The 6 foot bullwhip has been finished!
Here’s a peek at the overlay and the finished transition knot:
And here’s the whip with both finished knots:
Once the knots are done, the whip will get a couple coats of shellac and rolled a couple more times. Here’s the whip right before I boxed it up:
It’s on the way to it’s new owner!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
Work is starting on a six foot, 12 plait bullwhip in whiskey colored kangaroo.
I got this skin from David Morgan, and at 55dm it’s the perfect size. Currently all the interior layers are finished and I just need to do the outside of the whip.
Here’s the set for the overlay after being cut, stretched and pared:
I’ll get started on plaiting soon.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
Here’s a stockwhip that came in for a repair. It needed a new fall hitch:
Here’s a close up of the hitch:
It’s not exactly how you want the fall to be attached to the whip. It was probably a decent temporary fix. I’m glad the owner sent it to me to get it redone.
here’s it is:
This is on it’s way back to its owner!
Here’s a 5 foot 12 plait bullwhip that’s shipping out to Europe to its new owner!
I just realized I forgot to post pictures of the 8 foot 12 plait bullwhip that I finished recently. Here’s the final product:
It was a fun bullwhip to make!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
The National Cowboy Museum has some cool whips in their collection.
Here’s Lash LaRue’s Whip:
Here’s Tim McCoy’s stockwhip:
A couple of weeks ago I got to visit the National Cowboy Museum. This place is amazing! I’m aware of it from a book about Luis Ortega and his rawhide work.
They had a bunch of his incredible plaited works. You can learn more about him from this book:
If you’re in Oklahoma City, OK, it’s definitely worth a stop!
Yesterday I finished the overlay of an 8 foot bullwhip. It’s 12 plait in whiskey kangaroo.
After the overlay was put on, I tied some string for the foundation for the transition knot:
Then put a turkshead over the string:
The string base for the knot is something that I put on to keep the knot from sliding up and down the whip if it loosens over time. It also builds up the space under the knot and gives it a little bit of texture.
Also you’ll notice the color difference between the knot and the handle/lash of the whip. The knot is the color of the leather when I get it, and the handle/lash is the color the braiding process (pulling/plaiting soap/etc) changes it to. The knot will be darkened during the finishing process.
Today I’ll put the heel knot on, roll and schellac the whip and ship it out!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
Yesterday I finished up all of the internal layers of the 8 foot bullwhip I’m working on. I braided the outer belly and then cut out the outer bolster:
This bolster is a two part bolster, I join the with a long wedge shape. This makes is much easier to braid over to join them and it also helps keep them together over time.
I then attached the bolster to the handle:
An put some weight into what will be the heel knot foundation of the whip.
This weigh balances out the whip a little bit more and makes it so that it’s not super nose heavy and wants to jump out of your hand when you crack it.
Then I cut out and did the strand prep for the 12 plait overlay:
And got started plaiting the handle.
I’m about a foot into into the whip and today I should get the overlay finished. Tomorrow will be the knots, rolling and any finishing touches. Then this whip is off to its new owner!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
Yesterday I got started working on an 8 foot bullwhip. I started by trimming the kangaroo skin.
Then I cut off some thin strips of leather to make a 5 plait wrist loop
Then I got started on the main body of the whip.
The inner plaited belly is made from a different skin from the outer belly and overlay. Normally this would be made from the same skin as the rest of the whip’s braided layers. The reason for that is to economically using the kangaroo skin and reducing waste.
Today I’ll get started on the inner bolster and outer belly.