Club Obi Wan

So, today, Gio was kind enough to send me pics of the amazing whip he made for me. I am very excited as this is my first leather whip.

I have been wanting a whip ever since I could barely speak. I loved Zorro and now I love Indy even more.











When I will receive it I will post some more pics, but until then enjoy this lovely preview.

Cheers,
Bear

Hi,

very nice whip, but I am wondering if it is on the lighter side, like Whipwarrior's recently purchased Zorro whip

Gorgeous whip. Congratulations!

tomek9210 wrote:I am wondering if it is on the lighter side, like Whipwarrior's recently purchased Zorro whip

Yeah, me too. By the way, that whip is for sale on eBay at a deep discount, if anyone is interested. I took it outside yesterday for another cracking session. It really IS a nice whip, just not heavy enough for my liking. Bear's new LC whip looks fantastic, though!

Hmmm, I have nothing to compare it too, unfortunately. Or fortunately? This is my first whip, so I would say that is 'fortunately'!

When I'll have it in my hands I can weigh it and give you a feedback.

Thanks for the compliments guys. I think all the kind words are for Gio. I only payed for the whip, and am glad to have such a beautiful piece.

Cheers,
Bear

Please let us know how is it when you receive it. Is the handle heavy? What is the weight? Does it crack powerfully and effortlessly?

Hey, Tomek. I'll try to give as much information as possible once I have it.

About the cracking...it will only be.compared to the two three whips I have made and once the weather has stabilised a little. I am not much of a cracker (whip-cracker that is) so please don't expect a great feedback.

Cheers,
Bear

bearbeast wrote:Hmmm, I have nothing to compare it too, unfortunately. Or fortunately? This is my first whip, so I would say that is 'fortunately'!

I would agree. Since this is your first leather whip, its weight and handling will be normal for you, without any previous experience throwing other whips. Whereas my review of Gio's whip is colored by my history with whips of varying makes. Once you become comfortable with your new whip, it will be the norm, which is fortunate for you. No worries!

Hey, Whipwarrior! I assumed the same. The item you learn a skill on becomes the standard.

I hope I will be able to learn to crack this bullwhip. In my country there are few places where you can crack, but I am sure I'll find some. I have already started keeping an eye on possible locations.

PS: I saw your Zorro whip on ebay and was quite tempted, but for now my whip budget is zero. I have some other projects and hobbies which require digging deep into my pockets.

Cheers,
Bear

Update: the whip is on it's way to me, it was shipped yesterday.

Today I finally got around to weighing the whip: it weighs 655 grams.

Cheers,
Bear

That is very light for a 10 footer Indy. I'd make 8 footer even heavier.

Hey, Tomek!

Giovanni had some info to share about the weight of whips:

"What I can say about the difference of weight about Australian and American whip is this:
In 20 years of whipmaking I was very lucky to see, touch and cracking several bull whips made by world famous whip makers such as:
Morgan, Strain, Nolan, Stenhouse, Martin, Bernie, Murphy, Si Davey, PeterJack and Jack a, Russell and many more.
What i can say is the American bull whips have a little more weight compared to the Australian whips.
This difference doesn't make a whip better than the other.
It's simply a matter of feeling and taste like someone of the member on your cow post had writed.
According to my opinion i prefer the weight of the Australian ( a little bit light then the Americans whip) .
Because the reason behind is the daily use like the Australian stockmen who cracks their whips for hours and hours without strain their arms and shoulders.
My whips like the bull whip i made for you are a moderately heavy whips inspired by Australians school. "

And in another email he said:

"What I wrote about the difference in weight between american and australian bullwhips is always a concept of trend.
It doesn't should be interpreted as a dogma, this is not the secret formula of Coca Cola
Exceptions always exist:
For example, Terry Jecka, the Australian whip maker who built the model for Indy 4, builds his whips very heavy and he's Australian!
The Tasmanian Bernie Wojcicki, one of the best whipmakers in the world, just died some years ago, does not lead the butt of the handle for balancing the whip.
He said: "The whips are not precision knives to be launched for circus performances,"
At the end, starting from the assumption of having a good product in hand is always a matter of personal choice problem that can depend on many factors such as:
personal taste, height, strength in shoulders and arms and so on ...
The same thing is asking someone:
"Hello, who the best Ferrari or Lamborghini?" or "Hello, who the best guitar Fender or Gibson?"
It may depends on what musical style you have to play !!!"

I can agree to this. De gustibus non est disputandum.

Cheers,
Bear

I totally agree about preferences and such, but if we talk here about replicating an Indy whip, then the weight matters. Of course every whipmaker makes his own version of Indy whip, that is understandable.

Thanks for posting that info, bear. It helps clear up the mystery in Gio's whip balance. Variances are bound to exist between different whip makers, and as Gio said, it's a matter of personal taste regarding each customer. Like the recent Zorro bullwhip, I found Bernie Wojcicki's whip also too lightweight for my liking, and eventually sold it off. Nothing against the whipmaker themselves, who produce absolutely stellar quality whips, it just comes down to what a person is accustomed to. My formative whipcracking experience was using David Morgan bullwhips, so that's the weight I prefer throwing, even though (as Gio says) it might wear down your shoulder after awhile.

I like when an Indy whip cracks by itself. It can be done only if the weight and balance are just right. For example flicks with heavy Indy whip are easy peasy to crack, you just move your arm around. And the crack is soooo powerful.
I too cracked Bernie's whips and as much I loved the 4 footers, I hated the 10 footers. The balance was not very nice. The whole 12 in handle was heavy, not just the very end of the handle.

I had a Bernie (EM Brand) 6-foot Indy style whip, with a custom short handle, per my style. The lash was the most insanely glass-smooth plaiting I've ever seen on a whip. I didn't think it was humanly possible to braid a whip that tight, and it was gorgeous. The lash sang through the air, cracked sharply, but the whip was just too light. There wasn't anything satisfying about it. Like you said, tomek - flick a properly weighted Indy bullwhip and it cracks like a gunshot. It's literally the difference in riding a Harley Davidson or a dirt bike; they are 2 entirely different animals.

Hey, guys! Glad you appreciate the feedback!

I have very little experience with whips so this discussion revealed some nice secrets to me. It seems to me that the more I learn about them the less I know. They get more and more intricate: Geometry, weight, balance and so on.

I can understand your view, bear. The art of whipcracking isn't rocket science, just various factors which influence handling characteristics, as mentioned above. It all boils down to the personal preference of the customer. Variety in whip construction techniques gives people more options to find a whip that suits them best. There is no 'right or wrong' type of whip.