First try at a bull

Roy Partin · Post by **Roy Partin** » Thu 21. Jul 2016, 14:04

Well done lady! Very impressive for your first bull. It looks very fluid in Hagen's hand. Thanks Hagen for the demo

Rachel McCollough · Post by **Rachel McCollough** » Thu 21. Jul 2016, 16:31

Thanks, Roger!

Roy I appreciate it!

Hagen says to you both, thank you!

Oliver Jung · Post by **Oliver Jung** » Wed 27. Jul 2016, 18:01

Rachel, great job, i like it very much. Your son is much better than me in whip cracking,

Rachel McCollough · Post by **Rachel McCollough** » Wed 27. Jul 2016, 19:28

Thank you, Oliver, he's much better at whip cracking than me, too!

Ben Varsek · Post by **Ben Varsek** » Sun 31. Jul 2016, 12:34

@ Rachel McCollough:

The tapered loaded fall of your whip looks (and performes) fantastic and the demo by Hagen shows that your first (!!!) bullwhip performes like a dream !!!
My greatest compliments to Hagens whipcracking demo and to your outstanding work Mrs. McCollough !!!

All the best
Ben

Rachel McCollough · Post by **Rachel McCollough** » Sun 31. Jul 2016, 17:39

Thank you very much, Ben! Now for the heel knot, which I hope comes out at least tight

Rachel McCollough · Post by **Rachel McCollough** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 04:41

Still have to straighten out and tighten properly this thing... It's a (I Think...) 9x8 TH on a string/glue foundation. I think I made That TH a bit bigger than I thought.., I will get it tight and right soon. I have a very healthy respect for those complicated heel knots by Tyler. Man.

Ron May · Post by **Ron May** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 05:09

Rachel, that's pretty good for your first knot.
It does seem to be a little "bunched" by overlapping strands.
That might be due to the foundation too small.
But I could be totally wrong.
I haven't made many at all so it always puzzles me and frustrates me to no end.

Ron

Rachel McCollough · Post by **Rachel McCollough** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 11:27

Yessir you're right it needs some good spreading and tightening. I believe it'll fit alright when it's tight, I had just reached my limit on patience

Ron May · Post by **Ron May** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 12:31

Rachel, I do know what you mean.

Ron

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 13:00

Wow looking great. And seems to handle great too! Nice long handle, I like it! Great job on the English eye and backwards plaiting too

Strange are the ways of Turk's heads...
Knowing a few of them to suit the need is important. I have promised a video series on TH's for you guys this year though...

For my eye it seems like it's not going to set perfectly without bunching even tightened and roller. For every heel knot I've made for my whips I've redone them at least a few times to find the perfect setup. What I usually end up is a 6B7L and if the foundation is rounded I add a pineapple interweave. It seems to work best on my heel foundations at least.

Ron May · Post by **Ron May** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 14:00

Erik, on my first whip it took 40+ times and on Blue Lightening it was only about 15+ so it does get better, but still challenging to say the least.

I have no doubt that Rachel will make this knot and the transition knot look great.
That is the level of skill she has.

Ron

Ben Varsek · Post by **Ben Varsek** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 14:23

@ Rachel McCollough:

The TH that you made looks fantastic Mrs. McCollough !!!
If it doesn't fit after tightening than I would higly recommend following Mr. Torpstöm's advice of using a 6 bight 7 part TH (with two passes) with pinapple interweave for this foundation. It's very forgiving in terms of adjusting the angle of the TH to the foundation and probably easyier to do then changing the foundation itself.

All the best
Ben

Ben Varsek · Post by **Ben Varsek** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 14:26

Quote from Ron May:"I have no doubt that Rachel will make this knot and the transition knot look great. That is the level of skill she has."

I couldn't have said it better !!!

All the best
Ben

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 15:06

Ron yeah, I should've stated "the last couple whips at least a few times and the first couple at least a few dozen" It's a pain when there's no experience that could tell just by eyeballing what kind of knot will fit which foundation.

Ben, yes, two passes, exactly!

Rachel McCollough · Post by **Rachel McCollough** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 16:27

Thank you, Erik and Ben, very much for your advice! I will certainly use it if the current attempt doesn't fit, I started with a 2 pass 6x7 and it seemed small- the interweave likely makes all the difference!

Thanks, Ron, and you're right practice, redo!

Tyler Blake · Post by **Tyler Blake** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 17:00

I usually use 3 passes on the 6 x7, if I only use two I tend to get gaps, but of course the interweave would take care of that. If this wants to wiggle over the penny when you tighten it Rachel, I think the 6 x 7 would be your next best bet. I don't think I ever tried a 9 x 8 though, it might come out just right

Rachel McCollough · Post by **Rachel McCollough** » Wed 17. Aug 2016, 18:10

Tyler (and everyone who's commented!) I really appreciate the tips and advice! I'm not knowledgable at all on TH's.

My biggest problem with the 6x7 two pass was it was gapped and looked a good bit shorter than it needed to be. Another pass and angle adjustment would have helped a great deal, but I guess with David's TH-1 tool it was easy enough to tie another bigger knot, had to try ALL the pins out, you know

If this one doesn't fit right I will definitely go back to the 6x7 and try again.

And when I am done, I won't be able to say that it's not worth a bloomin' cent...

Christophe Mechain · Post by **Christophe Mechain** » Tue 23. Aug 2016, 16:46

Very nice ! Good job Rachel.

Rachel McCollough · Post by **Rachel McCollough** » Tue 23. Aug 2016, 18:34

Thanks, Christophe! I hope to finish tightening or change the knot soon.