8 ft Snake

[Mark Elliott]

Thank you Ron, I've never let being a dork slow me down

Thank you, Scott.

[Mark Elliott]

Well, here 'tis, freshly waxed. 8 ft snake whip, poplar heel piece, English eye fall hitch, a little 3 pass Spanish ring knot just under the heel (it looked kinda naked without it. I tried different widths of copper, brass, and nickle ferrules and they just didn't work for me,) 16 plait with the first 8 inches of the handle in a short herringbone, a double ended, weighted fall, and a cracker made from Fast Flight + bowstring. Haven't cracked it yet, but will do so tomorrow and post a video. Sorry about all the wax flakes.

[Ron May]

It looks good Mark.
With the ambient temperature being so cold it's hard to avoid the flakes when taken out of the wax.
A hair dryer and a rag will take care of that.
Nice job, be proud.

Ron

[Jyri Haveri]

Very well done Mark!

[Sir Roger Tuson]

I do like that heel. The almost white poplar against the black thong works really well.

[Robert Gage]

Very nice, Mark! The taper looks excellent; and your attention to detail is very evident. It should crack very well. The light heel piece and black thong give a very distinctive look. Well done!

Just one question: do you find a snake whip this long to be a bit awkward? I quite like snakes, but the one 8-footer I have is not the easiest whip to use. It cracks perfectly well - but I haven't achieved any finesse in handling it.

[Rachel McCollough]

Mr. Robert has described your work well!
Excellent taper, great attention to detail, a very comfortable looking heel, I think it is really beautiful, Mark. Really nice work! Every piece I see of yours shows new and steady improvement (and was already very good, mind you!).
Great work, Mark!

[Mark Elliott]

Thank you Ron, I'll give that hair dryer a try.

Thanks Jyri, can't wait to see whip.

Thanks, Sir Roger, that's what I thought as well. I had originally thought about using some of the purpleheart I have, and I think that would have looked nice as well, but I really wanted the contrast of a lighter wood. I was hoping to find some maple locally, but poplar and oak was all that I could find.

Thanks Robert. Yes, it is a bit awkward feeling and I doubt that I'll make another snake whip this long (never say never.) I tried a couple of different length and weight falls (love the English eye) and surprisingly, the longest (34 inches) seemed to work best. Some of the unwieldiness may be from the handle, I don't know if I'll ever get used to not having the leverage of a steel rod or wooden handle when I crack it.

Thank you Rachel, If I am improving it is because of the teaching, encouragement, and inspiration I get from this group. The heel is very comfortable and fits my hand well.

https://youtu.be/JnJeo0Khl4A

[Ron May]

Mark, in lieu of a handle perhaps a firmer and tighter binding for 6 or 8 inches might help with the leverage part.

In the twins I made I put a small diameter steel rod 6" long which does help with leverage but still keeps (sort of) the spirit of a snake whip.

Ron

[Mark Elliott]

Ron, I did put extra binding as well as doing the first 8 inches in a diamond plait on the handle and it is much stiffer than the last snake. I still miss the steel core.

[Ethan Mitchell]

Great job Mark! I can definitely see a difference!

[Robert Gage]

Mark, I'm afraid you video confirms my view that this is a bit too long for a snake. I think you'll need to use a much more focussed cracking form to make the most of this one. That's a very subjective view, I know....

[Mark Elliott]

Robert, I agree, it is too long. It's kind of fun to play with though.

[Ben Varsek]

Mark, my comliments to your work!

I realy like the combination of poplar heel/spanish the ring knot and the flow of your whip is fantastic!

All the best
Ben

[Robert Gage]

Mark, there nothing wring with something impractical is it's fun!

[Rachel McCollough]

Mark, as someone who greatly appreciates good knotwork (but is relentlessly lacking in ability to tie good knots...), this is really cool.

[Rachel McCollough]

And that was supposed to go under the knotwork: "Bored" post
I should just go back to bed.

[Mark Elliott]

Thanks Ben.

Rachel, you must be the only person in the history of WB that has posted in the wrong thread. Well, except for me, one or 12 times.

[Rachel McCollough]

Thanks Ben.

Rachel, you must be the only person in the history of WB that has posted in the wrong thread. Well, except for me, one or 12 times.

[Ron May]

Rachel, I have never, ever done that.
I'm glad that posting this here in this "Roll Call" thread it's forgiven.

Ron