Whips #72 and #73
So, finally, last week I had some free time to catch up on my commissions and I just finished the knot work late last night. I'm actually pretty happy with both of these, especially in comparison with the previous failure. 6' bulls made as a matching pair but going to two different individuals, 14" fiberglass handles, BB+ball chain+nylon core, 8 plait Dacron inner belly, 8 plait nylon second belly and 12 plait nylon overlay, lead and nylon knob foundation. I went with the nylon overlay instead of the Dacron mostly because I didn't have enough material for two whips, but partially because I didn't think I'd be losing sensitivity especially in comparison to the work involved with the higher plait count. I modified the core construction to adapt better to the lighter handle and overall, I'd say these are probably have the best action of all the whips I've made to date. The solid black was a specific request so I differentiated them by using a different end cover on the knobs.
Whip #71
While I was in school April or May, I was commissioned to make a whip for a martial arts instructor in the US. I eventually had some time to proceed in late may so I thought it would be a good time to try working with my spool of Dacron that I picked up last year. I was asked for a 14" handle and an overall length of 6'. I went with a fiberglass handle for the first time and I really like as a handle core for bulls. Much easier to work with than steel. I used an inner core braid of Dacron, and second belly of nylon and an overlay braid of Dacron, something like 18 plait. The knob has a lead base and is overlayed in black and gold nylon. It's a fantastic looking whip. However, I consider it overall to be an inferior product.
I used too much weight in the core for the thong so the whip feels too heavy. And I didn't find the action to be good as I had hoped the Dacron would provide. In any case, I decided not to release this whip into the wild. It's also a shame since I had also begun work on a second whip to match this one for another practitioner under this instructor. It wasn't until June that I was able begin work on another pair as replacements, and I just finished those last night.
Whip #70
Pretty busy the past couple of months. Only managed one whip build amongst all my other projects and the other demands of life. 
So I close out the year with whip #70, which is an 8' bull requested by a client. I used all of the fundamental techniques I had worked on with the last couple of whips I made, with the exception of adding another belly layer: 10" steel handle, BB and ball chain core, 6 plait and 10 plait bellies with a 16 plait overlay in red and black. The first belly was more for tapering and general strength at the transition and it ended up working well. Overall, I think the balance and weight of the whip could be better. With a second belly I think I need to scale back on the amount of BBs. Otherwise it flows and cracks well.
Starting in January I will be attending school part time so I expect to have less time for projects in general, but I should be able to manage to sneak in something here and there. I have been experimenting a fair bit with food recently so do expect to see posts about food and cooking sometimes, mixed in with my other projects.
Happy New Year everyone!
Whip #68 & #69
After making the Kelly style whip, I wanted to incorporate some of the essential construction methods I learned with a few other ideas I had simmering on the backburner. I made whip #68 (pictured on the right, black with red) a couple of weeks ago, just after completing the cow whip. 7' with a 9" handle, BB and ball chain loaded core, 10 plait belly with a 12 plait overlay in black. Keeping the core and belly simple really made a difference. I finally have a fluidness to the thong that has been eluding me. Part of this whole process was to also try and develop a kind of scalable standard method for myself that would be practical and efficient. Making whips is somewhat labour intensive.
So I just completed whip #69 today as a follow up (pictured left in all black) to see if I could essentially replicate what I came up with. 7' with a 9" steel handle, extra bolstering for thickness at the handle and more tapering of the core, BB and ball chain loaded core, 10 plait belly with a 16 plait overlay. Overall it seems like I certainly can replicate things and maintain the flow I've been wanting. I'm still experimenting with a few things so my standard is almost there, but I still some ideas to hash out.
One thing I borrowed from another whip maker is rolled paracord covering for the end of the knob. I call it the "Susanka Swirl" after the original whip maker. It turns out to be very simple to construct and it looks sharp. I will be applying this to many whips in the future.
Whip #67 – Kelly Style Cow Whip
I like making cow whips and snakes. Generally, they are fairly quick and easy to make. This one is whip #67 and I cobbled it together late last night and early this morning. The handle I already had. I purchased it earlier this year from a fellow whipmaker as I don't have a lathe. It's about 16" long but I forget what kind of wood it is. The thong is 6' long with a two tone 12 plait tan and walnut brown overlay on a 10 plait belly over a BB core. I made it according to Rhett Kelly's construction details except I left it unwaxed. I didn't use a clamp for my braiding on this one. I used the hanging method so I could practice keeping my seams straight and I think I did pretty well. Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out and the work flow was quite streamlined. Rhett's method is straight braiding over braiding so his method is a fair bit different from what I had come up with originally. Generally, I prefer a bit of spring in my whips so there really isn't any of that here. But I learned a lot from this as there are quite a few construction tricks that I will likely start incorporating into my work. All in all, I'm very pleased.