Whip Basics. The Forum

Hey everyone! One of my main aims is to experiment and make an amazing fire whip that actually acts like a whip, mainly because I don't like the noodle fire whips that everyone has :P

Here is my first attempt of a 16 plait whip. You see a lot of bunching/folding up, because my supplier accidentally sent me materials that is larger than what I ordered, but I have someone who needed this today so I didn't have time for working out how to get the one I actually wanted XD

So, here we are!


First belly being plaited. Notice the folding, the core was too small for 8 plait but I decided to push on since I would have done this with the proper size material.

Now, I am using kevlar thread for binding...and it works, potentially slightly too well.

This is the first belly, and it stuck up like crazy. Because kevlar is so ridiculously strong, I was able to pull better when binding :P


Second belly, same process as before! One thing I've noticed is that kevlar thread when used as binding, doesn't act the same as sinew. With sinew, when you bend it, especially at the transition, it likes to go back to its original position, whereas with the thread, it acts more as a...resistance. It's harder to bend, but doesn't go back, if that makes sense?


Starting the overlay. Really don't like this material here, sooooo much folding



ANNNDD complete! Even though I had quite a few difficulties in this build (especially since it was a rushed one day job), I'm quite happy with the taper, and the binding.

Here's a link to me testing it out briefly - https://youtu.be/Rgfys55wc4w - it's not the best whip, but definitely handles better than any other fire whip I've played with so far :P

Now to test it out on fire, hopefully this works! Will update tonight when I test it~

Wow Brandon, that's a very cool whip!

It works well Brandon.
Good job.

Ron

Awesome work Brandon, I can imagine it being a horrible to work material. Really nice job, looks great and it cracks easy Looking forward to the test

Congratulations, Brandon! That's a real whip, not a mere noodle!

That looks nice Brandon I agree with you that most fire whips that can be bought are crap :P This one looks and behaves much better.

Thanks everyone! I come bearing bad news it functions very well as a whip, but fails as a fire whip... It doesn't burn for very long, probably because of the material. Time to go back to the drawing board for materials.

... On another note, I now have material to make a very hard to break whip! :P

Looks like it cracks very easy - and nice handling - maybe you need some material that can soak you liquid - - maybe a bolster of some kind instead of secon belly?

Yeah, I'm thinking next I'll try tape wick, that should give me a better soak.
Here's my burn, you can see how damn quickly it goes out, which is ridiculously sad - https://youtu.be/QZ9Bwf6Bqs0
I was thinking about bolsters, but I have no idea how I'd get a fabric or something that long haha any ideas?

I think other fire whips have a cotton rope core or something, right? I'm sad you don't get that nice fireball. This is good to know though. Maybe a cotton or wool batting for a bolster? Like you would use when making a quilt. It's thin and flat and would soak up the kerosene or whatever.

How long did you soak it in the fuel? If it's not really penetrating, you may need to just soak it longer. Found it interesting that instead of slowly burning out, it went from fire to nothing in half a second. Also, I wonder if it might not have to do with the fact that it's not the material you were looking for. If it was too wide, it's possible that it prevented the fuel from really being absorbed.

Fire whip bolsters are usually nomex, or at least that's what I've read.

Hmmm I might try tape wick, it often has a blend of kevlar and fibreglass to give it more soakability.

I did soak it entirely, but I really should have expected this. The material is 100% round braid - not good for soaking up fuel :O

I also have another fire whip that i made with the kevlar /fibreglass blend, that one just doesn't want to go out :P I was showing off to my friends and ended up having to double hand it and crack it all over the place before it went out. Will talk to some people, see if I can get better materials

Well, I for one, would love to see what you come up with. I'm still in the market for one. If this works, I know where I'm going to get mine. I watch others and they seem like the limp noodle you describe. If you can get one with true bullwhip style performance, I'd be down for that.

That's looking good Brandon, though it's a shame it doesn't burn too well. I'm clueless about fire whips so best of luck to you

It definitely whips well. What about coating/rubbing it with wax before the fuel?

the wax would prevent the fuel from soaking in correctly.

Jesse, this whip works quite well as a bullwhip, and I've been thinking of making fire stockwhips and snakewhips too for people who prefer those.
Unfortunately since this material isn't good, I'm gonna start looking around for better ones :P

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! I hope to come back with a better balance of fire and whip~

Great, I like the Idea of making a Real whip instead of the simple cord ones.. Looking forward to see it with fire in action

Stocks, I can see. There's still a handle. I'm not sure how the snake idea would work. Its an interesting idea, but there's fuel the whole way down the thong. And with no handle, youd be holding onto the flamy bit. No thanks...