For a long time I was a fan of huge and heavy whips. Until I had my first light one. It seems to take a long time until you find "your" whip (at least it took me that long... ). I own a Indy IV Jacka whip. Well made, absolutely! - but heeeaaavy.
That whip was often described as "beast". Well, I think it's a well made, heavy whip. You're able to handle it or not. But beast...
I found myself to be a believer in lightweigt whips now. What is your experience? Sledgehammer or foil fencing?
If we're talking bullwhips then I'm a fan of the Australian style, longer handle, slender thong, fine point and light in weight, but each to their own of course
If we're talking whip choice then I'd go for a Snske whip first then followed by a Stock Whip, a bullwhip would be near my last choice of whip, I do know I'm the odd man out though :o :o
Tony
unfortunately, my whip experiences are limited to a cheapie bullwhip I had as a kid that wouldn't really crack (and I saw no point in ever getting another cheapie later in life and that would be all I could afford), seeing some really nice ones and wishing, handling a few snakes and a signal or two, and the snakes I'm trying to make.
I have a couple of Aussie whips that I really like. I wouldn't consider either one a heavy whip. The Jacka 6ft I really like. It is like Tony describes as far as the point, but the thong starts out thick 24.5mm after the transition knot. The point ends at 5.5mm. My Em_Brand whip is 23mm after the knot and ends at 8mm right at the fall knot. Neither of these whips are going to be as heavy as the Indy IV version. Even though I've never held or cracked one, I don't think I would care for it. So my preference is for a light to medium weight whip.
For having tried a number of different whips, I can safely say that for me at this point in time, a moderately heavy whip is my choice. I'm thinking more along the lines of a Strain or Morgan rather than an Indy 4 Jacka (that's just TOO big!).
I think the weight of the whip is not so necessary, the balance is it. i don´t like whips which are nose heavy, because they dangle cruely around. Sure you can get it silent with the right technique, but this needs additional force.
In my experience, weight really isn't the true issue. It's a rating I've dubbed "Response".
Each whip has a different "response", depending on its weight/thickness ratio, its length, its flexibility, etc, etc. Even the handle can depend very heavily on its response.
This rating is the most important to me out of any rating I could ever give to any whip. It is a combination of its suppleness, and its abilty to react to changes in vector and velocity. With too low a response rate, you're throwing a rope. Too high, and you're swinging a stick.
Weight can add greatly to a whip's crack, true. But it can also slow down a whip, causing it to be too difficult to throw; and, therefore, to crack.
The true trick is to find the right weight for the thickness, the length, and the material used.
My $0.03
Last edited by David Cross on Fri 23. Apr 2010, 03:04, edited 1 time in total.
Thats right!!! But which weight and thickness(stiffness) ratio is good? I search for the answer, but I didn´t found it till yet. Perhaps the paper of Goriely/Miller can help me(or you)but i didn´t read it completly.
Our whips are like ropes, so the weight balance is very important.
Last edited by quattro on Mon 31. May 2010, 08:44, edited 1 time in total.
My uninformed two cents here is that the Mass of the thong is the important factor rather than the Weight or Thickness. A dense compact thong performs more consistently than a "floppy" thong...
If I had to pick I'd say a medium weight but it really depends on the balance of the whip.
For instance...
This is my version of the Indy IV Jacka whip.
I wanted to build a 10 foot whip with the stiff belly of the Jacka without the massive diameter. To do this I incorporated a tightly bound spring in the first 20 inches of the thong. This worked really well. The only problem with this whip was that I tapered the thong down a little too soon and too far from the tip. My reasoning for this was to prevent the tip from being too heavy and slow. The result was a handsome whip with a dragging, delayed action due to the lack of weight at the tip. I actually caused the very thing I was trying to prevent. I've since cut this whip down to 8 foot.
( New picture )
It now handles beautifully. Now that its balanced.
-Dusty
Last edited by Dusty Damrel on Tue 1. Jun 2010, 07:08, edited 1 time in total.
It depends......
For double handed whipcracking , I'd use stockwhips, which ususally are lighter than bullwhips.(especially short roohide stockwhips for fast routines)
for single handed whipcracking and multiple crack routines I'd use longer stockwhips, or light aussie bullwhips (like the Ben Scott's aussie).
For targeting, I'd choose indy style bullwhips, with short handles (I know it sounds confusing cause target whips have usually long handles)!!!
that's my present feeling.......
Weight in the handle is definitely important for balance. You are correct but I'm talking about the balance at the tip of the whip. If you were to taper a whip down from the transition to a smaller diameter too soon and continue plaitting in that smaller diameter for too long it will cause the tip to be too light. So when you swing the whip around to crack it the tip takes too long to get in position for the downward crack. Imagine trying to crack a 6ft whip with a 4ft fall. It doesn't respond very well.
This balancing I can understand. But the handle balancing confuses me.
Do you taper the Fall too(I hadn´t seen a taperd fall)? Because we taper the fall too, and this is why we get much problems with the cracker or the fall itself.
My opinion is, that the fall is a very important and difficult to handle. I think it should be taperd too! When it´s not taperd it reacts like a too long cracker. Or I´m wrong?
I just received some latigo that I plan to use for making falls for my nylon whips. I understand that the top of the fall should be close to the same width as the point of the whip, and I will be tapering them. My question is, how thin should I take it down at the point where I attach my cracker? should I taper it right down to nothing? or leave it a few millimeters in diameter down there?
I don't taper my falls down any thinner than the thickness of the latigo itself. I find that it weakens the leather and your crackers will keep breaking off until you get up to the thicker part of your taper.
). I own a Indy IV Jacka whip. Well made, absolutely! - but heeeaaavy.
