Bullwhips – Handmade by Louie

Here’s another 8 plait 5 foot kangaroo bullwhip that I finished a while ago:

For some reason I haven’t listed this as IN STOCK until now!  You can find it on my IN STOCK whips page!

Currently I’m working on a 12 plait snake whip:

Louie

http://bullwhips.org

Recently I’ve talked to several whip makers about the price and availability of kangaroo in the USA.  Recently due to many factors including:

• Export permits to get the kangaroo out of Australia
• Import permits to get the kangaroo into the USA
• Strong Australian dollar and weak USA dollar
• Increased shipping costs
• and other increased misc. charges (like bank fees on international purchases)

The price of kangaroo leather has gone up about 20% within the 6 -12  months!  While I’ve notice that the retail price for bullwhips has remained the same…guess what…they are going to change.  Right now most whip makers are eating the difference and haven’t raised their prices…yet.

All it’s going to take is one whip maker to raise their pricing and all the others will as well.  No one wants to be the first to do it, but it something that in my opinion will happen.  It not a matter of if but when price will go up.

I’m predicting you’ll see an increase by January.

What does that mean to the average whip cracker?  Well it depends on your needs.  If you don’t need a new bullwhip then it probably won’t matter, but if you are in the market for a new bullwhip sometime within the next 12 months it could mean a difference in price of about 20% or more!

Of course the price of Kangaroo Leather could drop, but honestly in my opinion it’s very unlikely that the Australian and United States governments really care that they are driving bullwhip prices up with their fees for permits to import or export kangaroo.  One thing that would help is if the USA dollar would make a miraculous comeback within the next year, however I’m not holding my breath for that to happen.

So what I’m saying is if you’ve been thinking about buying a bullwhip, or are planning on getting one in the near future now is probably a good time to buy, whip makers prices probably won’t go down anytime soon!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

I’m cleaning up my office and I realized that I’ve got tons of scrap kangaroo and cowhide leather kicking around (mostly kangaroo).  Here’s a sample of what I have:

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The pieces are in all shapes from and sizes.  There’s a ton of lace, which would be perfect for small braided goods like key chains.  In fact that’s how I used to use up my lace: making keychains, miniature bullwhips, etc

I’ll never use the amount of scrap I have because I generate a lot more than what I use.  This is a great chance to get some kangaroo corners, lace and cowhide corners and lace.  So here’s what I’m offering for $10.00 shipping and handling I’ll fill a 9 X 12 manila envelope full of kangaroo and leather scrap. That’s it, a flat $10.00, so if you’ve ever thought of braiding or maybe just need a bit of lace.

Click here to order some of this scrap kangaroo and cow leather!

Here’s a few of  examples of what I’ve made from my scrap:

For this deal I can’t guarantee you’ll get any specific colors, shapes, lengths of lace, etc.  I’m just grabbing handfuls and putting it into an envelope.  This is limited to the amount of scrap I have and is available on a first come first served basis, so click here to get some of this scrap kangaroo and cow leather!

Oh, if you want more than one envelope of kangaroo and cow leather scrap, simply order more that one!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Recently someone sent me a stockwhip thong that didn’t have a stock and they’d been cracking it like a snake whip.

They wanted to know if I could put a handle and wrist loop on it.  Of course I can:

It’s amazing how much difference the lighting makes to the color of the leather!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Right now I have two 5 foot 8 plait kangaroo bullwhips for sale over on  MidWestWhips website:

You can’t get these from me since they are physically over at MidWestWhips, so you’ll have to get them from Paul and Lauren.

My next project is putting a point on a bullwhip that’s been almost finished for a while now and working on a snake whip!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

One of the cool things about living in the Seattle area is there is a ton of cool things happening around the city.  For example the Seattle Wushu Center has a once a month Bullwhip Study Group.  That’s right it’s a group that meets up and cracks bullwhips.

The Bullwhip Study group is run by Restita who has one of the coolest names ever and is super friendly!  Here she is teaching a whip crack combination:

I cracked whips with them over the summer and had a great time. The Bullwhip Study Group is open to all levels of whips crackers from beginners to advanced whip crackers.  The day I came there were several people that had never cracked whips before…and they have loaner whips to learn on!  So if you’ve always wanted to learn to crack a whip contact the Restita, for details visit: http://seattlewushucenter.com/FREEmonthlyevents.aspx

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Most people that read this blog know that my “day job” is that I’m a professional magician (you can read more about about me as a performer at www.louiefoxx.com).  As a professional magician I belong to a couple of trade groups one of them is the International Brotherhood of Magicians (the original IBM acronym).  They put out a monthly magazine for members only called the Linking Ring.  My copy came in the mail today and while I was reading it I stumbled upon a picture of The Whip Guy Chris Camp.

Over the summer he performed at a Magic Convention and there was a review of the show he was in.  Here’s the pic from the magazine (Chris is in the top row of pics in the middle):

Chris is one of the guys that helped me a lot when I was on America’s Got Talent.  He was on a couple seasons ago and his advice really helped me get on that show!

If you aren’t familiar with Chris Camp his website is www.thewhipguy.com and here’s my favorite whip trick that he does and one of the most amazing targets I’ve seen in my life:

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Currently I’m working on three 8 plait bullwhips that will be five feet long.  I’ve completed all three whips internal layers and cut out the overlays and just need to do the plaiting.  Actually one of the bullwhips is finished:

These five foot bullwhips are made from kangaroo and would make a great working bullwhip or entry level kangaroo bullwhip!

Also a few weeks ago I stumbled on this video:

I thought that using a whip to keep a top spinning was interesting and that I’d never heard of this before.  I found a Whip Top set:

The whip that came with this is basically useless as a whip, but it works well for winding up the top. I’ve gotten this to keep spinning after I’ve cracked the whip at it.  Unfortunately I haven’t spent much time working with it…maybe someday I’ll make a better whip for it and get good at it.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Labor Day Indy Style Bullwhip Sale!

From now until midnight on 9/5/11 (or when I wake up  in the morning on 9/6 and turn off the sale) all Indy Style Bullwhips are 20% off the base cost! To take advantage of this sale go to: http://bullwhips.org/bullwhip_store/viewitem.php?productid=143

All my Indy Style bullwhips are made with the same look as the bullwhips used by Indiana Jones in the first three movies.  So these bullwhips will be the same plait count, have the same knots, etc.

These are all “made to order” and the current wait time  from when you place your order to when it ships is approx. 2 weeks.  Keep in mind my bullwhips are made in a first come first served order, so if you wait until midnight on Labor Day you wait may be longer if a bunch of people order before you did, so delay order now!

Louie

P.S. This is a super great deal, you will save $84 on your bullwhip!
http://bullwhips.org

Here’s the finished 5 foot bullwhip in 8 plait kangaroo:

I made this bullwhip with the color scheme of the bullwhip used in the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  It’s made in whiskey colored kangaroo with brandy colored knots.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org