I finally finished and shipped out this snake whip!
Sewing the leather cover takes forever! First you have to mark the holes, then you have to punch the holes and finally you have to sew the cover!
My hands are used to braiding, but the stitching really made them sore!
This whip is in the mail on the way to its new owner!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
I just finished sewing up the cover for this snake whip:
Sewing the cover took a lot longer than I thought it would. It’s a huge pain to do it, with marking the holes, making the holes, then the actual sewing. I’m glad it’s over.
All that’s left for this whip is to build up the heel knot and put it on. Also there will be a decorative knot at the lash end of the cover.
Louie
Yesterday I started work on a snake whip that will have a sewn leather cover. This type of covering on a snake whip was more common a long time ago and has fallen out of fashion. I think the main reason it’s less common is that sewing the cover take a lot of time for not a lot of functional benefit.
I’ve got the insides of the whip finished and working on the plaited layer that will stick out from under the sewn cover right now. The whip is going to be 4 plait for most of its length, then it will transition into a 12 plait. Here’s the lace:
What I did was cut 4 strands as if this was going to be a 4 plait whip. Then at about where I wanted them to transition to a 12 plait, I simply cut each strand into three strands, giving me 12 strands. Here’s a close up of the 4 plait to 12 plait on the lace:
When braiding there will be some more adjustment needed, but it’s way easier to cut most of it now than when it’s on the whip.
Louie
This morning I’m shipping out a pair of signal whips (aka Single Tail Whips):
These whips have replaceable crackers, so the end of the whip is a loop that you simply put a new cracker in.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
I’m back in town and working on a pair of signal whips (aka single tail whips). These are 12 plait in Kangaroo.
When I get to the plaited crackers, these are going to have a loop at the end so that the crackers can be changed easily. Personally I’m torn on which is better a plaited cracker that’s part of the whip or a replaceable one. I think that a cracker that’s part of the whip makes a better whip. However does that benefit outweigh being able to easily change the cracker instead of having to mail it to someone to do that?
In the end if you can’t redo the cracker, then it’s worth having the loop at the end of the whip.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
I cut out the two 12 plait overlays for the two 3 1/2 foot signal whips and did all of the lace prep. Unfortunately I’m travelling a bit the next few days, so no work will happen on them until next week.
While I was working on the lace for these whips, I started to wonder if leather was compostable. Turns out that a lot of the leather I normally throw away can be composted. I’m throwing away small bits of it from paring the edges of the lace, so that breaks down pretty easily:
The other thing to consider is how the leather is tanned. I mostly use Veg Tanned leather, which means the the leather is tanned without chemicals and is environmentally friendly. However things like Whitehide which is tanned with chemicals shouldn’t go in the compost bin.
Louie
My current project is making two signal whips (aka single tail whips) that will be 3 1/2 feet long. I’m starting with a 74dm kangaroo skin that I picked up at David Morgan:
This is going to be used for the bolsters, and plaiting.
Louie
A couple of years ago I started making a snake whip. I finished the overlay, and never put the knot on it. It hung 98% completed on a hook, waiting for a know. This was a whip that I was making out of leftover leather for fun, not for an order, so there Tagswas no rush to finish it.
I finally put the wrist loop and knot on it:
I just listed it for sale on my IN STOCK whips page. Since it’s just been kicking around my show for a long time, I’ve got it listed at a great price!
Louie
This morning I’m packing up a 4 foot stock whip and shipping it out to its new owner. This whip is made from kangaroo and has a 12 plait handle and 12 plait lash.
This is a whip I made a long time ago for fun and didn’t list it for sale until a few weeks ago. I’m cleaning up and listing whips that I’ve made for fun over the years, and never used or listed for sale. Keep an eye out on my IN STOCK whips page for some sweet deals!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
Recently I was contacted to make a Martinet Whip. I’d never made one of these whips before or knew what they were. You can learn about them by clicking here. Basically it’s a flogger with multiple lashes.
The customer wanted 10 lashes, so I had a plan. I did a six plait braid over a tapered rod, then at the end of the rod, I did a 4 plait section that the six plait when over. That gave me 10 lashes.
However these 10 lashes being kangaroo didn’t have much weight to them, making them ineffective at transferring energy. I didn’t like this. So I tied them off below the rebate in the rod that was the handle.
I took some five latigo strips and thinned them down in the middle. I folded them in half and bound them to the end of the handle. Doing it this way gave me very little bulge at the end where the lashes were attached and also gave the lashes a very firm foundation.
I braided the 12 plait overlay over the top of that and here’s the finished Martinet Whip.
It’s in the mail to its new owner.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org