Currently I’m making an 8 foot 12 plait bullwhip. The overlay is 12 plait in tannery dyed whiskey colored kangaroo. Here’s the overlay after I did the strand prep:
Later today I’ll start plaiting the overlay. I’m making this bullwhip for fun and when it’s done it will be listed on my IN STOCK whips page.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
It’s been a while since I’ve had whips available on my IN STOCK whips page. I just listed two bullwhips and a riding crop.
If you need a whip right away visit:
http://bullwhips.org/?page_id=7361
Louie
A few months ago my friend and sideshow historian James Taylor had seen a mini bullwhip that I had made and wanted one for his collection. I finally had some time to make him one. This mini bullwhip construction had a core, plaited belly, bolster then overlay.
One of the challenges with making this type of whip is that you have to really thin down the leather, so it’s very fragile if you aren’t careful about going around the scars on the leather when you are cutting the lace.
The overlay of this whip is 12 plait.
Making these mini whips which are about a foot long are a lot of work, but fun to make and you can get little cracks out of them!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
My current project is working on a dozen whips! Six of them will be six foot 12 plait bullwhips and the other six will be four foot stockwhips. The most labor intensive will be the bullwhips, so I’m working on them first.
For me, when making a lot of whips that are the same, the easiest way to save time is to do the same layer of all of them at the same time. This is “production line” style, where you do only one task at a time. This way your brain isn’t constantly shifting gears. For example, I cut out all of the bellies at the same time:
Then I went through and attached all of the inner bellies at the same time. Once they were all attached I plaited all six of them.
This way works great, but when I’m doing the overlays will be really rough on my hands.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
Recently I started work on an 8 foot Indiana Jones Style Bullwhip. This will be made from kangaroo and made with the correct visual to match the whip from the movies.
For more info on what makes an Indiana Jones Whip Click here!
Currently this whip has all of the internal layers finished, and I just cut out the 12 plait overlay:
Next step will be tacking on the lead load to the base of the handle, then plaiting the overlay!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
This morning I’m shipping out a pair of signal whips (aka Single Tail Whips):
These whips have replaceable crackers, so the end of the whip is a loop that you simply put a new cracker in.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
My current project is making two signal whips (aka single tail whips) that will be 3 1/2 feet long. I’m starting with a 74dm kangaroo skin that I picked up at David Morgan:
This is going to be used for the bolsters, and plaiting.
Louie
Recently I was contacted to make a Martinet Whip. I’d never made one of these whips before or knew what they were. You can learn about them by clicking here. Basically it’s a flogger with multiple lashes.
The customer wanted 10 lashes, so I had a plan. I did a six plait braid over a tapered rod, then at the end of the rod, I did a 4 plait section that the six plait when over. That gave me 10 lashes.
However these 10 lashes being kangaroo didn’t have much weight to them, making them ineffective at transferring energy. I didn’t like this. So I tied them off below the rebate in the rod that was the handle.
I took some five latigo strips and thinned them down in the middle. I folded them in half and bound them to the end of the handle. Doing it this way gave me very little bulge at the end where the lashes were attached and also gave the lashes a very firm foundation.
I braided the 12 plait overlay over the top of that and here’s the finished Martinet Whip.
It’s in the mail to its new owner.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
The 8 plait bullwhip has been finished and is in the mail to its new owner. Here are a few pics of it:
This was a fun whip to test crack!
Louie
http://bullwhips.org
I started work on a 6 foot bullwhip. This will will have an 8 plait overlay. I went up to David Morgan and picked up a 58 dm kangaroo skin for this:
Here’s the skin trimmed and the core cut out:
Here’s the inner belly cut out:
Today I should be able to get the inner layers of this bullwhip completed.
Louie
http://bullwhips.org