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/

Three-Footer in Progress, part 3 - The End!

Well I finished my black and yellow Pocket Rattler (3 foot snakewhip) last night.  Here are a few more pics of the process.  I wrap electric tape just above the diamond plait and then cut away the excess on top.

I tape two small metal discs, i.e. two pennies :), to the top of the whip for a bit of weight.  Some whipmakers wrap a lead strip for weight instead of the pennies.  This is the beginning of the foundation for the butt knot.  The tape is stapled to the whip eight times in different layers.

When I finish building the foundation I tie the dreaded turk's head knot.  When all this is accomplished, the whip is finished!  And there was much rejoicing.  Yeah.

The pistol is a Ruger P95DC 9mm and the hat is my black "Spirit" fedora made by John Penman. 

Happy cracking!

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

Three-Footer in Progress, part 2

Well I've made some more progress on the black and yellow Pocket Rattler.  Here I have added the six strands for the 12 plait finish.

Pocket Rattlers begin with a short section of a diamond plait and then changes over to the regular whip plaiting.  The top section will eventually get cut away and then covered by the butt knot.

When you finish plaiting it is important to roll each section to smooth out the plaiting.  Here I use a short piece of a 2x4 and roll the whip on the floor.

When I'm finished rolling then I'm ready to attach the fall and tie the fall hitch.

To make the fall I use approximately fifty inches of de-cored paracord.  I attach one end to a small crochet needle with a bit of electric tape.

Then at about the midway point I insert the needle into the paracord and work it through.

Here's the finished fall.  It's around two feet long and is doubled back into itself.  The loop is placed over the end of the whip and then snugged up tight.

After I tie the fall hitch I use a Super Jumbo Perma-Lok Lacing needle to pull the final pass on the knot back through it self.

Here's the finished knot and fall.

More to come.  Hopefully I'll get it finished by this weekend.  Happy cracking!

Ryan

Three-Footer in Progress

I thought I share some pics of my progress as I build a Pocket Rattler (three foot snakewhip).  Lord willing this one will be black and yellow.  I start by loading the core with beaded chain...

I then wrap all the strands in vinyl tape (i.e. electrical tape) and form the loop that I'll hang it from for plaiting.  This is the "core" of the whip, it has two strands of chain loaded paracord and two strands of paracord with the nylon core still in place...

I then cut the strands for plaiting the 8-plait belly (by the way, I remove the inner strands for the plaiting)...

And then the plaiting begins...

After I finish plaiting the belly I reinforce the "handle" area with a bit of artificial sinew.  This reinforcement adds a bit of spring to the whip.

Well that's as far as I am at the moment.  I may get to plaiting the overlay later on today.  I have not sold this one yet.  If you are interested in purchasing this whip you can contact me through my website http://www.happycracking.com/, mention this blog and I'll sell it for $69 shipped (that's $60 for the whip and $9 for shipping).  If I don't have it sold by the time I finish I'll list it on ebay shortly there after.  Also, I'll try to post more of the progress as I get-a-plaiting.

Have fun and happy cracking,

Ryan