Club Obi Wan

I figure this is the best site for Bullwhip conversation and for used classifieds. Yet, it seems to be really dead out here. Is it just the after Halloween slow down? There has to be at least 20-30 quality whips made each day if you add up all the preferred whipmakers listed at the top of this page and they all made just 1 a day which is the usaully whipmaking progress...but there has been only 4-8 whips listed for sale in the classifieds over the past 3-4 months. To me something isn't adding up. I know that a lot of people could easily be holding on to their whips due to the original high price to pay only to have it depreciate a couple-few hundred once cracked, but that couldn't be it. I was big into vintage and modern recurve archery for a few years and even though there are only a few good sites...2 of them had a lot of traffic. Whips are like recurve bows..if taken care of will be great for decades. Granted Archery has a higher fan base due to the fact that we don't hunt with a whip...wait a minute...there is an idea! But seriously, lets say only 10 great whips are made a day...300 days a year(taking the remaining days off for weekends) is 3,000 whips a year...over the past 2 years there should easily be 5-6,000 whips in circulation. If 1% of these guys a month decided they wanted to sell and buy a different one...that would be at least 50-60 used whips from known whipmakers floating around each month or so. Even if you pay attention to ebay there has only been about 20 up for auction like this in the past few months. 6 where due to one guy liquidating a lot of his collection. Just doesn't add up to me for some reason. Is there a site I don't know about? Is there an "Inner Club Obi Wan"? Anyways...I would like to hear what you guys are thinking.


also...The Bullwhip(Sergei's Place) has little to no activity even talking about bullwhip issues.

I think part of it is 600-900 dollars for a whip is quite expensive to just put on your shelf if you dont know how to use one well. Where as a hat or a jacket doesnt require a special skill set to really enjoy them. You just put it on and walk out the door. So I think maybe just more people dont buy whips as much as other items and there fore theres less talk about them on these boards.

But on a side note if it makes you feel better i just paid for a bernardo del carpio 10 foot raiders whip!!!

Blake,

I understand what you're saying about the numbers. Considering the potential number of whips out there, there doesn't seem to be a proportional amount of forum banter or whips exchanging hands.

I'm no whip guru, so here are my theories.

You're probably right about people holding on to what they have. Between the state of the economy and regular inflation, folks who've been into the hobby a while may not be able to re-purchase the whip they have for what they originally paid for it, and/or they simply wouldn't want to endure the waiting or break-in period for another. Also, whips seem to be a niche industry and are definitely an expensive hobby, thus the "niche" forum and market traffic. Finally, kinda like Chuck said - most COW'ers are Indy gear heads versus die-hard whip hobbyists.

Like most of us here, I'm sure you've learned way more than you ever imagined about whips just searching the archives.

I have a whip for sale in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=40&t=60621" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am a huge Bob Lee Archery Fan. There New Ultimate Sells for $1,600. The original models sell for $1,000 New. Used anything floats around 1/3-1/2 price normally. It doesn't stop people from trading/ selling and seeing at least 1-2 weekly...and that is just Bob Lee. There are tons of Black Widow, Great Plains, and other Custom Bows that are sold and traded. I see people just hanging on, but there is such little traffic. I have talked to different people that I have sold to on ebay and they have never heard of COW. I am thinking the lack of knowing about these sites is a big issue as well. I have "recycled" through over 130+ whips til I finally found what I believe to be the best whips and whipmakers for me(quick shout to Joe Strain!!!!)...and I did similar to find my Bob Lee Ultimate and my Bob Lee P3! Which the P3 is is the SWEETEST bow ever made...got mine in all Micarta. If you are into Archery...call Bob Lee Archery. J.J. usually is the PR guy...tell him Blake sent you...he will know who you are talking about.

Things come and go in waves. This used to be a very active forum - people learning the craft (even me), discoveries of vintage and screen used whips, discussion of details from screen grabs, organising of groups, discussion of other types of whips, visits to Morgan and other significant individuals..etc etc. Lately it may be a bit dead, but it'll probably perk up again. It'S like the seasons- you get a mild winter, then a cold one.

But seriously, lets say only 10 great whips are made a day...300 days a year(taking the remaining days off for weekends) is 3,000 whips a year...over the past 2 years there should easily be 5-6,000 whips in circulation. If 1% of these guys a month decided they wanted to sell and buy a different one...that would be at least 50-60 used whips from known whipmakers floating around each month or so. Even if you pay attention to ebay there has only been about 20 up for auction like this in the past few months.

I think your assumption is off a bit. By and large whips are a made-to-order item. Even if our talented whip makers could make one whip a day, they likely aren't going to just make whips to make whips. Having a few in inventory would be a good thing, but that's a big investment in time and materials to have whips just sitting around.

I agree with what most have said; the whip users, even on this forum, are a sub-niche of the overall Indy community. There certainly are members here who have whip collections in the dozens if not more, but most members here will have one or two. Many have none. In contrast to members with multiple jackets and fedoras.

For me, my whip is mainly a show/costume piece. I pull it out occasionally to impress my kids with my rudimentary skills , but I wear fedoras daily and jackets as the weather demands so I'd rather invest my "Indy money" into hats (mainly) or jackets. I get a better return on my spending.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

How do i get to the classifieds? Thanks

Once members have "established" themselves with a minimum number of posts, the classified section will be unlocked and you'll be able to see it.

No, I'm not going to share how many posts you need


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Thanks. I will have a bunch of questions on my whip when it gets here,

This will be the section to post 'em!

Regards! Michaelson