Conditioning Leather

[Art]

1mm is going to be a little thin for a fall. I would go with a white fall for a bullwhip, that is more a personal preference kind of thing. I big piece of 11 or 12 oz bull back would also work.

Art

[Bonecross]

I clean with Saddle Soap bars shaved into water to make a cloudy water. Then condition after dying with Lexol. For conditioning I do light coats over several days depending on how supple I need the leather to be.

[masterjuggler]

Do you think I could possibly make a braided fall using the thin cowhide? I'm thinking two strands double the length of the finished fall, folded in half to make a loop at one end for the knot.

unless I can find a thick piece of leather soon, I'll probably end up making it out of parachute cord. I figure if I ever come across the right leather or buy it, the fall can always be replaced.

Edited November 16, 2015 by masterjuggler

[masterjuggler]

Hey, it's been a while and I realized I never actually posted photos like I said I would. 

I did end up braiding the fall to begin with and it functioned pretty well, but looked awkward so I got a proper red hide fall from David Morgan. I also redid the butt know because I wasn't happy with it the first time. The braid overall is nice and tight and it cracks beautifully.

Took a little over 50 hours of cutting and braiding, from start to finish. I probably spent double that researching. Came out pretty well for my first leather whip I think.

Thanks for the tips I got back then.

Edited December 2, 2018 by masterjuggler

[LatigoAmigo]

Nice work. I really like it.

[CelticPrint]

I used plain Ivory soap, don't know what it is about, probably its lack of additives. An older leather worker told me to do it. It helped my tighten everything up and then I had to rinse it like crazy and condition with mink oil or whatever your conditioner of choice is. Little bit of skiving and then rolling the whip wet between boards to round out the braid helped a lot for uniformity. It was more time consuming than it was difficult but well worth it. As a test for the end project I attacked some encroaching brush on the side of my yard. I chose two weapons. A machete sharpened with a dremel rotary tool and the hand made whip. With a proper over head wind up and full crack of the whip it actually cut through small brush and vegetation cleaner and sharper than the razor sharp machete, at a much greater distance too. Be a might be timid to be hit by one.