When is cracker/popper replacement time?

[DarenHenryW]

Since this came up as an off-shoot on another thread, I figured I better start a new one devoted to this very topic.

I have two questions.

1) What is the importance of a relatively fresh, untangled and otherwise "perfect" cracker? I know that a terribly worn out cracker will affect the sound of the crack, but how could a cracker that is a little tired affect the performance or "health" of the whip itself?

2) At what point is a cracker too worn out? When do you change your crackers? If mine gets a knot in it, I will surely try to untie it, but if I can't untie it, I'll keep using it until the sound is off, or the the frayed end is too short, or there are a few knots . . . But in general, I use it until I can hear the difference more than I can see a difference.

What are your thoughts?

Wild Whips, Riku, I know you both feel that a fresh cracker is terribly important, but I'd like to know (outside of the sound quality of the crack) why its so important.

Daren Henry Wilkerson

[riku1914]

Think of it like this. If you try to crack a whip without a cracker, the whip kind of "bucks" doesn't it? It's like that with a bad cracker, just not as extreme. I've seen even nylon falls literally tear off ( recently actually ) from the cracker not being replaced. Eventually I'm sure this can cause the whip to break off before the fall hitch, which isn't unheard of by any means.

Knots in a cracker, as long as they aren't huge and don't change the way the cracker faces where it comes out aren't a big deal. Take for instance the tapered crackers I make and love. They have to have knots throughout them and it doesn't hurt the cracker at all. I know a non-whipmaker who makes their own nylon crackers quite long, with knots throughout them so that when a tassel wears off they cut it behind a knot for a new tassel, just like what is done with tapered crackers ( at least that's what I do with mine ).. That doesn't hurt anything either.


I change a cracker ( or cut it behind the knot ) when the tassel becomes 1-1.5 inches long. Even though it still sounds good at this point, it seems to be putting more pressure on the fall where it's tied on ( kind of like the whip next to the fall hitch ). If there is several knots right next to another I would change ( but by the time something like that happens I would have already changed the cracker ).

Usually I feel when a cracker needs replaced/cut before I can hear it. I think the only time I can hear it first is on the first tassel on my tapered crackers. When the tassel gets too short it rather quickly gets quieter. After you cut it off for a new tassel it sounds good. The remaining tassels crack loud pretty much all the way through, but when they get too short I can feel it. I can't really explain what it feels like, I can just tell.

My biggest concern on cracks is this though. A cracker should be long and thin, rather than short and thick. For a nylon cracker, I tend to make the twisted part about 7 inches long and the frayed part 3.5 inches long. Longer wouldn't hurt but get too much shorter and it would sort of "buck" as I mentioned before.
My tapered crackers actually are about 19+ inches long to start, and they crack much louder than regular straight crackers. That's mainly why I suggest them for use on bullwhips 6 ft. and longer with a fall 30 inches long or more, because a whip that's under 6 ft. long tends to have a fall shorter than 30 inches. If the cracker is as long or nearly as long as the fall it probably wouldn't work well. I haven't been able to test that very thoroughly though, which I will be doing soon.

That's all I can think of right now
I'll be interested to see what others say about this.

[DarenHenryW]

Riku,

That was very well explained!

I know what you mean about the whips "bucking". Bernardo made me a custom pair of 7 foot Raiders whips, each with 9" handles. Last year at the QM while I was showing them off a bit during whip-cracking time, and trying to do some two-handed work, I felt that they were bucking. Because I was surrounded by so many other whips to which I was comparing them, it seemed that the bucking was more noticeable. But since that time, it just doesn't seem that they buck like they did that day, if at all. Well, I can't remember exactly, but I have a feeling that I was being a lazy bum at that moment, and had not changed the crackers they had on them, so I'm willing to bet that the crackers were, at least partially, responsible for their poor performance.

In the future, I'm going to take greater care to change the falls more often. I always put on fresh falls before a performance where I'm sure to do some target work, but I'm going to make it a point to change them (if they are in need) before any serious outing, performance, or practice session.

Thanks for the advice and detailed explanation. It made a lot of sense!

Daren Henry W

[riku1914]

Phew! I'm happy to know it came across well. It made sense to me but I wasn't sure it would to others

Just to let whoever reads this know, my name is actually Jeremy, not riku. riku is a name I used for games and forums a while ago, and it's what I was still using when I made an account here. I've considered changing my username to JeremyM, but then everybody would have no clue who this "jeremym" person was and where the heck riku1914 went

[BullWhipBorton]

Daren, I remember having this conversation with Adam while he was sitting on my couch changing out worn crackers/poppers on several of his stockwhips. The consensus was that especially in two handed whip cracking, or even precision whip work like target cutting were you’re working just the very tip of the whip. You want to beable to keep all your variables as evenly matched and as consistent as possible. That included popper length and weight etc. If your goal with a whip is just to make noise, it’s not as big a deal. In that case even just few inches of string tied to the end of your whip will work, but if you’re going for meticulous and efficient results every time, as competition whip handlers often are. 1. You want to be able to keep the whips working in optimal condition and 2. For consistency be able to keep things as similar as possible every time you use the whip(s).

You’ll probably find that there are a lot of differing opinions on poppers. I recommend changing them out as soon as the fluff wears down to less then an inch or when the sound of the crack becomes soft or muffled, and certainly if the crack starts to feel off to you. I know a lot of whip crackers that like to tie another knot in them as the fluff wears down, snip off the worn down section and keep going with a shorter popper. I don’t typically like to do that; to me it changes the feel of the whip just enough and again I’m going for consistency. Basically though since the popper is designed to provide an easily replicable, hardwearing end to a whip and helps disperse the energy & sound more evenly its going to be easier on the tip of the fall to have one that’s in good condition as opposed to one that’s gnarly and chewed up, to help ensure a good clean cut though the air and a crisp sharp crack. After seeing the photo you posted, granted the popper was looking a bit dodgy but i've seen worse. Something like that can and will affect the sound quality of the crack and even the over all feel of the whip. Granted, sometimes the effect is very subtle; other times it’s more extreme depending just how bad it is. It’s similar to using the wrong type or a mismatched popper on a whip. If it’s too heavy or too light, too long or too short, it can and certainly will hinder the cleanness and effectiveness of the crack and in turn the efficiency of a whips performance. Will it still crack? Sure but its not going to be as fine-tuned as it could be so both the whip and the whip cracker have to work harder. Someone less experience with whips, or people who power though every crack may not immediately notice the difference because they don’t know better or have nothing to compare it too. For someone who’s really in tune with a whip though, who knows how it should crack and is striving for precision and efficiency something like that will bug the heck out of them. Hope that offers a little more insight.

Dan

[J. Roed]

I tend to change poppers often just to keep new ones on there...the whip sounds better all the way around with a new popper attached. I change at the point in time when the tassel strands become wispy pieces of feathery fluff. I make my own by the dozens (and in many cool colors) so I feel they are an expendable entity to keep my whips in premium condition.

I have tried nylon upholstery thread (#138), nylon thread (#69), polypropylene twine and twisted masons line and I just prefer the #139 nylon; fairly durable and gives a nice pop when the whip is cracked...

[Canuck Digger]

As BullwhipBorton said.

I either use polly (bailing twine) or nylon (mason's line) for crackers and those cost peanuts for a whole roll and take two minutes to make a new one, so I don't worry too much about changing it when it's time. I also don't like to spend all my time doing that, so I don't make a big deal about changing them all the time, but if the fluff is less than an inch you'll feel it anyway and it's just not as efficient so that's when it's time. As far as knots go, I dunno when it affects the whip's action I guess. The same goes for falls; when it gets too short, the action is affected and that 's the time for a new one, but I try to not manhandle the whip too much so I tend to keep falls for a very long time. I also dress them after every practice and that makes all the difference in the world! I make my crackers with the twisted length about 6" and the fluff about 3" and that seems to work well for me. Falls I prefer in the range of 33" and rather finely tapered; if I can wrap a fall around my wrist just by flicking the fall with my other hand, then I know the taper is good. If the fall is too big or doesn't have much of a taper, it will tend to be rather slow and sluggish and not wrap very well. But a well made fall with be quick and have a lot of stored-up energy, even with only a wrist flick.

My two cents.
Cheers,

Franco

[tomek9210]

I crack my whips on grass, so when crackers turn vey green (I make them from white polypro thread), I change them. I just like to crack whips with new crackers, the sound is nicer, they are cheap and fast to make, so replacing them isn't a problem.