Bullwhips – Handmade by Louie

This evening I managed to find time to get some plaiting in on a 12 plait bullwhip in calf:

Today I took it from the 3 foot mark to about 5 feet.  I won’t get a chance to do any plaiting tomorrow (I’ve got a very full performing day).

Louie

http://bullwhips.org

This afternoon I delivered this 16 foot bullwhip to its new owner:

I’m going to miss having this bullwhip around, it’s 12 plait kanagaroo.  It was a pain in the ass to make, but a great whip!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

I decided to start plaiting the last calf bullwhip that I’m making (for now).  It’s about 3 feet into it:

I’m out of plaiting soap and didn’t want to cook up a batch before I left town so I’ve been using rawhide cream as lube for  plaiting:

It works pretty well for the lubricating part of plaiting…however it doesn’t feel like it’s adding much “grease” to the strands (which isn’t surprising because rawhide dressing usually doesn’t have fat in it).  The part I’ve plaited is still very dry sounding, so I’m going to have to give it a hit of dressing when the whip is done.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Yesterday I cut out the overlay of the last of the calf skins that I had picked up a little while ago.

The insides of this bullwhip are finished and all they need is to be  plaited over:

I’m trying to decide if I should start work on plaiting the overlay of this bullwhip now or not.  I’m going to be out of town from 3/10 – 3/20 and I don’t want a half finished bullwhip sitting for 10 days if I don’t have time to work on it.  I’ve got a pretty full week until I leave.

I don’t know if I’ll ever make any more of these bullwhips from calf or if I’ll be able to find decent skins to do it with.  So this may be my last calf bullwhip (at least for now).

Oh, don’t forget I’ve got a six foot Young Indy style bullwhip for sale on ebay right now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220747828820 the auction ends on tomorrow (3/8/11) right now it’s a steal at the current bid of $280.  This is a great chance to get a sweet deal on one of my bullwhips!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

This afternoon I made a four foot 4 plait signal whip from calf. I think it came out pretty well:

It’s made with a shot loaded core, leather bolster and a 4 plait calf overlay.  I really wish I had timed myself to see how long it took me to make it so I’d know how much I need to charge for it to make it worth my time to make it.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

The other day I finished making a 12 plait Indy style bullwhip from calf:

I think it came out pretty well…because it’s calf and not kangaroo there are a few cosmetic things that if it was a nicer/more expensive bullwhip I would have redone.  I think for a non-kangaroo bullwhip this one came out looking extremely well.  It’s got all the visual Indy characteristics:

• 12 plait overlay ending in 6 plait point
• Natural tan color
• Whitehide fall
• Black nylon cracker
• 6 plait wrist loop
• 8 inch handle
• Correct knots (5 X 4 three pass heel knot and 5 X 4 two pass transition knot)
• Slight taper on the handle just before the transition knot

I think the heel knot looks fantastic:

Internally this bullwhip is different from how I make my kangaroo Indy Bullwhips, this one has a shot core, one plaited belly and two bolsters, where my roo Indy’s are two plaited bellies and two bolsters.  The lead shot core allowed me to put weight into the lash without spending the time to do two bellies.

I haven’t decided the price I’m going to sell this at, while I did do a couple things to speed up the process of making this bullwhip it was still VERY labor intensive and with the corners I cut I only saved about an hour of work…and while using calf which is a bit cheaper than kangaroo…it isn’t that much cheaper than using kangaroo.

I’ll put this bullwhip on my IN STOCK whips page once I figure out a fair price for it.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Yesterday someone asked me how to attach a cracker to the fall of a bullwhip.  It’s easier to make a video that try to explain it in text, so here’s a little video showing you how:

If you didn’t know how to do this before, now you know.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

This morning I cut out the bolster for the 12 plait EconomINDY bullwhip that I’m working on.  I didn’t like how the layers were sitting on the handle (it was too thin), so added a layer of thin leather of leather over the handle to add a bit of bulk to it.

Next up is cutting out and plaiting the overlay for this bullwhip!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Right now I’m making another one of the EconomINDY bullwhip, but this one has a lead shot core.   Currently this bullwhip need it’s final bolster and overlay to before it’s finished.

I  haven’t done a ton of shot cores on my bullwhips, so it’s fun to make this one.  This bullwhip’s taper is going to be more like how I normally make my kangaroo Indy bullwhips thanks to the shot core building it up a bit in diameter (and weight).   Today I’m out all day  performing so I probably won’t get a chance to do to any more work on this bullwhip.

I’m still not 100% sold on having  a lead shot core is going to be a good substitute for a 2nd plaited belly.  It’s faster to make than another plaited belly, but now I’m going to have to add more lead to the handle to balance it out.  While a shot core may save time adding a belly by the time I have to add more lead to the handle any time saving my be offset by added cost of adding more lead to the butt.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

I just finished making an economINDY bullwhip, that’s a 12 plait bullwhip made in the style of the Indiana Jones bullwhip, but made with calf.

I used to make these a long time ago, and while I was trying to hunt down some kip I found some great calf skins.  I picked up three skins which should be enough for at least 3 bullwhips (maybe 4 if all of them are shorter).

This one was made with only one plaited belly, but still has two bolsters and a core.  The next couple of these that I make will have two plaited bellies to help me get the lash a bit heavier…or maybe I’ll put in a light lead shot loaded core to get it a tad heavier??

This bullwhip has a good crack, but it’s a lighter lash than I normally put on a Indy style bullwhip.  There’s nothing wrong with a lighter lash, it’s just different from what I normally do.  I’ve got it listed for sale on my IN STOCK whips page.  If you are interested in this bullwhip I say get it now because the next ones will either have another belly or a shot loaded core, and either of those will bump up the price about $25.

Louie