Whip Basics. The Forum

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This is the Gallery of Rhett Kelley.

www.cowwhips.com




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First,let me just say that I am honored to be included here and here are some whips that I liked for whatever reason:

Let's start with a classic design that will be familiar to everyone here. This is a 9ft coral snake with an Indian ebony handle. The coral snake design in various configurations is probably one of the most popular I make.

This whip now resides in Florida and is used by a gentleman who uses it for doing shows at local schools and churches. I did the tie-on laces in yellow on this one just to see how it would look.

Another one of my personal favorites. Solid black on a piece of black Gaboon ebony. (12 feet I believe)

That's one elegant whip! The dark wood together with the black nylon - great job! How long is this whip, by the way? Looks like 10 to 12 feet...

Robby

Here's a 20ft, 16 plait cow whip. It has 2 plaited bellies over a shot loaded core. The handle is East Indian Rosewood and a bit longer than average for more leverage. This one was bought as a novelty really, but interestingly enough, most of the of the whips this size I've sold have been to dog sledders in the Arctic Circle portion of Canada. Many hours and some sore fingers represented here:

12 feet long on the black on black whip Robby. (btw, no more issues since loading pics from Photobucket!)

All this are amazing! At first I thought the ebony whip was the one that I have, but then realized that it is much longer than mine.

So glad you got the glitches all sorted out.

Thanks Bobbi! Using Photobucket seemed to be the cure. It must've been one of my site's security plug-ins causing it when linking to pics there.

Okay, for my next pic...

Snakewhips aren't my biggest seller, but they've recently started selling better. This is a 7 footer I like. After so many whips, it starts to become a blur, but I think this one is now in Utah being used on a ranch.

6ft, 16 plait bullwhip. Just having a little fun with the grip on this one. I liked how it turned out.

This 6ft 12 plait bullwhip is used on stage by The Flaunt Girls at the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota, and when they perform elsewhere. The first whip they bought from me was similar, but agents from our glorious TSA "stole" it at the airport when it was accidentally packed in their carry-on luggage.

A really bright 12 plait bullwhip. It has neon pink, royal blue, and neon orange (w/ reflective tracer). This one is now in Japan.

This was from an order where the customer wanted a woody and a cow whip with the coral snake theme. You'll have to pardon the small smudges on the lens. It dulled the colors a little in places. (I'm a whipmaker, not a photographer! :P )

Okay, two more and I'm done for the evening :

This woody bull is tan and black on Argentine Lignum Vitae, one of my favorite woods to turn.


I finished this one a few days ago, is a 16 plait bullwhip with some fancy work and a shiny collar.

beautiful work Rhett my complements!

The last one - 16 plait with collar - is definitely my favorite! Looks compact and elegant the same time. The pattern on the handle is very nice! Is it a 5 Footer?

Robby

Thanks Einar and Robby.

It's 6ft Robby.

This woody bull is actually a target whip, believe it or not. It was commissioned by Mr. Ric Boyd of the Dallas/Fort Worth Whip Enthusiasts Group for use at the 14ft target line at Whip Weekend 2012. I was actually able to hand deliver it as I attended that event. (Met Dusty Damrel there too!)

The handle is a laminate called stratabond/colorwood. The thong is actually 17 plait at the start so I could sneak in the single red strand Ric wanted to run for the first foot off of the handle. It was a challenging build. And to top it off, he also had me build a shorter version that looks like a smaller twin after this.

All great looking whips. I like the dark wood handles.
For the 20'er do you bundle the strands or just untangle as you go? Either way it is a lot of cord to start with.

Thank you sir. I just untangle it. It's a lot of cord, but I started out making longer whips, so I'm sort of accustomed to working with it.

I've found pulling one strand at a time from the mess in a straight upwards motion from the floor will allow me to untangle it fairly quickly. Sometimes you'll get a little knot down at the end of one of the strands that will cause a snag, but it's pretty easy.

This 12 plait bullwhip was made for a young man who really likes snakes. This color pattern was meant to resemble a photo he sent me of a "Blue Coral Snake." It's blue and turquoise with the handle and point in neon orange with reflective tracer.



The cow whip below was my first experiment with plaiting a grip on a wood handle. I sent it as a prize for the UK Whipcracking Convention a couple years back: