From falls & poppers to plaiting & cracking technique, this section is dedicated in memory of Sergei, IndyGear Staff Member and Whip Guru. Always remember to keep "Celebratin' Life!"
This is made from Joe's Saddletan leather. It looks exactly like whiskey does when it's new. I really wanted a 10 footer, and had to sell two pocketwatches to get it, but it was worth it
The heel knot is like he does for the WSP whips, but it's about 25% larger than normal, and about the same diameter as the extra large Morgan style on my 8ft Whiskey also seen in these pictures. The whiskey is the darker, shorter one. I ordered it straight from Joe, so I could get the extra large knot. It took one week to get to me, as he had it in stock.
Too bad I don't know how it cracks... It rained about an inch starting 5 minutes before the UPS guy showed up! :evil:
So I'll have to wait till tomorrow or Sunday to try cracking it.
The plaitting on this one is even nicer than on the year old 8 footer. One noticable difference is that the 10 footer has just slightly thinner laces than the 8. Overall diameter of the thong is the same.
Langpuss wrote:VERY NICE!!!!
I see there's a little difference in handle length - does joe vary the handle to keep it visiually in proportion to the thong length? Or did you ask for a difference?
I chalk that up to just natural variation. It's only 1/2" difference.
I didn't order anything specific other than the knot. Here's what the ordering process was like.
PARAPHRASE OF ORDER
Joe: Hello, Northern Whip
Me: Hi Mr. Strain, this is **** ****, and I wanted to talk to you about getting a 10 footer from you now that I am proficient with my 8 footer that I got from you last year.
Joe: Oh yes, you got the extra large Morgan style knot on a Whiskey colored 8 footer.
Me; Yes, that's me. Do you have any 10 footers in stock?
Joe: Indy, or Lone Star? My Lone Stars have a 10 inch handle.
Me: Indy, with a wrist loop, and smaller handle.
Joe: Yes, I have two. One is in a color called "Brandy", which is pretty much black. The other is in "Saddletan", which looks exactly like your Whiskey.
Me: Tell me about the "Saddletan".
Joe: This whip turned out really well. The saddletan hide just cut really well, I didn't have to cut around any bad spots, and I really like the way it braided. It's one of those whips where everything really came together perfectly. I'd recommend it over the Brandy.
Me: That's great, and you have this in stock now?
Joe: That's correct, I finished it the other day.
Me: Great, could I get you to tie a larger knot on there?
Joe: Sure, do you want another Morgan style?
Me: No, just do something different. Have fun with it, but just make it larger for my freakishly huge hands.
Joe: Okay, I'll take care of it. I'll probably tie one of the knots that I usually tie for Mark Allen's Indy style whips. It's a more secure feeling knot, and it'll probably be around the same size as your Morgan-styled 8 footer.
Me: Great, thanks, I'll take it.
INSERT PAYMENT INFORMATION CONVERSATION
Joe: Okay, I'll tie that knot on, and send it out to you tomorrow via UPS.
Me: Great, I look forward to cracking it.
7 days later, the whip shows up on my doorstep. I immediately take pictures, and create this thread. I hope I get to crack it when I get off work today!
Zohar, I love the coloring on your whips----I'm fighting envy. I'm enjoying my eight JS footer in natural tan and it's darkening nicely with use but....... now that I think about it....... I do really need a ten footer. Don't I?
Thanks guys, all the credit for the niceness of the whips goes to the maker, Mr. Strain.
They are naturally that color. The 8ft one was once the same color as the 10 footer is now, but it has darkened up with a year of constant use.
I don't put dressing of any kind on the thong of my whips. I have seen some folks take Pecard's and thoroughly coat the end of the thong of their whips down near the fall hitch before and after cracking, in addition to doing that with the fall. In my opinion, this is the way to make sure that your laces down there at the end of the whip will loosen up, and eventually cause you to either break a strand, or cause the fall hitch to fall apart.
Pecard's can be used on the braided part of a whip if you live in a very dry climate, but I live in South Carolina, where it is very humid all of the year. Therefore, I don't believe it's necessary to put Pecard's all over my whip. The only time I gets any on it is from what little I have on my hands after I thoroughly coat my fall before and after cracking.
In short, my fall gets dressing every time I crack, before and after. The braided part of my whip barely gets it at all.
Okay, I got to crack it yesterday after work. It's perfectly balanced, and cracks almost effortlessly. It's is quite a bit heavier than an 8 footer, and requires that you have better form when cracking. The thing also cracks like a cannon, compared to an 8 footer. I try to crack more with finesse, than power, and I don't try to "muscle" my 8 footer into cracking, so my cracks aren't usually those loud cannon shots. However, with the 10, it goes KABOOM pretty much all the time, probably because of that extra two feet it has to build up momentum and energy.
One thing about this whip, is that it looks finer than my year old 8 footer, and it was no slouch. I guess a whipmaker gets better with each successive whip. I can't really tell by just looking where the transitions are where he dropped the strand counts.
If any of you out there are contemplating getting a whip, take a look at all of the pictures on this forum. Look at how finely plaitted the whips are, compare pictures of Mr. Strain's whips to others, and look at the taper to see if it is consistent, and not lumpy. If possible, get your hands on some whips by different makers to see and feel firsthand the differences. That's what I did, and that's why I chose Mr. Strain.
