Club Obi Wan

For those of you that make bullwhips;

Is there some sort of "grading" committee that you can send one of your whips to? Something like a panel that would review your work, and see if it conforms to the standards of professional whip design?

I've been reading a great many bullwhip sites besides this one, and some people are VERY particular about every aspect of the whip,down to the tiniest detail.

And if not, would such a grading thing be a good idea, or a bad one? Are there some standards that all whips MUST conform to?

Interesting questions. I would like to respond to them from my point of view giving my opinion, and I hope it to be taken as such.

The buying public is the true grading committee that determines what is or isn’t a proper whip. If they don’t keep buying whips from a certain whipmaker, pretty soon he will be doing something else to make money, as the stock will have piled up. If a whipmaker consistently makes a whip that people buy and want to buy again and then recommend the whips to their friends and acquaintances, then that whipmaker is making a “good whip”. If the whipmaker takes care of the problems of the customers in a fair and equitable manner, and tries to reach a mutually fair result to problems then that whipmaker will be successful, and will have set the standards for his or her own whips.

And the buying public will use those standards as a basis to judge every other whip that they come in contact with. And when the buyer finds another whipmaker that makes a whip that suits their needs and desires, then the standard of whip design shifts to the new criteria.

You can ask 50 people that use whips on a more than casual basis what they look for in a whip, and you will get probably 50 different and distinct answers. For example, a few responses that I have received when people discuss what they like in a whip;

“Heavy handle weight, light handle weight, thick handle, thin handle, heavy weighted thong, not weight in thong, moderate weight in thong, shot-loaded thong, lead-tape loaded thong, lead-wool loaded thong, steel BB loaded thong, long fall, short fall, long handle, short handle, big butt knot, smaller butt knot, flat hang strap, round hang strap, no hang strap, 2 bellies in the whip, 3 bellies in the whip, bolsters, no bolsters, etc, etc.”

Then ask them what they want their whips made from, and it can be a whole ‘nother set of variable answers. “Kangaroo, latigo, buckskin, nylon, rawhide, redhide, whitehide, chrome tanned, veg-tanned, bullhide, etc, etc.”

So what are whip standards? Is it a whip made by a particular whipmaker? Is a Morgan whip the standard? Or a Strain, or a Bernie W? What about a Stenhouse or Ben Scott? Where do Markell, Duke, Skold, Winrich, Murphy, Barr, Fraser, Nolan, Blanton, Cassaday, Jacka, McMasters, SKT, Desayer, and Hurlbutt fit in the mix? What about Peter Jack, Rhett Kelley, Bass, Spyder, Mulligan, Rasmussen, Wilkes, Doohan, Schulz, Tella, Wright, Wheeler, Botfield, King, Schrag, Wheatley, Koliski, Davey, Williams, and a myriad of other whipmakers? You see there are a number of whipmakers that make a good whip, but who is to say that theirs is the standard? Everyone of these whipmakers that I have mentioned, and this is just a small sampling of the many whipmakers scattered around the world, makes a whip that someone out there likes and those people will return to buy more.

A committee to judge whip standards would be next to impossible to put together. What are the qualifications to be on that panel? Long time whip handler? Short time whip handler? Performer? Whipmaker? Retailer? Do any of these qualifications make a particular person qualified to say yea or nay concerning the quality of a whip? Of course they do, but in my opinion, only as an individual, not as a committee on judging the quality of a whip. Can one whipmaker judge the work of another and still remain fair and objective in their judgement? In a competitive market, I would really wonder. Because for every whip that another maker sells that is one more that anther whipmaker didn’t get to sell. Which is why it always bothers me when I see whipmakers rendering verdicts on another’s work. I always wonder what the motives are and what their qualifications are. Are they basing their verdict on the way they make a whip, they way someone else makes a whip? And how would their work stand up to someone else’s scrutiny?

I have a problem with committees trying to set standards on a product that is not finite in it’s making. Each whipmaker has a standard within himself as to what is quality work and what isn’t. And each whipmaker has an idea of what they like or dislike in a whip. I have sold whips to various customers that I wouldn’t use on a regular basis, but they are perfectly happy with the whip. Was the whip poorly put together? No. Did it have gaps and bumps and weak spots in the construction? No. But they didn’t feel right to me as a whip handler. But when that customer picked it up and put it through it’s paces, and said, “How much?” Then it became a quality whip in his mind. Could a committee have made the same judgement. Probably not as a collective body. Because three may have said they liked the whip and two didn’t. Or the other way around, two for and three against. So the whip is either 60% good or 60% bad according to the committee. But try and tell that to that customer that went home with that whip.

Now, they could possibly judge whether or not a whip was made that was a close representation of a screen-accurate Indy whip, based on the whip’s appearance and handling. Then it becomes a replicating contest, and should be judged as such. But that doesn’t make each whip entered an inferior whip, just different. It just doesn’t measure up to the control sample used as the standard. And if there is judging based on closeness to the Morgan Indy, then it needs to be determined whether or not the old style whip that Morgan made, or the current style whip that he is selling is the benchmark, because the whips have changed over the years. And by doing that, the standards have changed.

Whipmaking competitions are held in Australia in several venues every year. Some are judged based on the outward look and feel of a whip, and others add in the way a whip performs. And there can only be one winner in each category. Does that make the whips that finish second through last place inferior whips? No, it means that those judging the competition at that particular time were able to settle on one whip to be the one they liked the best. It may have not been the best in the minds of someone else put in to judge, but at that moment that was the one that they liked. I have had a whip judged as first place in a small competition entered with a couple of notable whipmakers from here in the US and from Australia and New Zealand. Was mine the best whip? I don’t know. But at that particular time and in that particular place it was judged the favorite.

So, my suggestion is to talk to people about what they like or dislike about their whips, and who made them. Try the whips out. It may mean travelling to a location where whip crackers are gathered, but if you feel strongly about buying a whip, then you better do your research, and that may mean spending a few bucks to compile the information. Talk to the whipmakers. Most whipmakers will be glad to talk with you about your needs and desires. The ones that are going to be around are going to try to make you that whip of all whips. And as long as you haven’t come up with some off the wall design or color scheme, they will probably work with you to rectify a situation or problem. In fact many if not most will take a whip back if it is within a reasonable time, and the whip is in new and saleable condition. Do your homework, save your money, and then get the type of whip that you want and just gotta have.

So, post is long, wordy, most of all, my opinion. But trying to set a standard for whips is like trying to determine who is the best artist – F. Remington, G. Harvey, or C. Russell. Is Picasso, better than Rembrandt or Van Gough? It’s in the eye of the beholder.

Is pilsner better than lager? That’s in the “aye of the beerholder.”

Just my thoughts,

Jerry R

Wow, Jerry, GREAT response! Now when I DO get to the point of being able to buy my first whip, I've got a TON of additional things to consider! bink

Excellent post, Jerry. All your points are right on.

Thanks, Jerry. Your response is going to be something I refer to when reading these websites.

I was visiting with David Morgan about a year ago and we got on the subject of amatuer whipmakers selling their whips. He said the problem is that there is not a discriminating marketplace out there that demands the quality like there used to be (way back when). People will buy anything.

Among Indy fans and performers, we know and understand what makes a quality whip. But even if you know what makes it, it doesn't mean that you want it. I know a new Mercedes is a better quality car than a used Jeep, but I've got the used Jeep.

As for standards, I've been able to learn two. "Everything must taper" and "You can't make a good whip on a bad belly." Beyond that, everything is variable, depending on the whipmakers skill and style, and the customer's desires.

I don't know if it is good to use Mercedes as an example of quality. I have told some people that I think they have been living off of a past reputation for awhile now. I think I would take the used Jeep.

A year or so ago, Consumer Reports rated a large number of cars for reliabilty. Of the 240 cars that they rated, one of the Mercedes models was the worst for reliability in the entire test. The way they did the number system, if a car was average, it would get a zero. If it was above average it would get a positive number. If it was below average, it would get a negative number. The Mercedes got a negative 94.

My boss at work bought his wife a brand new Mercedes a few months ago. Recently, she was driving down the road and the car burst into flames. The car was burnt to a crisp at the age of 5 months.

Besides, if Indy had his choice of a Mercedes or a used Jeep, I think he would pick the Jeep.

I hate the idea of Bullwhip Grading, sure you can look closely at a whips braiding, taper and materials used but that only tells you ½ the story. How a whip cracks after it is broken in and how it holds up over time is IMO the true test of a whip. What a whip looks like when it’s new gives some indication what it will be like when it is in it’s prime but doesn’t tell everything.

Knowing your maker is the most important think to me. I know what a Morgan, Strain or Stenhouse will be like a 3 to 5 years down the road based on my experiences with their products. An ebay whip may look great, with even brading, nice taper and tanned Roo. However, a year of whipping may leave it cracked and limp and the beauty was only skin deep.

Whips are like girls. There are a lot of pretty young ones out there but the great ones pass the tests of time. Jerry R knows what he is talking about.

Thanks

Bill Walton