12 Ft Cow Whip

[Mark Elliott]

Finally!

[Mark Elliott]

Still having trouble with the seam twisting. It looks good on the vise but when I roll it up for the photo, it twists.

[Jyri Haveri]

It looks great Mark! How it behaves?

[Ron May]

Your fancy plaiting looks really good.
Nice job.
For your next one you might try a hook. Even just for the experience.
It kind of forces you to plait straighter.
Has it been waxed?

I really like this one, especially the color combination.

How does it crack?

Ron

[Rachel McCollough]

Mark, that's beautiful! The colors look great together! I really love the handle, really well done!
Yes there's always room for improvement, but this is really nice work

[Sir Roger Tuson]

Mark, I have suffered from 'tail twist' in the past and have managed to alleviate it quite a lot by making sure that the tail of the whip is securely fastened to something before rolling. I actually put the tails under the foot of a heavy desk so it cannot move at all. I also roll from the tail upwards towards the handle <h/t Nick Schrader for this suggestion>. It's definitely reduced twist.

Other than that, a very nice piece.

[Roy Partin]

That is looking great Mark. 12 footers sure do take a while to finish, and I congratulate you on completing this one. You acknowledged what can be better on the next one, and that is the first step to getting better.

[Mark Elliott]

Thanks everyone, Ron, I used a hook for the start, but after the first couple of feet I switched to the vise-I just don't have the room to stretch out that far. I may try to fix up a place outside to plait. Yes, it has been waxed, and to be honest, it seemed that was when the twist became noticeable, like one color shrunk more than the other.

I took it our for a test crack this morning and to be honest, had a little trouble handling it. It seemed to be too light at the tail and the wind was blowing it around pretty badly. It is amazing how long it takes to move. I'm going to put a weighted fall and heavier cracker on it this afternoon and see if that helps. I'm not sure if I like this long a whip. It'll definitely take getting used to as I've been using 5 to 8 footers.

[Rachel McCollough]

I know it is more torque on your wrist, but a little more weight in the thong (added through adjusting the taper) toward the tip will help it be easier to crack.

[Mark Elliott]

Rachel, I'll try that next time. I feel like I'm waiting as long as possible to drop strands from the overlay already, so I'm guessing that this starts with a longer more slowly tapered core and bellies, then.

[Rachel McCollough]

You know what plait covers what belly, so start from the end and the outside. (I'm betting you already know what I'm fixing to say!!!) I allow 3 inches extra for shrinkage on long whips and about 3 inches for fitting inside the cup; this will mean on a 12 foot I will plait to 11' 10" almost before I worry about twisting the end of the overlay. Now count back from there: however many inches for 4plait to cover your drop from 5-4. Now your distance from 6-5. On the overlay, I know I can plait over 3 empty not twisted strands. So: I can drop from 7 plait on the overlay to a 6 plait on the end of a 2TT belly. Those two tails that were twisted and stitched plus the strand I'm dropping from the overlay make the 3. That is the last final end of the belly twist. Now just keep counting backwards. That gives your pattern for your belly. Now count back on your belly, and there's your plait and general drops for your belly one or core.

I may twist as much as 1/3 to half of a belly, but it is covered at the thickest point (for me) by 10/12 plait. As long as you have room to drop for your overlay on the end, you can adjust the weight forward or pull it back.

If you have the pattern for a two belly whip you like, make one with the weight pushed quite far forward. Compare the two. When the weight is pushed far enough forward on a heavy type whip (with a TT core like we make! And connected bellies) the loop will feel like it is just rolling down hill toward the crack.

[Rachel McCollough]

Do you use outside drops for your bellies? I think I recall that you do. That makes a huge difference in controlling the taper

[Mark Elliott]

Rachel, thank you for the explanation! And yes I do drop to the outside on bellies. I didn't use 3 strands at the end of the second belly. I plaited the overlay tail over only 2 strands and then one, cutting the original strand out and using the next drop strand as the core until I started the twist. That alone would have probably made a difference. Thanks!

[Rachel McCollough]

You're welcome! That's one thing I have noticed on whips (my whips) that I thought were a bit light in the tip, cutting one of those two belly tails too soon. If they are available, they can be cut any time and that leaves room to adjust as needed. It can always be made lighter on the end, but can't add cord back (in a a good solid way or easily...) once cut.