I was hoping find at least one other photo already posted and I'm fairly intimidated to be the first to post a photo, but here it goes:
I attended an event called Flow Camp in 2011 and met a man named Phoenix that taught whips there. This was my first event and he was my first whip teacher. After some time with trying different whips, I tried to make one. The first one I didn't even de-core the paracord, or have a belly plait and the core was a triangular section of rolled up denim cut out jeans. So a very, very terrible whip. I told Phoenix what I had done and he encouraged me to keep trying, not take short cuts and improve. 5 or 6 whips later, Phoenix's fiance asked a rather large favor of me. If I, an unknown, inexperienced, beginning whip maker would make Phoenix a custom whip with his name on it, with different plaiting styles, in his favorite colors for his wedding present. Me being a complete idiot said, emphatically, 'YES!".
I spent the next month, researching the crap out of whip design and construction. Bought 4 different whip making books, read them cover to cover, looked at several different forums (found this one in the process), and talked to many, many whip crackers. I estimated that I spent almost 40 hours that month just researching whip making. I couldn't find a lettering method I liked so I had to invent my own. I tested it out on of few cylinders and in the end, about 3 weeks before their wedding, started making the whip. After about 20 hours of math, cutting, sanding, shot loading, several mistakes, un-plaiting, re-plaiting, and even adding more weight to the handle to make it feel more balanced I had made the best whip I could at the time.
The night before, I drove out to Indy and met up with them to go over the schedule and showed his soon to be wife. She approved. (Whew!)
The next day she gave him the whip, and his eyes lit up. He took it out gave it a few cracks and smiled. He eyeballed a dangling cord hanging from the ceiling, threw the whip at it and bang, hit it on the first try.
Later I got to meet his whip teacher, Robert Dante. Dante said that when he saw the whip, he was impressed with how it behaved given that I had made less than a dozen whips at this point, and gave me some good pointers.
I realize that it is not the most impressive whip, it would not even pass my own inspection, but it means more to me than any other I have made. It was my first, real effort in making a quality whip. Since then I have learned a lot more, but never have I gained more knowledge from making a single whip than from this one.
Later I got to make my first stock whip for the founder of Flow Camp.
It's has similar sentimental value, but much less effort. Here it is:
