Nylon whips...my other hobby

[Lt.Col.Vortex]

Whenever I have the time and materials, I like to sit around and plait a whip. This is my recent finished project, a 36 inch mini bull whip. It is a 12 plait with a diamond plaited handle (first time trying the diamond plait, it came out quite well) and pineapple turks head knot at the rear. Bull whips are suppose to have a knot (like the rear one) covering the transition point where the handle and the whip meet. I did not put one on this whip (for simple lack of getting around to it), but I think it looks quite nice without it.

On my next knife I'd like to try a diamond plaited handle or something like that.

Apologizes for originally posting this in the wrong section. Thanks to who moved it.

 

[thebrain]

That looks great! How long does it take to make a whip that size? And how much cord?

 

[daug]

That looks awesome! Made using paracord? How does it crack?

 

[Lt.Col.Vortex]

Since I am still new at it, a week at most( between work and such). If I sat down and worked, a whip this size would take me about 2 days. This took about 110-115 foot of 550 (type3) paracord ( all I have readily available is 550).

Whips are actually really easy to make. All you really need to know is how to plait/braid. (a round braid..at least in whip making..is called a plait. so plaiting and braiding are the same thing essentially). All I did was watch whip plaiting videos till I got the hang of it. Then I went out and bought cord and messed up my first whip horrible, came back, tried again and got better.

 

[Lt.Col.Vortex]

That looks awesome! Made using paracord? How does it crack?

Actually this whip is whats called a 'fast whip'. Meaning it basically rolls/throws fast. This is due to it being short. Fast whips pose a challenge to crack since you have to throw them harder because they are very light. Longer whips require less effort to crack because they take longer to throw, which means they can build up speed faster. It also helps that longer whips are heavier. And in being heavier, they will basically throw themselves and get a good crack each time.

And yes, 550 paracord. Paracord/nylon whips preform and last very similar to leather whips. The upside to nylon whips is that they are cheaper and they can take abuse better.

 

[daug]

"Paracord/nylon whips perform and last very similar to leather whips" .....good to know. I'm inspired to give it a go. Thanks for the post!

 

[Helrazr]

Vortex, what are you using as your starter inner core and can you post one or two of your favorite whip making vids please?
Thanks
Rob

 

[cj65]

That piece looks great Vortex. Great work.

 

[Lt.Col.Vortex]

Vortex, what are you using as your starter inner core and can you post one or two of your favorite whip making vids please?
Thanks
Rob

Working on finishing my a tutorial I've had in the works for some time now.

 

[Czechmate]

Baeutiful work Lt.!

I love the size of that whip; I have two 8' kangaroo bullwhips but they're a bit too big to edc, that one you made would be perfect. :thumbup:

 

[Lt.Col.Vortex]

OK, tutorial is taking way longer to finish up that I had hoped. So here is a tutorial I used on the past and here are some vids to help you along.

Part 1: 4 foot snake whip

Part 2: 4 foot snake whip

This tutorial is for someone who has the basic knowledge of whip making and who already knows hot to plait. So for the ultimate beginner it may not be the best. But if you give me a few weeks I hope to have my tutorial written up by then.

And here is a channel I HIGHLY recommend you check out, https://www.youtube.com/user/bernie46?feature=watch This guy is who got me started in whips.

I love the size of that whip; I have two 8' kangaroo bullwhips but they're a bit too big to edc, that one you made would be perfect.

I really want to get more into making whips actually and eventually start to sell a few. Maybe I could hit you up some day if your still interested..

 

[Bhamster]

I know it is fun to crack a whip and i am sure it is more gratifying to make one and use it but why would anyone need or want to EDC one?

 

[Lt.Col.Vortex]

I know it is fun to crack a whip and i am sure it is more gratifying to make one and use it but why would anyone need or want to EDC one?

I had a billy goat a few years ago who kept somehow breaking his collar and roaming the pen, one would have been useful then. But other than being used as an animal correctional tool, I cant think of other uses. Rob explains it pretty well, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnwfFVnzCDI

 

[Tyler Blake]

Cool, another whipmaker! Vortex, how did you like doing a three footer? I made a matched set of three foot bullwhips for a guy a few years back and I found it challenging to fit the taper in that short of a space. I work mostly with dacron but I also use paracord for color accents.

For the EDC question, it's not for everybody but a short whip with a knife in the offhand can be used for SD. I've never done that, but I do sometimes carry a snake on walks and I have used a whip to frighten off aggressive dogs. I would rather frighten a dog than be forced to shoot it. I was walking my ferret around my parents' yard last Christmas when my wife and I went to visit them in Texas, and one of the neighbors' dogs came running into the yard looking at my little sidekick like lunch. A few cracks in the air was sufficient to send him back to his own yard.

 

[texas gun person]

I was walking my ferret

Made me laugh.

Whips are something I think most guys have thought about getting into... Because they're sweet! Myself included. But it's one of those things that I don't know where to begin with.

Those look very nice, Tyler.

 

[fast14riot]

I know it is fun to crack a whip and i am sure it is more gratifying to make one and use it but why would anyone need or want to EDC one?

Because Indiana Jones made it so cool!


-X

 

[Lt.Col.Vortex]

@Tyler, actually it was fairly easy to get the making this one. But thats probably due to my lack of experience and not know how easy it is to make larger whips It is a rather strait whip though, since its not very thick it doesn't have much of a taper. I used a set of 3 steel wire cores, that helped with the tapering because paracord is not thick enough to taper on its own (with whips this short).

 

[theHobbyist]

I might have to put aside my knife making hobby to try this for a bit... you tube to learn the knotting eh? I been trying to make a cat-o-9 tales... would this be similar?

 

[NaturalMystic]

I might just have to try my hand at this!

 

[Lt.Col.Vortex]

I might have to put aside my knife making hobby to try this for a bit... you tube to learn the knotting eh? I been trying to make a cat-o-9 tales... would this be similar?

Honestly, I dont know. Tyler Blake would know a lot more on that ( I think, hes been making whips MUCH longer than I have). Or you could watch Bernie make one. Cat or nine tails How-To
Bernie is one of the ones I first started watching make whips (thank you YouTube). Hes just so easy to understand and follow along. He doesn't show some how to plait, but just scroll though his other videos where he explains how to plait.