Essentia

They all look great Bevan..... I was only singing the praises of your little machine just a few hours ago then on my lunch break here you are posting LOL.......spooky Tony

Thats the Dene Williams strander and splitter......... contact details below I think they are only around $90.00AU if you buy direct email:-denewhips at icr.com.au Phone 07 4630 9708

Knew I had the picture somewhere....better late than never I guess Tony

Click the banner above to be taken to Bevan’s web site, not only does Bevan make a very decent whip, he also sells a very clever whip making tool that will cut and taper your strings for you aswell as bevelling them……………… The Machine *Note for those reading this review I have to say I was able to use this beautiful little tool with ease right from the get go as I have used similar, though much more crude machines for many years already, If you’ve never made a whip before or if your using a machine for the first time then you should expect a learning curve…. The Man Behind the Machine Before I start to sing the praises of the little machine I must first sing the praises of Bevan the man that made it, and of course the brains of the operation his good wife Lisa…. I first ordered the machine some months back, just at the time our *Royal Mail* decided to stage a series of strikes, you guessed it my little machine went walkabout, we would hope one day it turns up but who knows? Bevan didn’t hesitate for a moment after rucking the Australian Post Office at his own cost he sent me another machine registered post and that one thankfully arrived in a few days…..the moral of the story being:- if your worried about shopping on the internet, don’t be with this guy he is totally honest and honourable…… The Machine Well where to start really, it is very very well made, no rough or sharp edges, quite ingenious how it fixes to the bench, you just need to drill 2 holes in your bench to accomodate the 2 steel dowels that screw into the base of the machine, these hold it firmly in place as you use it, and to use the opposing side simply flip the machine round and as if by a miracle the two holes line up to make the transition from lace cutter to beveller super smooth and easy, even this thick old english man got it first go….. All the moving parts where you can loosen and tighten to fix blades or adjust cutting widths have a nice cylindrical screw attached so it’s easy to pinch them up by hand but also as a double check there is in the end of each fixing an alan key hex and the machine comes with an alan key…..as soon as I got mine out of the box I fully undid all the screws and smeared all the threads with white vaseline, it’s hot and cold here in the UK so it doesn’t hurt to keep things greased it also makes the actions easier too, so if you buy one I recommend you do the same, it’ll be a benefit for sure! On the side of the machine you use to cut your lace and taper it, there is a nice little guage, this is really handy but I’m so much in the habit of using my calipers I haven’t as yet tried this out, I’m not sure I will being a creature of habit even when habit is not always the best policy, but for those new to the machine and to whip making I think this is a really great feature as it’s not always easy to *nip a bit off* when your first starting out, I can well remember the days of nipping a bit off and having to start over…….ggrrrrr!!!! The bevelling side really is ingenious fix the blade just behind the guage, hold the resized & tapered lace down flat behind the finger guard, slide the lace under the cleverly created overhang of the guage and pull through, the overhang is brilliant and I think even a novice or first time user would bevel easy with this……. In Conclusion The machine is a very well engineered bit of kit, the man selling it is honest and honourable, the price is more than reasonable, I can’t say enough good about it….. Tony

Contact details for Dene Williams email:- denewhips@icr.com.au Phone:- 07 4630 9708

No worries, and thanks for the replies, I figured it out it was the thin and thick string version that was confusing me (easy done) now I saw it in all even strings it was easy to copy....I'll post a picture when I get to use it......thanks Tony

No not the Knot ...lol the braid LOL....... Tony

Before I ask the question, thanks to Drac for the graphic Does anyone know the string placement for creating the button braid as it's known? Any help much appreciated as it'll save me ages trying it all the different ways Thanks Tony

Nice Job Tony

Good to see you here Skip welcome aboard Tony

Tom, do you have a URL or even the name of the shop where you buy the preformed coupling pipe from, it'd be much appreciated... Tony

I learnt to bevel by hand first but then I got lazy, I had this little machine made up and where your pulling the lace to the blade it still runs smooth and gives an even bevel on tapered lace aswell as straight lace Tony

Thanks guys.....yes I meant dyed in colours other than natural so that one does it all....... It's a great place this for info, many thanks Tony

Hi All, I have trawled the internet and found a few places to buy horse hair, and horse hair in colours, so before I buy blind does anybody have a place they use and get good service from? Thanks in advance for your reccomendations.... Tony

I'd be the fella in the UK lucky enough to be able to get #15 shot, I have it made up for me as it's not commonly held by gunsmiths as standard stock..... You are right in that the UK numbers differ slightly from the USA numbers regarding shot but even so the #15 I get is around half the size of the (USA) #12 I did have a comparison photo somewhere of some #12 and #15 next to each other on my marble rolling slab I'll see if I can dig it out for you and post it here... The basic rule of thumb is the smaller the shot you can get the better, like Jerry I pack mine down in bits but rather than a knitting needle I use the end of a fishing rod.... Plaiting soap....we all have our own reciepe, I've posted mine below between that and the others here I'm sure you can come up with your own... My reciepe is........ 28oz of sheep/beef dripping (a lot of American guys use Crisco just fine) 8oz of Ivory Soap 4oz of beeswax (the yellow one NOT the brown) 20oz of water....... It's really simple to make........ 1/ grate the bees wax and the soap 2/ bring the water to the boil then turn it down to simmer.. 3/ add bees wax and soap to simmering water stir till it's disolved 4/ add in the sheep/beef dripping and stir in till you have a thick smooth paste consistency 5/ Continue stirring every 5 to 10 minutes whilst it cools down... Pop it in the fridge over night.... Good luck Tony

Apparently you just tie it up hang some weight from it and let it dry out natural for a few weeks, but thats a big apparently as I've no experience of it.....I'll look forward to seeing how you get on.... Tony

www.ubraidit.com I never buy anywhere else, I'm sure you may find it very slightly less expensive on other sites but the service you get makes me go back time and time again....ask for Cybele if you phone and tell her I sent you.... Tony

It sounds very much like the fall is too flyaway....I used to use a bit of decored paracord fed back through itself so in effect double the weight your using, but even then once they were over 18 inches they didn't perform too well.....more recently I have been half decoring the cord then feeding the portion that still has a core back through the length that is decored, leaving a loop in the end so you can slide it on the thong and hitch it in the same way you would a leather fall on a leather whip, this is the best way to date and I cut the falls to 30 inches on a 12' no trouble at all....... From the sounds of what your saying regarding how you tie your falls on am I right in my assumption that your whip has a twisted end rather than plaited to the end with hitches like the one in the picture? Tony

That'd be me on the APWA forum, if there's a forum anywhere that even mentions whips you'll probably find me on it somewhere LOL Tony

I've got to make a few nylon Stock Whips of late and am pleasantly suprised at how easy they crack and how well they replicate a leather one.....I'm a big believer that a well made whip will crack no matter what it's made from and these little Stockys prove that for me..... Tony

This is photo of one, I'm just interested in the brown twisted shaped leather end rather than one with the rubber handle added......????????????????????? Tony

Any of you rawhide guys make these? or anybody know where to buy them? Cheers Tony

Thanks Joe, I know Paul and Lauren, unfortunately I live in the uk so for the price of 3 of their strips after I add import duty, VAT carriage and the extra courier charge levied by The Royal Mail I could pretty much buy a whole hide from Oz, they for me have priced themselves right out of the market much much much toooooo expensive I have used the Getanery before around 4 years back, thats how little white hide I use I only just run out, it's only fot the Indy guys who love it.... Tony