Tag: jacka

Broken In Transition…

Broken In Transition…

by Bullwhip maker - Louie ♥ 9 Comments

I was peeking on ebay to see what whips were being sold and I noticed that someone currently has a Terry Jacka bullwhip for sale.  It’s a 10 foot 12 plait bullwhip and here’s a bit from the description:

Excellent condition.  Cracked only 3-4 times.

You can view the auction  here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Terry-Jacka-Authentic-Australian-Kangaroo-hide-bullwhip-/170589924417?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b7f3ac41#ht_877wt_1091

First of all I’m always curious who these people are that buy $800 + bullwhip and only crack it a handful of times.  Based on how the cracker looks in my opinion it’s been cracked more than three or four times…maybe Jacka put an old beat  up cracker on it before he shipped it out (unlikely…but maybe?).

My big issue with the description and I’m going to assume it’s the seller being uneducated about whips but they’ve completely ruined newness of the transition on that bullwhip.  It’s nowhere near in “excellent condition“.  The thing that makes a Jacka bullwhip a Jacka bullwhip is the transistion being soo stiff.  I had my Jacks bullwhip  for about 3 years and it was well broken it, but I couldn’t get it to coil that tight…and mine was only 8 feet, the one for sale is a 10 footer!

The person selling it probably tried to artificially break in the transition (which doesn’t work well on a Jacka bullwhip because they are supposed to stay stiff!) and in the process destroyed an important part of the whip.  If you look at the picture they have a whip holder keeping it coiled tightly, that’s a strong indication for me that they forced it to coil that tightly instead of that happening naturally.

The transition on that bullwhip is supposed to be an extension  of the handle, not a byproduct of the the making process that should be eliminated.  When the seller coiled the whip that tightly and destroyed the handle extension they also ruined the way the whip will flow off the handle.

Personally I’m glad to see that that whip has no bids right now.  The opening bid is $475, but in my opinion it’s worth a lot less due to the broken in transition, really it’s worth in the $250-$300 range and it’s that much simply because it’s a Jacka!

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

New Whip and a New Look…

New Whip and a New Look…

by Bullwhip maker - Louie ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Well if you’ve visited my blog before you’ve probably noticed that the look has changed.  The background  has changed to a “leather” look and I’ve done the same for my online whip store, so now there is some continuity between the blog and the store.

Now on to the more interesting thing, the finished Jacka-like bullwhip:

bullwhip

I took it  out today and cracked it a bit and it’s got a very similar feel to the 8 foot Jacka I used to have.  It’s still got a heavy crack, but I think it’s actually a slightly lighter whip:

I’m pretty sure the missing piece that most whip makers miss then they are trying to replicate Jacka’s transition is the split cowhide insides…and using twine.  I think I did a good job with the transition on this one!

When it came time to do the overlay I decided to go with it looking like the one that was in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull because I had the correct kangaroo colors in stock.

bullwhip

This bullwhip has been listed for sale on my IN STOCK whips page.

Also I was cleaning up and I found a stock whip that I had made a while ago:

stock whip
stock whip
stock whip
stock whip

I remember making it, but I don’t remember ever cracking it, so I took it outside and swung it around:

Currently I have no outstanding orders or projects (I’m all caught up!), so I’m thinking of making a project that I want to make.  Recently I got a jade (green) kangaroo skin that was veg tanned, so it’s suitable for making a whip out of (not that chrome tanned garbage).

kangaroo for whip making

I’ve also been sitting on a piece of black sharkskin and I think I’m going to make a six foot bullwhip with a sharkskin  handle.  I’m tempted to do it with a higher plait count lash, but I’m not sure.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Bullwhip with Jacka-like Transition??

Bullwhip with Jacka-like Transition??

by Bullwhip maker - Louie ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Yesterday I had a busy day.  In the morning I got the insides of the bullwhip that I’m making with a Jacka-like transition.  I think this one is the closest that I’ve come to replicating it (without taking apart a Jacka).  I’ve picked up bits and pieces about how he makes his and this is what I’ve come up with:

bullwhip

One big difference you’ll notice in my is what I’m binding the transition with…twine!  It gives a very different result than binding with sinew and I think that the secret to Jacka’s transition is using something twine like to bind it combined with the split leather.

This transition is an experiment and I don’t know how putting an overlay over it will change it.  The main reason I’m doing this is that when I went to buy some kip, they have veg splits on sale and I found a small hide to buy…that and I have enough kangaroo in the right colors to do a whip like the one in the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.   I don’t plan on doing another whip like this again.

I was hoping to get the overlay for this bullwhip done yesterday, but my order of Natural Tan kangaroo finally showed up (a week late!).  These kangaroo skins were for a plaiting project that I was hoping to have done a week ago:

plaited hook

So I put a little hustle into the project and finished it last night.  I really don’t like having unfinished projects kicking around that someone has ordered, so I worked hard to get these finished and ready to ship!

However this plaited project has left me with about enough kangaroo skin left to make a signal whip…so I might do that right after I finish the Jacka-like bullwhip.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Seriously?????

Seriously?????

by admin ♥ 2 Comments

Every now and then I go on a little rant about whips being sold on ebay and usually it’s because the sell is either dumb or trying to pull one over.  I’ll let you decide on this one.

The person selling the bullwhip is selling a “Crystal Skull Terry Jacka Style 10 ft Bullwhip”.  Now they clearly put the “style” in the header, so it’s not ultra-shifty, but they are using Jacka’s name to sell the whip.  They are clear in the listing that it’s made by another maker.  However that where the clear cut-ness ends (in my opinion).

The seller mentions the whip has the same transition that the Jacka indy IV has, and if you look at the pictures that is a false statement!  The transition of the whip in its current has severely broken down if it was ever Jacka-like when it was new and the transition clearly was nothing like a Jacka when it was new based on the information the seller has given as to where to see a picture of it when it was new.  This is not a knock at the whip maker, but pointing out that the seller is either uninformed or not being entirely truthful.

The seller is also selling the whip for “what I have invested into it” which is a lot of greed on the sellers part.  They are selling a used whip (while it may have been taken care of, it’s still a used whip) for NEW PRICE!!!  Seriously????  The initial bid is $500, where you can get a 10 foot 12 plait whip from james for $550, honestly in my opinion that whip has over $50 in depreciated value.  And they have set the buy it now at $700!!  which is $150 more than it should cost new…and a brand new authentic 10 foot Terry Jacka whip is $760.68 at the current exchange rate.  Hmmmm…if they are selling it for what they have in it, shouldn’t they have just put the buy it now at $550?

I have nothing against anyone making as much money as they possibly can, and I don’t count other people’s money…but don’t say you aren’t trying to make a profit when in my opinion you clearly are trying to!

If you want to check out the auction it’s here, but before you bid, remember you can get the same whip brand new for $50 more than the opening bid or a real Jacka whip for only $60.68 more…I know what I’d do if I was in the market for this type of whip.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org

Bullwhip Progress…

Bullwhip Progress…

by Bullwhip maker - Louie ♥ 2 Comments

Today I managed to get a little bit of work in on the 12 foot Indy Bullwhip:

Indy bullwhip

I’ve got about four feet of this whip finished.  I think I’m spending more time untangling the ends than I’m spending braiding.

Today I got a couple of fun things in the mail:

Bullwhip crackers
100 crackers
bullwhip
Artifical Sinew

Also today I met up with a Whip Enthusiasts group and got to meet some cool people and crack some interesting whips.  There were several very old Jacka whips that I think are very light compared to my 8 foot, but fun to crack.  I also got to crack some of Joe Wheeler’s whips and meet him.

Louie
http://bullwhips.org