My current project is an 8 foot KotCS bullwhip, then a 10 foot Indy bullwhip after that. Somewhere in there I’m hoping to get a bit of work done on my 12 foot Morgan Style Indy bullwhip (maybe a plait a belly?).
Below in a completed (except for shellac) 10 foot bullwhip and a 8 foot KotCS bullwhip with two bellies finished.

Last night I was fixing a dripping faucet in my bathroom and had my plumbing toolbox out. I saw the “Pipe Sealer Tape” and thought that it might be a good thing to use to bind transitions. After some thought I think the drawbacks make it not worth using. Some of the downsides are:
- Not as strong as artifical sinew
- Gives waterproof seal (Might not allow dressing to the leather under it)
- Splits easily
If it was a bit stronger and not waterproof it might be a time saver when binding bullwhip transitions.
Lead Loaded Bullwhip Butts?
Yesterday I got an email from someone asking “Why should anyone load the butt with lead?” That’s a good question and one that I thought a lot about early on (and still do a bit). Loading the butt of a short handled (8ish inch handle) has these advantages:
- Balances out the weight between the thong and handle
- When thrown it adds energy early in the throw of the whip (making it easier to crack)
Bullwhips with longer handles use leverage to put energy into the whip, and with shorter handled bullwhips they use weight to put energy into the bullwhip.
That’s how I see it, but I could be wrong.
Here’s a picture of me sitting in a greenroom of the Mountlake Terrace Performing Arts Center waing to go on:

Today I’ve got one show this morning, and should be able to get some work done on the overlay of the 8 foot bullwhip that’s currently in the works.
Louie