Bullwhips!

[buckwhip]

Howdy folks - new to the forum. Showing of my deerskin bullwhips, along with a couple of cowhide bullwhips.

First up is a white deerskin I just rolled out today. Still needs knots and some minor finishing work, but 90% of the tough stuff is complete. I made this bullwhip with nothing but left overs from previous builds.

Here's a pic of the 2nd belly, which was made with black, tan, and gold deerskin scrap strands I had lying around:

Here's the finished thong, without knots, at an exact 8':

Here's a detail shot of the tapering of the strands:

Strands are 5.5mm at the handle, and taper down to 3mm at the fall.

Here are some random shots of other deerskin bullwhips, either finished or mid-build:

[OdinUK]

They look great! What do you use as a core?

[buckwhip]

They look great! What do you use as a core?

I shot-load my nylon bullwhip cores, but with my leather bullwhips, I usually use 4 - 6 tapered leather strands of different lengths and bolster them with some cowhide. Then I bind the core strands and bolster to my handle core, which is usually a 10" chrome steel spike, then bolster the handle and core and bind it all. I grease the strands sufficiently before the first bolster so that, while binding, the grease squeezes out and acts as a lubricant for the plaiting of the first belly.

Here's a video I did of a core I used for a deerskin bullwhip. I bind them differently now than the method I used in the video, but it is essentially the same concept.

[OdinUK]

Thank you for the explaination. I hope to have a go at this sometime.

[stu925]

How long does it take you to make one of these? They're very impressive, nicely done.

Stu

[buckwhip]

Thanks Stu. Generally, an 8-10 foot leather bullwhip will take me between 30 and 40 hours. That includes stranding the hide, building the core, bolstering and plaiting bellies, plaiting the overlay, rolling, and knot work. It's easy work once you learn the basics, just tedious.

Here's a video of the unfinished whip I posted a picture of above, complete with knots and all the jazzy.

8' White Deerskin Bullwhip: