Club Obi Wan

Hey All,
Its been a while since I have had a chance to post, but in celebration of the Raiders of the Lost Ark 30th Anniversary I thought that I would share some pictures of a recently finish Raiders style bullwhip made of cow/kip hide. For those who may not know the whips from Raiders of the Lost Ark were rumored to be made of cow/kip leather due to an embargo that was placed on Kangaroo hides around the time that the Raiders whips would have been made. This post it a little tip of the hat to those possible cow/kip hide whip that may have appeared in the movie.




Our very own BullWhipBorton got a chance to crack this whip this last weekend when we got together to do a little cracking and he seemed fairly pleased with how it came out.

Let me know what you guys think.

Keep Crackin,
James

Looks great, the only thing I don't like are crowded strands in the buttknot.
Congrats!

They do look a little crowded in the picture, they are not that bad in person though, its meant to kind of have that streets of Cairo look to it. (one of the main whips people question as being made of cow/kip hide) I may however re-do it an post some pictures after.

Keep Crackin,
James

I love the look of those wide strands. Truly beautiful, James!


Congrats!

Aldo

classicbullwhips wrote:They do look a little crowded in the picture, they are not that bad in person though, its meant to kind of have that streets of Cairo look to it. (one of the main whips people question as being made of cow/kip hide) I may however re-do it an post some pictures after.

Keep Crackin,
James

excuses excuses

everybody blames imperfections on the camera

Jk, great whip you made there

Good looking Whip. You really captured the raiders profile IMHO

I too had always heard the rumor that some of the whips in Raiders may have been made out of kip (calf skin).

However, I recently found the following information on David Morgan's website:

The 450 series bull whips were developed at a time when kangaroo hide, and so Australian kangaroo hide whips, were embargoed, and we could not obtain the Australian bull whips we had been selling to performers. The design of these whips was based on the older American bull whips and the needs of performers presenting American style stunts for movies or stage such as wraps, snatches, lifts, cutting or target work. The construction chosen was the Australian style, in this case with two inner braided bellies. The first whips were made in kip, the leather from young cattle, but as soon as kangaroo became available again a heavy weight kangaroo was used, with the strands cut wide for durability. The design established was for a heavy whip, well balanced with a loaded butt, brought to a point finer than the old bull whips, and with an Australian type fall and cracker. The taper or shape of the whip, a critical factor, was made to suit the basic stunt needs, including target work and close cutting.

Also on DM's site;

In 1973, the US placed an embargo on kangaroo skins and products, effectively stopping the supply of Australian whips and braided goods to the US. David decided to keep the trade going by crafting whips from domestic calf skin (kip). He produced an American style bull whip using an Australian braided belly construction. This whip style, the 450 Series, proved popular among stuntmen and performers and was used in the Indiana Jones movies. Once the embargo on kangaroo products was lifted in 1981, David switched to crafting these whips from the stronger kangaroo leather and the company renewed the importation of Australian leather goods.

According to the two statements above from DM,

1. The very first 450 series whips were made of Kip (calf skin)

2. DM did not start producing the 450 style of whip in 'roo hide until 1981.


If this information is correct, then it is not a rumor.
All of the whips used in Raiders would have been made out of Kip and NOT 'roo hide.

I have discussed this subject at length with David Morgan himself many times. One little detail to bear in mind is that when the embargo took place, DM had a good stock of kangaroo hides. (He has always purchased batches of at least 100 skins). Hence, the very first whips he produced were made from these 'roo skins. Those skins probably lasted him a couple of years at least, since sales of whips were small at the time. When those skins finally run out, he started using kip. DM couldn't recall how many kip whips he made, but he thought he made "a few".

The whips used in Raiders belonged to Glenn Randall Jr., and were purchased during the embargo. Based on the info above, we can assume that there's a good chance that some whips may have been made from kangaroo, and others in kip. We will never know for sure...

Btw, good looking whip James! Your work keeps improving

Regards,

Bernardo

Thanks for the info Bernardo.

I should know by now that not everything I read on the web is 100% accurate!


James,

I forgot to tell you in my last post "That whip totally rocks! "
Someday, I will hopefully have a beautiful kip side Raiders whip like that to call my own.

Hey Bernardo thanks for kind words couldn't have come this far without some of your guidance along the way. (any new tips and guidance is always welcome, PM me if you see anything to keep in mind)

Thanks All for the positive feedback.

Keep Crackin,
James

Whip looks great, James! Really glad to see that you are offering these! Would sure love to see one of them one day! Maybe you can catch a ride with Dan Borton and come out to the summit this year!

Keep up the good work!

Daren Henry W

Hey Daren thanks for the kind words, I am going to try my darnedest to make it out this year and will defiantly be bringing some whips along.

Keep Crackin,
James