So, how does one actually "get into" whip-making? Well, if you live say, in Australia, there's a good chance of being born into the trade, due to a family member passing down the knowledge to you the same as it came to them. Australia is rich in tradition when it comes to whip-making. For the rest of us, especially here in the U.S., it's not exactly a well-known trade or vocation. It always fascinates me when I hear stories from others on how they came to whip-making.

For myself, my interest in whips was sparked by Indiana Jones. From then on, any movie or TV show that featured a whip always grabbed my attention. My friends & I made "whips" out of thick rope, electrical tape bound for the handle section with a knot on the end. My whip holder was a shoe-string that wrapped around the coiled rope & fastened onto a spring clip which hung from my belt. As you can imagine, this "whip" didn't really crack all that well, if at all, but it worked great when swinging on it from a tree branch or the roof of my parents' garage!

As time passed, I was flipping through an old Field & Stream magazine my dad subscribed to. In the back, amongst the classifieds, was an ad for an 8 ft latigo swivel-handled bullwhip. I didn't know much at all about whips, but I knew I had to have it, and "screen-accuracy" wasn't in my vocabulary back then. I think the whip cost about $89 or so, which I paid for with the money from my paper route, sent in the form of a money order. In a couple weeks, I had my first real bullwhip.

Years passed, and from time to time, I'd dig out that old latigo bullwhip & swing it around some, getting a few cracks here & there, but never really mastering it. Somewhere along the way, amidst packing & moving, the whip was lost, never seen again, but not forgotten. After high school came college, which found me hanging drywall for about 3 years. From there, I worked in a couple different machine shops, learned to program a CNC lathe & so worked at becoming a machinist. Then I worked for a friend who bought a rental store, did that for a couple years. Eventually, I went back to doing sheetrock, which I've done now off & on for almost 20 years. It's a good trade to know when the work is there, but as anyone who knows it will tell you, it's feast or famine. So, most of my life has dealt with construction & manufacturing of some sorts.

One day at my board-hanging job, I got to thinking about cracking a whip when I was a kid, and how I'd like to do that again. So again, I bought myself an inexpensive latigo bullwhip, this time a 10 footer. This time around I decided that I was gonna learn how to crack it correctly, and learn how to handle a whip. After a month or so of routinely practicing with my new whip and reading everything I could find online about whips and the people who make them, I decided that I'd try to make one myself. I thought that I was good enough at working with my hands that I could learn this skill, however long it took. So I bought the Ron Edwards book, How To Make Whips, and so it began.

The first several whips I made were cowhide, various thicknesses of veg-tanned tooling leathers, one from buffalo hide and one from kangaroo hide. Through numerous emails to people like Mike Murphy & Bernie Wojcicki, I learned bits & pieces of the process. Because leather can be pretty expensive, especially kangaroo hide, I decided to better my plaiting skills with a less expensive material, nylon paracord, a.k.a. parachute cord. I had seen pics of whips online from Rhett Kelly, Steve Koliski, Joe Driver & some others.

That's when I learned about the increasing popularity of nylon whips, how their durability & versatility has made them a good complement to leather whips. There are some people who just cannot accept that nylon whips have a place in today's sport of whip-cracking. I won't argue with them, to each his own. But I feel, and will make a point of this in the ongoing debate of nylon vs. leather, that nylon is a good complement to leather, not an alternative. It has its place, both as a less expensive option when buying a whip & for its functionality. There's nothing that can be done with a leather whip that can't be done with a well-built nylon whip.

So, here I am, some 4 years & 300+ whips later. I love working with my hands, enjoy making whips & constantly looking for ways to improve upon a good product. Did I ever plan to build primarily nylon whips? No. But I love cracking whips and am thankful that I can help offer products to others who also love whips, even provide them maybe with their first whip. As time goes on, I'll devote more attention to building leather whips, which was in fact my first intention. In time, I hope to reach a point of offering quality whips in both leather & nylon.
A point of thank you to all who've ever given me help or answered a question I've had regarding making whips:   Mike Murphy, Bernie Wojcicki, Rhett Kelly, Joe Driver, Robert Duke, Benjamin Scott, and most recently Tony Layzell.

I saw Raiders in '81 and fell in love with the whip. It so happened that one of my neighbours had a cheap Mexican deal that he let me use sometimes, and one of my uncles still had his old whip which he'd made himself back when he was a young man working the farm, to keep the old bull in check. This whip looked a lot like the Loudon whip in Morgan's book on whips of the west... Very simple, but it was the one that sent me on my way.

The first few whips were evolutions of this old whip design and I eventually got a version that worked well enough for me to learn how to crack with it. It had a core of leather laces for the first half and was covered in a simple 4-plait, with the same kind of spike I now use in the handle for stiffening. It wasn't a great whip and I had no technique at all but I was able to crack it, and I'd made it myself! I must have been around 12 or 13 at the time. In those days I whipped myself something awful trying to learn how to use it, just awful! But for some reason, I was never afraid of it, and everyday after school, I'd run into the house, grab my whip and bolt out the back door and into the yard to try and learn how to use it. I eventually got pretty good with it too; I'd gotten to the point where I could pick off a match sticking from the side of an old hockey stick (hey I AM Canadian) I'd planted in the ground! Of course all my neighbours were convinced I was soft in the head or something, but I didn't  care. As cheap as that old whip was, it was magic to me back then. Ironic how I've never had as much fun with a whip as I did with that old piece of junk...

Anyway, time went by and I found Morgan's book on whipmaking (the first) and that just confused the hell out of me; what the hell was a belly or a keeper? But I read it over and over again until it began to fall appart. I was fascinated by the pictures and to this day, one of my all-time favourite whips is that old stockwhip with the half-plait handle made by Cecil Henderson. There is just something bordering on perfection with that whip... the lines, the proportions... it's just an amazing piece of craftsmanship.

So a few years after that, I was given Bruce Grant's Encyclopedia and that helped with the knots a little bit but his bullwhip description was so basic that it only helped a little bit in understanding how they're really made. But by then, life and college had caught up with me and my interest in whips dwindled for many years. Until one day, my then very young nefew Christopher asked me if I woould make him one. Well by then the internet had made its way into our lives and information was easily available, and I was able to make him one that worked well enough to learn on. From that point on, I ate everything about whips I could find and I spent the next few years avidly gobbling up all the info I could get my grubby little hands on. During this time folks like Bernie and Bernardo were very helpful in helping me along. Eventually I started asking everyone questions, so as not to wear out my welcome with any one person.

That was a few years ago now, and even though I still have much to learn, I can say I've come a long way and I couldn't have done it without the help of a lot of fine folks who were very generous with their hard-earned knowledge, and to them, I say a very sincere thank you. I  am just as fascinated to look at whip and especially whip-making pictures now as I was when I first started. I don't know that that will ever change.

I've since had the pleasure and honour of making whips for stage artists and film work (300), as well as having renkowned stunt cooradinator and action-sequence director, Vic Armstrong, give them a try and a big thumbs up.

There you have it folks; a movie, a passion and many trials & errors is what it boils down to for me, but mostly, it's just a hoot!
Cheers,

Franco

These were my first contacts with whips. Later came Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro and in 1974, an evil villan with a whip in an episode of “Kung Fu” who didn't stand a chance against Kwai Chang Caine… My very first whip was made out of a piece of wood and a rope. Years later came Indiana Jones.

At first, I was not that interested in whipcracking.  I was more fascinated by the art of braiding a whip. I had never tried to do it myself, but I was happy to admire finely plaited whips and the artisans who were skilled at this craft from afar.

Then one day I was working for a tv production where my job was to find and care for the props, during which time I was asked to find a stockwhip. This is how I discovered Simon Martin from Australia. After this, I began needing to do some whip research for other shows. Whether it was destiny or coincidence, I don’t know, but from there I also made contact with other whipmakers: Paul Nolan, Victor SanSoucie, Lauren Wickline, Bernardo DelCarpio, Rhett Kelley, David Morgan, Tony Layzell and more. I had - and have - the deepest respect for these masters.

As I did more research I discovered some ... strange ... folks on the internet who seemed to be more interested in just looking cool and damaging their whips than helping other whipcracking fans and hopefuls to increase their own skills.  There were even some people pretending to be whipmasters who perhaps could do everything but wanted to help no one.

That was the point when I had the idea for the whip basics trilogy. Three tutorials to guide a person from “Where is the end to hold the whip, please?” up to target cracking, wraps and combinations. But where to start…? I always tried to think like a real beginner. How much help for a beginner would it be to show off how awesomely I can crack my whip, and tell them in the end “Okay, and if you practice hard, some day you’ll be as good as I am…!”  That’s not teaching. That’s useless!  I was in contact with another production company who agreed to produce a “little whip cracking video”. In the end that “little” whip cracking video had over 50 subjects, and 9 screenings and recuts!  :o)  The first person I talked about that tutorial with was Lauren Wickline. She was very supportive of the idea, but I still made her promise me that she wouldn’t laugh at me when she saw the DVD.  I always thought (and think) that the teacher is not the important thing, but the teaching. I also think that the greater teacher is one who helps many people to crack their whips successfully and no one knows him, instead of a person who all the time tries to show how cool he is and can help actually no one. So I decided I didn’t want my name in the video. I told the producer he could write into the credits what ever he wanted, but not Robby Amper. In the end it was a legal matter that my name had to appear. I have often been asked, “You are a whipmaster, right sir?” And I tell people every time, “No. I’m not.” I see myself as kind of groundschool teacher up to third grade. That’s it.  I teach the basics.  Out there are so many real masters, like Chris Camp, Adam Winrich and Anthony DeLongis - just to name a few. I could never compete with these gentlemen. At least that’s not my intention.

Then came the idea to create a website, were people can find more than pictures of whips. In fact, there are so many websites with “look how cool my whips are.” The world doesn’t need one more…
I had the idea to show people the steps of making a fine whip, and - most important! - the masters behind the masterpiece. Now, that some of these folks joined me here, I’m full of confidence that we’ll create here a unique base of knowledge and wonderful stories.

I’m happy about all the emails, the letters and calls from people who enjoyed the whip basics tutorial.
But what really honors me is the fact, that these great whipmakers, the masters, know my name.
And - call me a friend. And that’s more than I ever could have hoped for.

Robby Amper

It was four plait latigo, about four feet long with a wooden handle he carved with his pocket knife.  I would like to say I still have that whip but I’m afraid I wore it out completely.  I was around five years old at the time and could already ride a horse and rope just about anything that would stand still long enough.  You see, my dad was a rodeo announcer so I pretty much cut my teeth in and around the arena. 

The next major whip influence in my life, believe it or not, wasn’t Indiana Jones.  It was ‘The Man from Snowy River‘.  That’s still my all time favorite movie.  And then of course, I’ll never forget the first time I saw Han Solo, at least as I knew him, lashing out with the infamous David Morgan original in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark‘.  From this point and throughout high school the whip was just another piece of tack hanging in the barn that didn’t get much use but was always in reach should it be needed. 

It wasn’t until the summer of 2001 that my wife and I had moved from Texas to Tennessee for me to pursue a career in the country music business, which, I had been working toward since the mid 90’s but that’s another story.  During our stay in Tennessee, I shod horses in the evening to supplement a meager income while struggling as a singer/ song writer.  I picked up a regular cliental in a short time and on one of my regular stops the man’s teenage son was popping a whip.  He called it a Florida Cow Whip.  It had a Paracord thong attached to a hollow wooden handle.  I’d never seen a nylon whip before but the more I studied it the more I wanted to make one.  Unfortunately, Paracord can’t be bought at just any hardware store so I had to improvise using plain strands of nylon string laid side by side to create a flat strand for braiding.  This process is extremely time consuming and painful on the hands but after completing one whip I was flooded with orders. 

I’ve never really considered a profession in whip making before but I truly enjoy the simple reward of creating a methodically planned out masterpiece.  It literally has a therapeutic effect.  The only thing better is the challenge of the next new design.

Dusty Damrel
Crease~N~Corral
150 Stephenson Road
Vidor, Texas 77662

409.786.2227

...and my fascination with the his bullwhip quickly became a long search to find the exact whip that Indy used in the film.  I finally stumbled upon an advertisement for David Morgan that stated that they supplied the whips used for Raiders of the Lost ark... I had found THE whip!  Unfortunately the real thing was way too expensive for a 9 year old without any allowance, so I thought maybe it would be cheaper to make one myself, and I bought a book on whipmaking, and started studying.  My amazingly supportive parents bought me a kangaroo hide for my very next birthday, and I gave making a kangaroo hide whip a try.  That first whip was terrible, but instead of giving up and saving to buy the whip from the advertisement, the challenge of learning the skills to make a good whip from scratch became more important to me.

Over the next 6 years I spent thousands of dollars in leather and made many whips, but it was obvious that there was plenty more to learn.  At that point, I began to contact every whipmaker I could find around the world, and had gotten in trouble with my parents many times when they were surprised with all of the the long distance calls to whipmakers in Australia.  The more I learned about the art, the more I realized the infinite possibilities that whipmaking had to offer far beyond the Indiana Jones Bullwhip.

Each whip I would make was a little better than the previous one, but it wasn't until my Senior year of high school that my whips started to improve by greater margins.  The biggest reason for this was due to my decision to attend the Wild West Arts Club convention in Las Vegas, and from that 5 day trip I had the pleasure of meeting and befriending many of the world renowned whipcrackers and performers, who were gracious enough to critique some of the whips I had made, and from them I learned a tremendous amount about what it is that they look for in the handling characteristics of the whips that they use on a daily basis for their profession.  I also showed Mark Allen a few of my whips, and he asked if I had thought about making whips full time as a career, and if I would like to supply whips to his company.  I told him I would need to think about it.

When I returned from the convention it was very clear that I needed to make a decision about what to do after highschool.  The more I thought about it, I realized that I had an enormous passion for keeping this dying art alive.  I finally decided that becoming a full-time whipmaker was the path I wanted in life, so I came up with the name MidWestWhips and decided to jump in with both feet.

A few years ago, while attending the WWAC Annie Oakley Days event, I met an amazingly talented woman named Lauren Wickline.  I had never connected so well with anyone else in my entire life.  The more time we spent together, the more she became fascinated with the art of whipmaking, and after much convincing, I finally agreed to show her how to braid a whip.  She dove right in, soaking up everything she could, and she became more and more obsessed with whipmaking.  She started trying new things, and experimenting on her own, learning different turks head knots that I had never even tried before.  She had caught the whipmaking bug.  After a relatively short time, she started consistently producing whips of the quality standard of professionally made whips, and we soon created a full partnership.

I have now been making whips full time as a career for nearly 10 years, and I have never looked back, never regretted a moment.  Over these years, whipmaking has brought me amazing challenges, my passion for life, a priceless group of close friends and incredibly, even the woman of my dreams, Lauren, who has just as much passion for whipmaking as I do.  I couldn't have hoped for a better life!

Regards,

Paul

I'm married to my high school sweetheart, Diana. We have four wonderful children, of which, I hope a few will become whipmakers like their father.

Though I now reside in the state of Georgia, I'm a "Florida Cracker" through and through. I spent most of my childhood and teenage years living on the cattle ranches of my grandfather J.L. Judy, and my great-grandfather, L. R. Bronson. I thank the Lord for my "cracker" heritage. Making the Florida cow whip, in particular, is my way of staying connected to my heritage.

I was just a young guy when my grandfather bought me a 12 ft Florida cow whip. It was made by a plaiter named Richard Clark. It wasn't long before I became interested in making whips myself. My grandfather had Richard to come over and show me some things. Richard taught me a 4 plait, told me a few things, and gave me a sheet of handwritten instructions; I took it from there and practiced like crazy. By 1991, at the ripe old age of 14, I was a bona fide plaiter of Florida cow whips! 

In the years following, I mostly made whips for actual working cowboys. In 1996, I moved to Georgia and Diana and I got married shortly thereafter. By the year 2000, I got tired of working so much overtime at my job, so I decided to pursue making some whips for extra cash. Not many of the local cattlemen use whips here in Georgia, so I didn't have very much success selling the whips at the local stockyards and feed stores.

Everything changed when I bought a computer and took my whip business online. After a couple good online reviews of my whips, I had more orders than I could handle coming from all over the U.S.A and around the world. In 2001, I began making nylon bullwhips; snakewhips would follow shortly after that. In early 2009, I decided to develop my own line of nylon Australian stockwhips. Future projects will involve trying my hand at making whips from leather.

When I first took my whips online, I was surprised to find that nylon whips were frowned upon by lots of people. I didn't let that hinder me and have been fortunate enough to see many minds and attitudes changed in this regard. While I'd never try to claim all the credit for that shift in attitude, I can say that I have seen more than my fair share of emails from happy customers who never thought nylon could make a decent whip. Since 2001, I've also seen an increase in the number of internet plaiters who use nylon. This also tells me that nylon is really making some inroads within the whipcracking community.

Being a part of the Whip Basics team is a great honor. I know this series will be of great benefit to my customers. I really appreciate Robby for allowing me to be a part of it.


-Rhett Bronson Merritt Kelley   

... in 1994 when I saw Chris Beck (3time Australian Whipcracking Champion) perform at an agricultural field day.  The following year  I saved my money to purchase a whip off Bernie Wojcicki at the same field day.  At the field day with Bernie was an elderly chap by the name of Trevor Barrenger,  that was given a lot of help from Bernie with whipmaking.  Trevor showed me how to crack the whip that I purchased.  Little did I know that a couple of years later Trevor would be my leatherwork teacher in High School.

Well, my first whip was used for a while and I wore the fall out, so it just got put away and forgotten, plus I could only do a basic crack with it, and did not know anyone that could show me more.  My interest in      leatherwork was started in my last year or two of High School and Trevor Barrenger taught me how to plait belts and make small leather items, but I did not learn how to make whips at this stage.

1998 was the year I started a bricklaying apprenticeship with my Dad and older brother.  I am the youngest in my family of 2 sisters and 1 brother.  My brother had served his apprenticeship 8years earlier than me and   received a number of awards.  During my 6 1/2years bricklaying I was also awarded with a number of awards for quality of workmanship, which I was very privileged to receive. 

When I was 19 years old I discovered my old whip in the cupboard and decided to buy a book and some leather to repair the whip.  Having done this I decided that I would like to try and make one.  How to go about this I wasn’t sure, but I was fortunate enough to meet my old leather work teach Trevor down the street and asked him is he would show me how to make one.  He said you supply the leather and I’ll cut it out for you.  So I did this then he gave me a call to say it was ready.  I was actually hoping he would show me how to cut it out, but he already at the belly done and the overlay ready to plait.  He showed me how to plait the 12strands that he had cut out and we talked whips and leather for a couple of hours.

I then took the whip home and finished the plaiting, and decided to make an attempt at cutting out my own.  So I made an 8ft, 12 plait stockwhip with a 24 plait handle with my name in it.  Having finished the whip I took it to Trevor to show him and he was very pleased with my work.  At this stage Trevor was in his 80’s and his health was going down hill very quickly.  So I only had the opportunity to make one more whip and show him before he passed away.  His wife very kindly left all of his tools to me and let me choose one of the whips he made.  Trevor used to tan all his own kangaroos and hated using commercial tanned leather, so all his whips that he made are very unique.

After I was left all his tools this really increased my passion for making whips so I decided to keep making them I had to start selling them.  My local Saddlery store was my first customer, then I had a small display at the Tasmanian Mountain Cattleman’s Get Together and sold a number of whips.  Soon after I was fortunate to make contact with Chris Beck who told me I was doing a great job with it and should keep making them.

I then made contact with Bernie Wojcicki who was very helpful to me and his whipmaking video’s got me  interested in having a go at making bullwhips and helped me learn different methods.  By this time early 2004  I was getting more and more orders for whips and more people discovered that I was making them, and after Bernie telling me he wouldn’t mind me going fulltime whipmaking, as he already had plenty of clients, I made a decision to finish bricklaying and go fulltime whipmaking.

Whipmaking has brought me so many opportunities which I am very grateful for.  Not many people get to make friends with like minded whipmakers and crackers all around the world many of whom I have met.  My whips are used by many famous people here in Australia and overseas and have been presented to many      dignitaries.  I also enjoy  teaching as many kids as possible in this unique sport.  In Tasmania I run regular whipcracking competitions and most of our competitors are aged under 15 years old.  The young are the future of whipcracking and are going to keep us whipmakers very busy.

Well I hope I haven’t bored everyone with this long spiel, but blame Robby as he asked for it :o)

From that moment I was struck by it! I remember when I went back home after the show I took a piece of wood and attached a cord to it. With the imagination that only a kid can have that looked like a real whip to me.
 My very first "whipmaker" has to be my mother. She taught me to plait three stripes and since then I have tried and tried but my results were very far from making an actual whip. Eventually I saw Indiana Jones at the cinema and my pain for not having a whip grew even more.
 The real problem for me was the lack of information, pictures and manuals about whipmaking (and whips in general), close-ups, details etc...

On the other hand I knew by heart all the movies featuring whips (westerns, epics, fantasy movies and so on) and these films for me where, at the beginning, the only way to see whips in action. But after the "Dark Ages" came the "Renaissance", came the INTERNET!!!

 I still remember that my very first search on altavista was the word "frusta" (whip in Italian) but, sadly, the only results that I could find were BDSM websites so I tried searching the word "whip" in English and it was a winner! I found out about Mr. Morgan and his great contribution to the Indiana Jones series and received a great deal of help from Mr. Bernie Wojcicki and his didactic and educative tutorial. My only real obstacle was the language since the only information available were in English so with the help of the dictionary I learnt the meaning of words such as: bolster, plait, overlay etc...

Not owning a credit card back then it was impossible for me to purchase any book on the subject so I had to "study" whips from the hundreds and hundreds of pictures that I could find on the web to see their details. This is how I learnt the basics and started to make my very first whips in those early days. I could ironically call myself a "self-made man".

Since then many years have passed and I am still learning...

 Giovanni Celeste

...who quite accidentally stumbled upon the world of whips and whipmaking. One evening my youngest son, Ryan, and I were watching aircraft videos of sonic booms on Youtube.  At one point a picture popped up on the right hand side of the screen  that did not fit with those of all the aircraft. I clicked on it and to our surprise it was a guy with a whip who happened to be the extremely talented Adam Winrich. After watching in amazement we spent the next several hours viewing everything whips, which in turn led us to videos from Bernie Wojciki, Anthony De Longis,etc,etc. We were up until the wee hours of the morning watching anything we could find about whips. Long story short, we were hooked.
Since that evening we spend every free waking hour devouring any and all information on whips that we can get our hands on.
Unlike so many here, I have never seen any of the Indiana Jones films, although I do plan on checking them out. I do remember being mesmerized as a kid watching Lash LaRoo, Kung Foo, Zorro, and pretty much any western that featured a guy with a whip.
I had horses from the age of 5 and got into barrel racing as well as some trick riding and roping. I was basically living on horseback and trying to be a Cowboy, (In Connecticut?), go figure! Then came my 1st whip....Yup, It was one of those cheap Mexican jobs my Dad bought for me at the county fair. I tried to crack that thing 'till I about wore it out, wounding myself soooo many times. I'm surprised Family services didn't take me away from my parents. I became discouraged, and all that whip did from then on is hang from my saddle horn or on a wall in the tack room.
As far as braiding experience is concerned, my only background was Inkle weaving, which I taught in the late 1970s at the High School level. It's not braiding, but I have always had an interest in anything that involved the use of cordage. As any whipmaker will tell you it's always exciting and rewarding to watch as a whip materializes before your eyes. My 3 Sons have shown an interest in not only whipmaking but Inkle weaving as well, and I will be offering Inkle woven whip bags and whip holsters in the near future. As well as target stands.
As far as construction goes, after much trial and error I resorted to a scientific approach. I have an engineering background and I'm a self admitted Applied Physics “junkie”. I began designing my whip cores using a CAD program. I continually strive to improve on a design which I have found to work very well, concentrating on performance and consistent repeatability.
Fast forward; These days I find myself knee deep in paracord. Whipmaking has all but taken over my fully equipped woodworking shop, although I will always “work the wood” as it is an absolute passion, and genetic to boot. Also I don't wish to be haunted by my ancestors. Hence, all my whips (for now) have the traditional American Bullwhip wooden handles which I fashion from any indigenous or exotic wood.

In closing, I would like to mention all the fine folks here who have been truly inspirational and supportive....A nicer bunch you won't find anywhere else. Special Thanks to Mr. Robert Amper, without who's support and recognition I would not be here.

Woodworking is a Passion, Whipmaking is an Obsession.......

Kindest Regards...Guy

My father bought me my first whip when I was about ten years old, it was a cheap Mexican bullwhip the kind you could find at the county fair but to me it was quite a treasure. I spent hours trying to crack that thing and eventually wore the point out but what fun I had doing it. Because I also tore up my mother’s flower beds (as ornery boys tend to do) with that whip my father was reluctant to get me another. So many years down the road I saw Raiders of The Lost Ark and remembered the fun I had as a child with that cheap whip and decided I was going to buy myself a good one.

Well at the time I had no computer and didn't even know what the internet was so I found a whole sale house that sold whips mail order. I spent about 100.00 dollars on a 12 foot leather bullwhip made by a whip maker that’s been around for a long time whose name I won’t use. When it arrived I spent the rest of the day cracking that thing but I noticed that the action on the whip wasn't so good and it was very hard to crack. I got quite disgusted because at the time I really thought that you could get a good whip for around a hundred dollars but I found out I was wrong. Eventually, I decided to find out what was inside that whip so I took it apart and to my surprise the overlay was leather but the core was a piece of poly rope cut to a taper, the rope was duck taped to the wooden dowel handle. I was quite dismayed at the lack of quality and even with my limited knowledge of whip making I knew this wasn't a quality whip, so I decided to find out how to make a good whip.

That being said the first thing I did was find the nearest leather craft store and look for some source material. I bought every book they had on the subject of whip making and braiding. After several days of study I was ready to try my first attempt at whip making so I went back to the craft store bought some leather and started on the journey of whip making that was about ten years ago and I have learned very much by making many bad whips and by learning from my mistakes I started making better whips. Some of my techniques may seem unconventional and I believe it is because I didn't have the benefit of being able to ask question of other whip maker so through research, trial and error I use what I have learned works best for me. I continually try new techniques to make the best whips I can and I am getting fairly good at it and hope to continue to get even better. My prime interest is to produce a high quality durable whip that can be used in the field for many years, something that I can be proud of making and something that someone would be proud to own. With me it’s about quality.

Einar Stephenson

... and the Last Crusade" in the theaters when I was 9. My dad fixed me up with a nylon bullwhip he had made out of rope. I was pretty impressionable at this age: after seeing "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” I tried to make a sword just like Morgan Freeman used, and fashioned a cardboard rocket backpack after seeing “The Rocketeer.”

My interest in whips ended up being the strongest, and I wanted a better one. Since I couldn’t afford a better whip, my parents suggested that I make my own. I started with some scrap leather from the local shoe factory. My dad showed me how to braid 3 strands together, so I put together a length of braiding and tied it to a wooden handle. Knowing that I could make that first whip better, I later re-did it in a 4 strand round braid, and then re-built the whip 5 or 6 times, each time trying to make it better. After getting some leather for Christmas, as well as a book on whip making, I started making better whips.

Since then I’ve continued to learn more about whip making by spending time with other whip makers including Jim Hurlbutt, Russell Schultz, and Chris Barr.

Lately I’ve been doing more whip cracking than whip making, having set 6 Guinness World Records for whip cracking and performing at a few renaissance fairs around the United States. Aside from the whips, my other interests include playing blues harmonica and studying the Swedish language.

-Adam Winrich

... with choosing a career goal. So many things appealed to me: marketing, graphic design, mathematics, writing, cartooning, advertising, archeology, teaching. While I worried about my career path, I decided to start with a bachelor's degree in Anthropology, which I received three years later from Transylvania University.
While I was studying for this degree, I also discovered the sport of whipcracking, and bought my first professional kangaroo hide bullwhip, a 6ft. As the years passed, and I moved to different cities and sought out different jobs, I continued to enjoy building my skills as a whipcracker.

At some point, I decided I needed a master's degree, and would pursue a master's degree and certificate to become a school teacher. It was during the time I was working on my graduate degree that I attended my first wild west whipcracking convention, and met Paul Nolan from MidWestWhips. Paul and I immediately connected, as if we were meant to be together, and shared a huge variety of obscure interests. One of which was, of course, whips.

Fascinated with the art, I eventually convinced him to show me how he braided a whip, and then he let me try it out for myself with some old scraps. I devoured every detail he told and showed me, and once I finished my first whip, I became obsessed with making another one, so that I could make it better. Then I had to make another one, and it had to be even better, and another, and another. I started talking with other whipmakers, and studying the differences between whips, and eventually realized that I was more passionate about studying and handcrafting whips than I was about becoming a school teacher. It was clear that I was more passionate about studying and handcrafting whips than I had been about anything else in my life ever before!

Once Paul was confident that my abilities and the work I was producing were on par with the highest quality standards of MidWestWhips, we created a shared whipmaking workshop and a full partnership, and I indefinitely placed my conventional education career on hold to become a full-time whipmaker.  I have never been happier!

In order to continue to sustain our passion for this unique art, Paul and I completely rely on handcrafting the finest quality whips, offering the best whip accessories, and we will always do everything in our power to help spread the wonderfully enjoyable sport of whipcracking to as many people as possible.

when I was about 8 years old my older brother got a 4 plait roohide stockwhip for Christmas. We were Indiana Jones fans, didn’t really know the difference between Bullwhips and Stockwhips, just that whips were cool. My parents erred in telling my brother that he should let me use his whip also. As it turns out, my brother was not as invested in my safety as our folks would have been, and the first time I hit myself, I remember seeing him cracking up laughing as I fell to one knee. A few years later, he was showing off for his friends and tried to scare me by “almost” hitting me in the small of the back with a bullwhip he’d bought. Alas, he had not acquired skill in judging distance and I was shy of whips for several years after that. Time passed, and when I was a teenager my brother and I (shockingly we still got along) were exploring different styles of martial arts and an instructor we liked hosted a whip and dagger seminar. I bought a cheap 4 plait swivel handle bullwhip, we went to the seminar, had a great time, and I got hooked. Unfortunately, my whip was not very good- the fall was just one of the four strands left long- and after a few months I had no fall. I still didn’t know anything about whips at this point and went whipless for several years. Then one day I was surfing the internet and came across a whip website and learned that people were making whips out of parachute cord. I was intrigued by this, as I live in the pacific northwest where it always rains. There were so many different lengths and styles I wanted to try but couldn’t afford, so I decided I would learn to make my own. I bought some paracord and How to Make Whips by Ron Edwards. My first whip was horrible, the second not so bad. I worked at it off and on for a few years, and then one day Steve Koliski at www.21stcenturywhips.com announced he had a new material for whipmaking that was much closer to roohide. I ordered a spool of Dacron from Steve and I felt that my whipmaking was instantly improved. That was when I started to become truly serious about whipmaking as a craft. I joined the Whip Basics forums and had lots of great discussions with helpful whipmakers that helped me refine my skills, and I started to come up with some different ways of doing things that I don’t say are “better” than what other whipmakers do, just how I like to do them. My first love before whipmaking is art, and I like to try and incorporate my way of designing things into my whips. Dacron has a limited color palette, being only available in black and white, which troubled me for some time until I had the idea to plait an external partial belly over the bottom quarter of one of my whips in colored parachute cord-it made me think of an exoskeleton on a bug, and so the Exowhip was born.

I'm just crazy about whips. I love em as a parent loves a child. My main thing is building all sorts of projects.

I been fascinated by whips since I was a young child. Daniel Bonne's Cherokee side kick used a bullwhip. Well my parents didn't agree too much about it. But my late dad bought me my first whip a 4'x4plt cowwhide bullwhip. I wore that out, in 2 years, then my mom bought me a cheap Mexican bullwhip that fell apart with in days. At age 11. After that I haven't played with a whip until I got out of the Army. I bought a 10'x12plt. lattigo bullwhip, and a 8'x12plt snake. Then I got a computer, and saw Whip Enthusiasts, went to Tampa and saw all those beautiful, roohide whips. I cried, and couldn't afford them either. So I went to the library, checked out the Ron Edwards book, picked up some parachute cord, and try myself at whip making. I always wanted to make a fine whip since as a child. Because I like to build things. When I made a working whip, the TBWE group saw it, and got attached to it. So I said; may be I should make them to sell. So when I made whips that were sell-able, I created 21st Century Whips. I got on my computer, studied my math and trig. And now make deluxe whips out of para chord. And I make my apex whips out of 1/8" Dacron and the strongest material 1/8" Spectra.. I still do what I can to improve the quality of my whips to this day, of +10 years of business..

I love ALL whips. And I thank the Lord Jesus for my whip making ability..
------STEVE-----

My training and background is in close-up sleight of hand magic and juggling.
I’ve been a professional magician and sideshow performer for more than 20 years now. Some years back my friend and business partner had the idea, after seeing a whip performer, this would be a good addition to our act. Little did he know that this idea of his would become my obsession.

Most of the whips from this area, back when they still made whips in New England, were lunge or carriage whips, the few drover whips offered were wood handle 6 or 8 plait latigo. There was something about the tradition of a wooden handle latigo bullwhip that was appealing to me. In those days I had no real experience with leather, other than as a hobby, but I’ve always been an avid woodworker so in my mind I was half way there.

Lacking the advantage of having someone to learn from and most other whip makers that make plaited handle kangaroo whips telling me I should do the same, I knew I would be on my own. After a year or so of just research on the proper construction of a whip I felt ready. We have an old saying here, “ You don’t learn anything by doing it, you learn by doing it wrong.” So long story short. After some hard work and a lot of trial and error I had my first whip.

After a few years and many more whips, other performers began asking me where I got the whip we use. They didn’t look like the whips everyone else was using. When I told them I was the maker, they asked if I would consider making one for them.
I was happy to comply. The rest is as they say history. I still make a wood handle 8plait latigo whip because it’s the whip I like and the whip I use. I only hope that others feel the same.

When I’m not performing or whip making, I spend my time with my MAC, or reading Science Fiction, magic books, and anything I can find on whips and whip history; all while listening to the music of the greatest American composer Frank Zappa.

love all kinds of whips, not just Indiana Jones style Bullwhips. My interest in whips actually started around the age of 10.  I was playing at a friends house when a local rancher came by for a visit and brought his new bull whip over to show my friends father. It was long, sleek, brown and beautiful, not one of the cheap Mexican whips that I had seen before.

It was a piece of art to my young eyes and I was hooked. The rancher did some basic cracks and the noise blew me away. I couldn't believe that a whip was capable of making that loud of a bang! I immediately had to have one. After a lot of begging and pleading, my parents finally bought me a cheap Mexican bull whip. I think it was a 6 foot whip, but can't remember for sure now.

You probably have guessed how this turned out. After trying to get that whip to crack for days, I was finally able to get an occasional pop out of the whip, but nothing compared to what I had heard at my friend's house. I put the whip away when my frustration with trying to get the whip to crack, my total lack of technique and the occasional stings to the head, face and back took it's toll.

It is amazing how your young memories come back to remind you of past passions.

A few years ago I recalled that memory and how enthralled I felt with that whip in my hand. Older and wiser, I started searching the internet and reading books trying to learn as much as I could about whips. It turned out there was much more to a whip than I realized. So after many months of research I decided to jump on ebay and bought a cheap Mexican bull whip. That's right, I learned nothing from my internet searches and hours of study. In my mind, I kept thinking there can’t be that much difference between a $75 whip and one costing three or more times that, right? Wrong!

I struggled with that whip for over a year before I realized that there was a difference, a HUGE difference, between a cheaply made whip and a quality made one. That realization came with a Christmas gift from my wife, my first custom made whip from a well known whipmaker in Australia (Em Brand). There was no comparison between my new whip and the piece of crap I had before. Bernie's whip took very little effort to crack. An easy roll out that was so fluid and natural feeling, almost sensual, which produced a crack at the end. I was sold !!

Thus began my journey of whipmaking. I have always enjoyed working with my hands and making things, from stained glass to welding, so I decided I was going to make quality whips. With the help of books (Ron Edwards, Tom Hall, etc.), other whip makers literally from around the world (Tony Layzell, Bernie Wojciciki, plus others that don't even realize they helped), and a lot of time and frustration, I'm now making whips that I'm proud enough of to sell to others.

Like many others I've always had a fascination for whips after seeing them in movies like Indiana Jones and later on the Zorro movie where Anthony Hopkins is snuffing out candles with his black bullwhip. I think the one moment that really grabbed my attention and made me think " I need to try that!" was watching the movie "The Rundown" where one of the bad guys uses a pair of bullwhips in a fight scene against Duane "The Rock" Johnson. I just thought it was amazing to watch and I had to give it a go.

 I didn't get my start with whips until I was in my 20s, but I've always had a thing for knot tying and rope-work for as long as I can remember. My first memories of braiding strands are from back in summer camp when I was a boy. I've made more than my fair share of bracelets, necklaces and key chains, but never really got into anything more complex than that for a many years.  Strangely enough the thing that slowly steered me towards making whips was another hobby altogether that I'm very passionate about, collecting fine knives.

My passion for collecting knives is what led me to find a number of forums where they were the main topic discussed, but there was also a lot of similar minded folks who were interested in the wilderness/survival and how knives and other tools/gear can be useful in those types of situations. One of the topics often discussed was paracord, and it's many uses for survival as well as other purely decorative uses. It was truly amazing to see all the different things that were being made with this rugged and versatile material and I went to work trying to master all of the different styles of fobs, lanyards and bracelets I could. Hungry for more, I searched the internet for something different that I could make out of paracord, lanyards and bracelets were being tied by hundreds of folks on the forums, and I wanted to find something that hadn't been done before.

That's when I stumbled upon the Whip Basics forum and the snake whip tutorial by Tony Layzell. Nylon whip making is by no means a "new" thing that hasn't been done before, but it was very new to me, and I'd never seen anything like them. I bought all the supplies I needed and went to work on my first whip. It took me quite a while, and my fingers hurt like never before, but I eventually had a working whip. It wasn't pretty, but it cracked, and the first time I heard that sonic boom I was hooked. I immediately got to work on my next one, and then the next, constantly trying to achieve a cleaner looking result than the last. I was making 2 and 3 whips a week, I just couldn't stop and most of my free time was being spent on learning the craft. I started playing around with different methods and material for cores and moved on to bullwhips, which turned out to be my favorite style of whip to make and use.

Along the way I've had a lot of help from fellow whip makers, and wouldn't know as much as I do know without pestering all of them with my questions. Great folks like Rhett Kelley, Steve Huntress, Skip SanSoucie, and Paul Nolan all took the time to offer helpful hints and nudge me in the right direction. Their help has certainly sped up my learning curve and helped perfect the skills I use to build all of my  whips.

-Stephane R. Normand