Club Obi Wan

Iv been trying to get the stiffness out of my whip and to achieve this I have been coiling it in the opposite way it naturally coils is this a bad thing?

Yes, it is a bad thing. Do not force the thong of the whip in the opposite direction! Whip's natural curve should be maintained - stiffness will wear off with use.

/SJ

Thanks Scandinavia Jones the whip is now and will always be coiled in its natural curve.

I find my Joe Strain notoriously difficult to coil. Indy coils his whip in the films as you would a peice of rope - my whip jsut does NOT coil that way. I have to turn the entire whip in my hands to coil it as no matter which way I try to bend it, the thing wont loop right.

Ken

Indiana Ken wrote:

Indy coils his whip in the films as you would a piece of rope - my whip just does NOT coil that way.

I experienced that with my EC Budget Indy too, though after I broke it in, it coils easily.
My whip is 8-plait though - I figure a 12-plait would take some more breaking in before losing the stiffness.

/SJ

Really, don't try to coil a whip in the opposite direction it naturally falls. That curve is part of the overall plaiting structure. The curvature of a whip works the same way as the curvature of your spine. It's not supposed to bend the other way, and if it does, you'll lose that structure that aids the thong in efficently transferring the kinetic energy down to the fall and causing the crack. It's why those swivel handles that are plaited in a sort f fox and geese pattern don't crack or target as well as their herrigbone plaited counterparts. No infrastructure. Spineless cow-things ;-)

When coiling, don't force it! It may not show, but you'll damage the whip. You'll cause gapping in the plaits, and stretch the strings. This may not be immediately apparant, but it will shorten the life of the whip.

It takes a while to train it into the coil you want it. It's best not to force it into an unnatural coiled position, but if it's that stiff, the best way is to coil it into the shape you want it RIGHT after conditioning it. Doing this will slowly, (emphasis on SLOWLY,) train the whip into doing what you want. You might want to condition, coil, and wrap with a leather tie of somekind to hold it in the shape while it's stored, (don't use the fall of the whip as a tie to keep it coiled for storage. Use something else. Using the fall can stretch it, especially after it's been conditioned, which will shorten the effective life of the fall.)

Break it in slowly. Every whip is different, and this period is just as much about you learning how it wants to work as it is about you getting it into the shape you want.

Good luck.

I dont understand why people are so afraid of their whips getting damaged. Ive been using a whip ive made to crack with for 1 year so far and its still perfecly fine and ive treated it like junk. I cracked it in the rain, in the snow and mud, on pebbles and large rocks. Ive even picked dead tree branches out of the tree with it by doing a wrap and pulling on it. Infact, ive even left it outside during a rain storm overnight. No strands have broken and it works fine. Dont get so crazy about caring for your whips. Im not saying leave them in the rain like i did, just dont worry about something like dropping your whip in the mud, or something. And dont worry about the fall so much, its replaceable. Just make sure you lightly coat your whip fall with pecard on a regular basis.
Adam

Molorom wrote:I dont understand why people are so afraid of their whips getting damaged.
Adam

I spent quite a bit of money on my whip, and I want it to last as long as possible. I think that's probably the main reason most of us baby our whips.

Agree with Moloram.
Whip is made for use, otherwise it never start to work as it could!
Breaking it in carefully and caring it carefully of course but not afraid to use it in hard conditions if needed.
If your whip is made good it will keep its strenght after hard use when caring it properly.
It took me three years to get my Joe Strain 8 footer 12 plaited Indy whip act like snake it is now and that took many rains and wet grass, sand fields and saddle soap!
Of course if you are able to use your whip always in perfect conditions do so but dont affraid to use it in bad also if you have to.
Keep´em cracking!

I'm with you guys to an extent.

I agree that a whip should be used. Letting it just hand on a wall is actually the worst thing for it.

And you can use it in hard conditions, rain, dirt, dry heat, etc. That won't make a difference. I doubt any cattle drovers ever said, "Oh, it's raining! can't use my whip today." They used it. They just took a few steps before and after that use to keep the whip in top shape.

There's a difference between use and abuse.

It's a tool, yeah, and if you don't take it out and use it, it's going to rust. Likewise, misuse will rust it as well. Breaking-in doesn't literally mean "Breaking" it.

Yeah, whips are tough. They have to be considering you're accelerating the fall over 700 MPH to get that lovely sound that we all like so well.

Titanium is tough too, but bend it the wrong way, and it will snap just as easily as low-grade aluminum.

I've seen a guy who cracks and collects, and you can't pick up his whips without getting dressing all over your hands, and smelling of bees wax for hours. I don't know how he cracks the bloody things without them slipping through his hands. That's insane.

Whips are like anything else, take care of it, and it will last.

Don't fear damaging the whip, but don't treat it like @#$% either, and it will be something that you can pass down to children, grandchildren, etc.

I was merely offering some advice on how to get the whip to naturally coil into the desired shape, while insuring that it will last as long as it's owner.

Best of luck and happy cracking, everyone!

Indiana Ken wrote:I find my Joe Strain notoriously difficult to coil. Indy coils his whip in the films as you would a peice of rope - my whip jsut does NOT coil that way. I have to turn the entire whip in my hands to coil it as no matter which way I try to bend it, the thing wont loop right.

Ken

Ken, my 8 foot JS has a natural coil to it. Obviously, it wasn't as tight as I want but, after a lot of cracking (use!) it has begun to lossen up over the last six weeks and it's quite a bit more flexible and I can coil the whip more tightly without forcing it.

I also had the same experience with the KS pocket bullwhip. When I got it, I wanted the thing to fit into my Expo and Wested Raiders cargo pockets like Kyle had mentioned. It was not happening! However, after several weeks of cracking (use!), it became much more flexible and I was able to then fit it into a cargo pocket (Raiders, not LC) as well as my MK VII.

I.J.

I have wondered how indy's whip coils like rope for a long time. I got good answers from several members here, and still i ponder. Let me share my little insights, if I may.
I own an 8 foot joe strain and it coils real tight. I have used it on a near daily basis for a year, put it through ####, and it still coils tight. Why? I believe that the plaiting is done very tight. When I hang it on my whip belt it doesn't at all resemble the way it hangs from indy in the cairo fight scenes.

I also own a 10 foot david morgan. When I first bought this whip, I noticed that the plaiting was not a tight as the strain whip. I naturally thought there was a flaw in the whip (heresy to say of mr morgan) because it felt alittle loose in the plaiting. However, after using it for six months along with the strain i must say that the morgan, though seemingly loose plaiting, is the superior whip. It also hangs in a similar fashion to indy's whip. (well, duh).

A third point about the whips of indy is that they were quite well used and aged because they were supplied by the stunt men who bought, and still buy Morgan's whips (least that is what mr. morgan told me).

Fourth, and last. I recently watched Raiders (ie. last night) and noticed that in the RAven bar scene his whip is coiled like my strain is when i wear it. That is like a giant circle instead of loose rope. Watch it, and tell me. It is when he is at the bar standing when it is most noticable. So, he had the same problem with his whip.

Just my two cents. Thanks for listening!

...because it felt alittle loose in the plaiting. However, after using it for six months along with the strain i must say that the morgan, though seemingly loose plaiting, is the superior whip. It also hangs in a similar fashion to indy's whip.

Just for further clarification could you expound on this statement? What makes the Morgan superior to the Strain?

Not being nitpicking, but that's like saying a Chevrolet is superior to a Ford. Some examples and for-instances would answer a lot of questions. And I hope the answer isn't that it 'hangs correctly on the belt."

Thanks,

Jerry R

hehe...no...not just because it hangs better. the cars is a good analogy. People like certain cars better, just because. I think the over all construction of Mr. Morgan's whip is better and you need the two whips sitting together to see why. Sorry I can't extrapolate more.

Well, I'm glad to see that you have so many reasons for preferring one over the other.

hehe...no...not just because it hangs better. the cars is a good analogy. People like certain cars better, just because. I think the over all construction of Mr. Morgan's whip is better and you need the two whips sitting together to see why. Sorry I can't extrapolate more.

Dakota,

I'm not going to let you off that easily. The car analogy is a good one, and I don't know anyone that has ever bought a particular car 'just because'. They buy them because they handle smoother, the ride is quieter, they get better gas mileage, the seats are better positioned, and a myriad of other factors.

You've had some time to look at the whips and think about the differences. I would like you to expound on the differences.

Something like:

Plaiting - one is straighter than the other. One is tighter/looser than the other. One has strands that are wider/narrower than the other.

Handle - one has smoother hand hold area. One has a larger/smaller butt knot than the other. The hang strap is long/shorter.

Handling - One cracks easier than the other. One is more accurate than the other.

Dakota, I'm not picking on you, but would like to know what the reasons are for you preferring one over the other.

Or you can do like others and tell me to "pi** off" and mind my own business. <chuckle>

Jerry R

Dakota,
The only reason i could possibly think of logical,
is because the plaiting on the morgan is looser, it makes it feel
more broken in, thus making it a little bit easier to crack. You just need to use the strain more. because strains whip is plaited stronger, it will give you a longer lasting whip but will take longer to break in. A whip is much easier to crack once properly broken in.
Adam

We've had our two Joe Strains (10 & a 6 footer) for about 2 years and they're both wonderfully broken in. They crack great and coil very easily. The only good way to break it in as others have said is just to crack 'em, a lot!

jerry, I'll get back to you on that. I'm taking organic and studying for the mcat. so time is something I don't have. but, i will respond. Molorom...exactly what you said, I agree.

Cheers all!