Three Foot Bullwhip Cracking

Here's a quick demonstration video of a three foot nylon bullwhip.  I made this to show a customer a bit of how one of these little bulls will handle.



And here's a pic of the whip itself:

Happy cracking,

~Ryan
http://www.happycracking.com/

Will Nylon Whips Hold Up???

I received an email from someone asking about my whips and how they hold up with use.  This person recently purchased two inexpensive whips - one leather and one nylon.  He said...well let me post his email:

Hi again!

I'm looking for some information about whips in general and for some advice. Sitting in front of me I have two whips. Both are incredibly cheap, one is made of nylon and the other one is made of leather with what seems to be a cotton filler (it's poking through in places). The nylon whip seems to have no filler at all (it's limp and feels empty).  I'm sure your whips are high quality, so please don't take offense to my next question. How does the quality of your whips (and all nylon whips in general) stack up against something like a leather or kangaroo hide whip? How long will one of your nylon whips last? The two I have seem to be on their last leg and it's only been a few days.  The fall on the nylon one is starting to fall apart already. In the grand scheme of things I know that what you offer is priced very fairly, especially when I've seen leather and kangaroo hide whips go for as much as $200 or more, but before I spend $95 on a whip I need to know it'll last me a little longer than the past two have, at least through my beginner stage and then some. Once again I thank you for your time. God bless and take care.

Here is what I wrote him...

Nice to hear from you again. When I first started getting into whips in 2008 I also bought some less expensive whips. My first was from a local farmers co-op, an eight foot leather whip. It would crack a bit but I had no idea what a difference a quality whip would make. It too had a cheap core - hemp rope or something - that broke by the fall knot and now sticks out. I've since heard the saying from Australia that goes, "a whip is like a man - no guts, no good" or something like that. My second whip I tried purchasing one from ebay, a ten footer from ****. He had good ratings and the price for a leather whip seemed great. It too was junk. Very hard to crack and the core seemed to be some sort of plastic, like a plastic trash bag.

As far a comparing leather and nylon - this seems to largely be personal preference. I love my kangaroo whip, but find that I use my nylon whips even more. My six foot nylon is a bit lighter and I don't have to "worry" about it as much. I can use it in the morning dew, after a light rain, or in the snow. In short, a well made nylon whip should serve you as well as a well made leather one.

I don't know what your whip was made of but a nylon paracord whip can take a lot of use and even abuse and still work great for many years. There are some cheaper nylons that I don't think would hold up very well. Paracord is the type of stuff they designed to use with parachutes, so you know it has to be strong. This being said it is still not a good idea to crack on pavement or gravel or any similar surface. These surfaces will eventually tear up the whips as they hit and brush against them. It is best to practice on the grass, on carpet, or on a smooth floor like in a gymnasium. I have a little "Pocket Rattler" - a three foot snakewhp - that I take with me almost everywhere and I crack it a lot. I take it on walks with my wife (although she wishes I'd leave it at home), on hikes in the woods, to work, to the park with my kids - I either roll it up and stick it in my pocket or bring it in a bag. I've had this whip for, I think, a little over a year. It looks a bit worn close up but it works as well today as it did when I first made it. The only thing I have replaced or repaired on it are the crackers (which is the same for all whips).

In fact I just took some pics, here they are:
http://s652.photobucket.com/albums/uu242/gsolideogloria/Whip%20stuff/?action=view¤t=YearOldSnakewhip1.jpg
http://s652.photobucket.com/albums/uu242/gsolideogloria/Whip%20stuff/?action=view¤t=YearOldSnakewhip2.jpg
http://s652.photobucket.com/albums/uu242/gsolideogloria/Whip%20stuff/?action=view¤t=YearOldSnakewhip3.jpg

You'll notice the stiffness as well as the natural bend. Whips crack best when cracking with their natural curves.

I hope this helps. Take care and happy cracking,

Ryan

Here are the pics of the whips I sent him:

This one above shows the wear and tear up close.  As you may notice it is still in great shape - and this is after a year of regular cracking. 

This above picture shows the stiffness of the whip in one direction.  This is not an action shot but me holding the whip still.  It is not too stiff as can be seen in the photo below.

In this shot I have flipped the whip over to show the natural curve.  When cracking it is best to use the curve to your advantage.  Here is what Robert Dante in his book "Let's Get Cracking"

A good whip has a natural curve to it, a way it wants to hang.  The whip wants to roll along this curl.  The curl is caused by the bolster inside the whip, called the belly - as a consequence, the resulting curve also is called "the belly."  The belly is the inside part of the curve - the outside part of the curve is called "the spine."


Cracking with the belly lets you work with the whip.  A move is more flowing, more graceful...With this form, you can do more sensitive work, less percussive.  The whip wantes to unroll along its curve.  This is a relatively effortless crack, since it "wants" to roll along this line.

Well, I hope this was informative.  Take care and happy cracking.

~Ryan
http://www.happycracking.com/

Snakewhip on Sale

Check out my ebay auction for a chance to own this beautiful black and yellow 3-foot nylon snakewhip "The Pocket Rattler."  Overall it measures about 5.5 feet from the butt to the end of the cracker (the three feet is measuring only the plaited portion). 

This whip is a 3-foot, 12-plait snakewhip.  It sports a weighted core about half the length of the whip and is topped off with a turk's head butt knot.  The 'handle' area has a short reinforcement to add a bit of 'springyness' to its cracking.

Scroll down on my blog to see this whip being made.

Here's a YouTube video of me cracking one of my 3-footers:

Click here to see the auction.  In fact if there are no bids on this whip I will sell it to you for my starting price of $58 plus $9 shipping.  This is discounted from my regular price of $62.  Send me an email through my website and I'll pull it off ebay and get it out to you. Let me know if you have any questions.  I'd be happy to help you out.

Take care and happy cracking,

~Ryan

Why Spend That Much Money For A Whip?!?

"Are you kidding?!?  Spend sixty to one hundred dollars or more for a whip!!!  Why would anyone do that?  I can pick up an eight-foot bullwhip at my local farmer's co-op for about twenty bucks!"

Maybe you've thought this or heard someone else say something similar.  I know, because that's exactly what I thought when I first started getting into whip-cracking.  In fact I went down to my local co-op and picked up that very whip.  I worked on cracking it and was able to get a few decent noises out of it.  This is how I do most things: jump right in first and then begin doing some research.

Well I began researching and quickly realized that there is much more to a whip than I first thought.  Like most people I immediately thought of leather whips and not nylon ones.  I began wanting to get a good quality leather one - you know, like the ones that Indiana Jones used.  I mean, how much could they really be?

Well... how about this one from the original crafter of the Indiana Jones whips, the whipmaker himself - David Morgan.  I mean this is a beauty - it's an eight-foot, twelve-plait, natural tan bullwhip.  How much money could it really be?  Try $770 ($910 for the ten-footer).  Wowzers.  This baby was a bit out of my price range.  What makes it so expensive?

The first thing is the name "David Morgan."  LOTS of folks want a whip made by the man who made the original Indy whips (even though he doesn't make them himself any more).  This jacks up the price a couple of hundred dollars or so.  The name aside, it is a quality whip.  This means it is made from quality materials by experienced whipmakers.

A quality whip is quite an investment in time and materials.  A well made whip will have a weighted, tapered core that is covered by a bolster.  Following this there are usually one or two plaited (braided) bellies that cover the core.  At some point there there is some reinforcement in the handle area to keep it from getting too floppy.  And lastly there is the outer overlay (usually anywhere from eight to sixteen plait).  All of this should be made using quality materials or else the whip will simply fall apart with use.

Well, believe it or not, my farmer's co-op whip was not made with this kind of quality.  I've been tempted to take it apart and see what really in there but haven't had the heart to do it yet.  I can tell there is some kind of hemp rope or something on the inside because it is broken by the fall knot and sticking out of the plaiting.  It doesn't crack all that well any more (not that it ever really did in the first place).

Now, I say all that to say this, "You get what you pay for."  If you want a quality whip you have to pay for that quality.  One of the great advantages of nylon over leather is the cost.  You can purchase a quality nylon paracord whip for a fraction of the cost of a comparable leather one.  And, in my humble opinion, the nylon whips are going to truly be comparable in quality, function, and durability.  A well-made nylon whip will still not be cheap but it will be well worth the investment.

~Ryan

P.s. don't try getting that "too good to be true" leather whip on ebay.  "I mean look at all of the positive ratings that the guy has recieved!!!"  Yes, I tried it too.  The only good thing I can say about it is that I was able to resell it at a loss, making sure I told the guy it was for ornamental purposes only - it was junk for actual cracking.  Oh well, live and learn.  http://www.happycracking.com/

A True Whip Master

Introducing Anthony De Longis...



This second video also features Anthony De Longis and gives some incredible education on whips and whipcracking.


Keep a cracking!            http://www.happycracking.com/

How to Snag Stuff with a Whip

I found this crazy article on snagging a TV remote with a whip.  I thought it was a hoot.

There are few tools that can break the sound barrier while fetching the TV remote. But throw a whip right and its tip can travel 900 mph (producing a sonic boom), then curl back to snare the object of your desire. Anthony De Longis, who coached Harrison Ford for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, shows us how to lash out.


1. Skip the toys
Look for a 6- to 8-foot-long whip with a braided core. The best are made from kangaroo hide (or maybe paracord - sorry I couldn't resist - Ryan).


2. Take your stance
Imagine you’re straddling railroad tracks. The whip should travel parallel to the rails, and the target should be a bit closer than the length of your whip. Use caution: The tip can cut to bone.


3. Load and lock
Stretch the whip out in front of you, arm extended and pointed at the object. Now yank your hand up to 12 o’clock. The whip will fly over your hand and unravel behind you.


4. Throw down
When you feel a tug, lower your forearm — easy now, let the whip do the work. It’ll roll forward just to the side of your body. As it unfurls, squeeze the handle.


5. Crack and drag
The tip will extend just beyond the target; as it recoils, it’ll wrap itself around the object. Pull the remote toward you slowly. Next lesson: cracking open a beer.


Contributed by Catherine DiBenedetto

You can find the original version here: http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Snag_Stuff_With_a_Whip

Have fun and happy cracking,

Ryan