Club Obi Wan

A few years back, I bought a Krist King 8 ft nylon whip from Big Bend Saddlery, a saddle supply shop with an on-line store in Texas. I found that I really didn't like it, but I cracked it along with my roo Strain whips. Then recently, things changed. Maybe my skills improved? I crack it all of the time and I really like it. It's so much lighter, and needs hardly any maintenance.

I bought another one at 6 ft this time. When I got it out of the box today, it had some kinks and bends in it. Looks like it was rolled too tight? A bit stiff. It is also a waxed whip. Should I hang it from the tip of the fall and let the weight of the handle help settle things? Will this be hard on a nylon whip? Needless to say, It will need some break-in time.

Your thoughts or experiences will help.

Jake

The kinks may be from them not dropping strands correctly.

I just checked their site, I have some bad news. I don't think they make the best whips, they don't even know what a stock whip

is. What they're calling a stock whip is actually a cow whip.

I know they're pretty cheap, but I suggest you get a nylon whip from a well known whip maker, search rhett whips and it should

come up, he makes really nice whips.

edit: just found something else, they measure bullwhips wrong, and that's kind of a basic. They said the length of the bullwhip

DOES NOT include the 9" braided handle. On bullwhips, the handle is included in the length.

Just because Krist King measures whips differently than you or uses different terms than you do doesn't mean a thing. He has been making whips longer than many of us have been alive and knows more about whipmaking than most of us hope to know. If you don't already know Krist King is the FIRST world record holder for making and cracking the world's longest whip.

~Joe

What they're calling a stock whip is actually a cow whip.

Actually, down here in Florida (where the 'Cow Whip' is king)...It's a pretty interchangeable term, as the two share a number of similarities. It IS more proper to distinguish the two, but I've always seen it as quite accepted to interchange the terms, at least down here...In my experience, anyway...

Hmm... Now, being a whip aficionado-and-maker myself, I KNOW I've heard Krist King mentioned, but looking him up now...I had no idea he was based in the 'Big Bend' region of Texas!!! It's a very special place in my heart... So much so, I want my ashes scattered down there. Now I KNOW I have to pick a couple up. And the prices are pretty awesome, even for a machine-braided whip... And the ones i'm looking at are hand made.... It's a lock. And I'm so totally dropping by the next time I'm in Alpine....

Cripes, and I'm wanting a couple of Spectra/Apex whips from 21st century whips, too. I'm gonna be so broke forever!!!!!! Ach, whatcha gonna do... Just "celebratin' life".... And whips, too, I guess.....

PyramidBlaster

Indiana Jake wrote:A few years back, I bought a Krist King 8 ft nylon whip from Big Bend Saddlery, a saddle supply shop with an on-line store in Texas. I found that I really didn't like it, but I cracked it along with my roo Strain whips. Then recently, things changed. Maybe my skills improved? I crack it all of the time and I really like it. It's so much lighter, and needs hardly any maintenance.

I bought another one at 6 ft this time. When I got it out of the box today, it had some kinks and bends in it. Looks like it was rolled too tight? A bit stiff. It is also a waxed whip. Should I hang it from the tip of the fall and let the weight of the handle help settle things? Will this be hard on a nylon whip? Needless to say, It will need some break-in time.

Your thoughts or experiences will help.

Jake

Jake,

I wouldn't do anything to the whip except for crack it.
New whips are always stiff (particularly nylon ones) and it should become more fluid with use.
The kinks should work themselves out with time.

-Kevin

Kevin wrote:

I wouldn't do anything to the whip except for crack it.
New whips are always stiff (particularly nylon ones) and it should become more fluid with use.
The kinks should work themselves out with time.



Thanks Kevin, actually this doesn't surprise me. Looks like I will have to spend more time cracking it. Bummer !!! I guess I'll have to get out more often. BTW wait till you see the new Strain that's waiting for me at Fedex.

Jake

Yep, Sorry to say, you're gonna have to crack it more.
Life can't be all fun and games..........

Congrats on the new Joe Strain.
Can't wait to see it.


-Kevin

Cracking it will be the best solution. You could also just work the whip in your hands by bending it to try to loosen the kinks. I have a couple nylon cow whips that have some kinks, and the only solution is time.

Being a native Floridian I know cow whips and stock whips can be intermingled here. Though we florida crackers now the difference between a florida stock whip and a australian stock whip.

I'd give it a good roll to even out the stress. Roll between a short piece of 2X4 and a hard surface and I bet you see those kinks disappear.