Antti "Pokkis" Mäkinen (Page 1 of 3)

Awesome! Build threads, exciting!

Still gotta hunt for some decorations, I hope I can find one thing. A very specific thing. Not a large part compared to the entire whip, but not a small one in its own class either. Oh, the mysteries of life...

- Pokkis

Woah looks like it's gonna be like 15ft!

Lol : D By the way, what do you use for core strand?

Erik, it's a piece of gutted paracord. The steel balls and other stuff I need to insert are 4 mm or less in diameter so it works just fine.

Rachel, I've learned to accept the inevitable horrors of binding, so those aren't nasty words for me any more. Hmm well... Maybe "accept" is a bit too strong word here, let's just say that the sight of a sinew spool no longer fills my heart with existential angst

- Pokkis

I thought of that too, but since nowadays I mostly use 4, 3 and sometimes even 2 mm steel balls for loading the core, it would be real difficult with cord that size. And whenever I make a bullwhip with an internal handle, I use 5 mm carbon fibre rods that are easy to grind down to 4 mm at the tip so that the core strand is easily attached.

More than one way to bake a cake, it seems

- Pokkis

I wax my whips in most cases, so a 16-plait bull is still not as light as all that carbon fibre and aluminium might suggest. Regardless of my balls being smaller than yours. In fact the light handle actually shifts the whip's point of balance forward and makes it feel more "heavy" in a way, but this is another discussion altogether. Let's all now silence our questions and bask in the awesomeness that is the core of my latest effort. Bask! Bask, I tell you!

I should probably sleep soon

- Pokkis

And in the word of a once popular Australian band:

"and he's got big balls
and she's got big balls
but we've got the biggest balls of them all"

All kidding aside, Looking Good Pokkis!

Thank you, everyone!

Donovan, they may be small, but they're hardened stainless steel

I decided to wrap some parachute cord around the mess you see up there. Seemed like a good idea, I guess we'll find out eventually how that works out. Looks prettier and more... Whippy. Or something.

what do you mean "whippy" isn't an actual adjective?

The first belly is plaited up to halfway of the thong length, and that will make it somewhat nose heavy instead of a quick and nimble speed cracking whip. Creating a nice balance is not just about loading the core -- in fact that's just a small part of it. Adjusting the taper makes a whole lot more difference than you might believe, especially when the whip is waxed. And... Yes, I'm now a believer. Most Nylon whips I'll be making from now on -- starting from last spring -- will absolutely be waxed with the only exception being fast performance whips.

That's it for now, gotta start binding and cut the cords for another belly

- Pokkis