

Dan

Longer poppers do not necessarily allow you to crack better; in fact too long and or too light a popper for example can cause the popper to want to float and wane in the air, not allowing for as sharp or clean of a crack. Additional knots in the poppers are typically more detrimental to the efficiency of the crack. There are exceptions to both of these statements of course, especially when getting into specialized tricks, but most whip artists/enthusiasts want as few and as little knots as possible from the start of the fall to the tip of the popper and typically keep their poppers in the 8 and 10 inches range. Those work well as a generalized length but don’t be afraid to experiment to find what works better for you personally. Ideally though you want the length and weight of the popper to compliment the whip itself.

Using Guitar string or any type of metal wire on the end of a whip is never a good ideal. It is extremely dangerous and not in a good way. I cannot stress this enough as even on accident with out the whip cracking It has the potential to slice though both flesh and the whip like a hot knife through butter, causing viciously deep lacerations.

The added weight and rigidity of the material will also tend to pull the popper away, causing it to tear or cut itself free from the fall and launch idangerously from the end of the whip at the most inopportune moment, So then you are dealing with piece of wire flying out uncontrollably at supersonic speeds.

Doing so just asking for trouble. It’s not something I would recommend any whip cracker do, no matter how confident they where in their own skills.

Your going to be hard pressed to find a material better then twisted nylon for poppers. It’s hard wearing and durable and produced a good crack when properly made. Dyneema poppers are good and very long lasting, but the material is harder to find. Polypropylene, is great, but while stiffer and easier on tangles its downfall is it wears out much faster so your changing poppers more often. Kevlar poppers where gaining popular for a while in target cutting, especially for cutting thicker items like vegetables as it cuts as it cuts very clean, but Kevlar can easily damage the whip if it hits or tangles on to itself. I don’t hear of as many people using it for regular whips, it is still used for fire whips though.

Dan

on my son's whip i use twine that i bought from the dollar store , (you get what you paid for , i guess) but for him it seems to work he does go through his poppers in about a week but the sound that comes from it is amazing, it's loud and he enjoys that knowing he's getting a good crack out of it --- he's thirteen and he amazes me on how well he's doing with it . oh yeah i cut them so there about 6 inches long once they are on his fall

You may try also horsehair.
It is very strong and cracks loudly.
I've tried it once.
But it breaks the fall easily, though I've just tried it with redhide falls.

As for cracking loudly, I'd rather being able to crack everytime rather than loud or not loud
How many times I didn't intend to crack loud, and the whip did crack really loud!!! And vice versa
Right technique is probably the best way to master the volume, isn't it?

JP