Em Brand Whips
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Posts posted by Em Brand Whips
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Hello all.
I've taken an interest in whip making recently, firstly in shorter shot-loaded types. I have some equipment on order, so I cannot begin yet. I have bought two books, "How to make whips" by R Edwards and "Whips and whipmaking" by D Morgan. That has explained quite a bit, but led to more questions.
In his description of how shot whips are made, Edwards says that the bag is sewn along one edge, filled and then sewn shut. The whip is then plaited over this. My problem is I don't see how this can avoid resulting in one of two undesirable situations.
If the shot bag is packed rather tightly with shot, then there will be an excessive amount of stress on the seam of the shot bag. The plaits will not be braided around the shot bag as tightly as the shot bag is already stretched by the shot inside. And the first couple times you swing the whip, the shot is going to sink into the tail end even more, distorting the whip's taper and stressing the seam of the shot bag even further.
So what if you packed the shot bag a bit looser? This would allow the shot bag to stretch along with the plaits, as the whip is broken in....
Well then the problem (I'd think) would be that you could not get a reliable taper to the whip, at least in the loaded portion. As you're braiding the butt end, some of the shot in the butt-end of the loosely-packed bag will get pushed into the tail end--so the end result is that the butt end would be thinner than you wanted, and the tail end will be fatter.
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What I'm wondering is if it's worthwhile to construct the whip so that the butt end is openable--all the plaiting, and the shot bag as well. The shot bag is made slightly oversized (too fat) to fit inside the plaits, and the plaits are cut for the profile desired and then woven around the empty shot bag. After the whip is fully plaited, then the shot is filled from the butt end, where it can pack on its own into the whip as the whip is swung.
The butt end of the shot bag only needs to be bound shut with some lace, as there's no real stress on it. This would also provide a way to "adjust" the tightness of the shot packing inside.
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There's not a whole lot of info on shot loading, in either books or online really. Are all shot-loaded whips made basically the same way?
[end]
I uploaded a video on this the other day that might be of interest to you.
Kind Regards
Bernie
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G'day All
My name is Bernie Wojcicki and I am a full time whip maker. I have been making whips full time for a living for 36 years now and can honestly say I still look forward to going to my work shop every morning and starting the days work. My wife and I live on a 50 acre bush block where we have resided for the past 29 years.Living in paradise and working at something you love doing, what more could a person ask for? Then to top it all off along comes the internet where you can meet and share information with people from all over the world.
I grew up in an era when not everyone had a phone or a car and to see the way technology has advanced during my lifetime has been indescribable.
I came across this forum while looking for information on raw hide braiding as I've had a few requests lately for rawhide items, and plaiting mainly with kangaroo hide decided to see what I could find. So far this forum has given me a wealth of information and I hope I can return the favor to anyone who would like to know more about whip making.
Kind Regards
Bernie
From The Wild Western Tiers
Of Tasmania Australia
Where the women are strong
The men good looking and the
children all above average.
(Garrison Keillor)
clearest explanations for making Turksheads
in Braiding
Posted
These videos may be of some help as well in tying a 6 bight pineapple knot.