Whip Basics. The Forum

Thank you Ron, I've never let being a dork slow me down

Thank you, Scott.

Well, here 'tis, freshly waxed. 8 ft snake whip, poplar heel piece, English eye fall hitch, a little 3 pass Spanish ring knot just under the heel (it looked kinda naked without it. I tried different widths of copper, brass, and nickle ferrules and they just didn't work for me,) 16 plait with the first 8 inches of the handle in a short herringbone, a double ended, weighted fall, and a cracker made from Fast Flight + bowstring. Haven't cracked it yet, but will do so tomorrow and post a video. Sorry about all the wax flakes.

It looks good Mark.
With the ambient temperature being so cold it's hard to avoid the flakes when taken out of the wax.
A hair dryer and a rag will take care of that.
Nice job, be proud.

Ron

Very well done Mark!

I do like that heel. The almost white poplar against the black thong works really well.

Very nice, Mark! The taper looks excellent; and your attention to detail is very evident. It should crack very well. The light heel piece and black thong give a very distinctive look. Well done!

Just one question: do you find a snake whip this long to be a bit awkward? I quite like snakes, but the one 8-footer I have is not the easiest whip to use. It cracks perfectly well - but I haven't achieved any finesse in handling it.

Mr. Robert has described your work well!
Excellent taper, great attention to detail, a very comfortable looking heel, I think it is really beautiful, Mark. Really nice work! Every piece I see of yours shows new and steady improvement (and was already very good, mind you!).
Great work, Mark!

Thank you Ron, I'll give that hair dryer a try.

Thanks Jyri, can't wait to see whip.

Thanks, Sir Roger, that's what I thought as well. I had originally thought about using some of the purpleheart I have, and I think that would have looked nice as well, but I really wanted the contrast of a lighter wood. I was hoping to find some maple locally, but poplar and oak was all that I could find.

Thanks Robert. Yes, it is a bit awkward feeling and I doubt that I'll make another snake whip this long (never say never.) I tried a couple of different length and weight falls (love the English eye) and surprisingly, the longest (34 inches) seemed to work best. Some of the unwieldiness may be from the handle, I don't know if I'll ever get used to not having the leverage of a steel rod or wooden handle when I crack it.

Thank you Rachel, If I am improving it is because of the teaching, encouragement, and inspiration I get from this group. The heel is very comfortable and fits my hand well.

https://youtu.be/JnJeo0Khl4A

Mark, in lieu of a handle perhaps a firmer and tighter binding for 6 or 8 inches might help with the leverage part.

In the twins I made I put a small diameter steel rod 6" long which does help with leverage but still keeps (sort of) the spirit of a snake whip.

Ron

Ron, I did put extra binding as well as doing the first 8 inches in a diamond plait on the handle and it is much stiffer than the last snake. I still miss the steel core.

Great job Mark! I can definitely see a difference!

Mark, I'm afraid you video confirms my view that this is a bit too long for a snake. I think you'll need to use a much more focussed cracking form to make the most of this one. That's a very subjective view, I know....

Robert, I agree, it is too long. It's kind of fun to play with though.

Mark, my comliments to your work!

I realy like the combination of poplar heel/spanish the ring knot and the flow of your whip is fantastic!

All the best
Ben

Mark, there nothing wring with something impractical is it's fun!

Mark, as someone who greatly appreciates good knotwork (but is relentlessly lacking in ability to tie good knots...), this is really cool.

And that was supposed to go under the knotwork: "Bored" post
I should just go back to bed.

Thanks Ben.

Rachel, you must be the only person in the history of WB that has posted in the wrong thread. Well, except for me, one or 12 times.

Mark Elliott wrote:Thanks Ben.

Rachel, you must be the only person in the history of WB that has posted in the wrong thread. Well, except for me, one or 12 times.

Rachel, I have never, ever done that.
I'm glad that posting this here in this "Roll Call" thread it's forgiven.

Ron