Whips, wax & winter

[Robby Amper]

There's an ongoing discussion about wax for whips. Or not. Some don't like it at all, for others it's the holy grail. Now to my question... A waxed whip in warm summer is very easy to crack; no problems. But when the temperature goes down, when the snow comes, I sometimes have problems.

Did you experience the same thing? Wax/paraffin becomes hard, becomes stiff as soon as the air gets colder and colder. I feel, I think, that kinda "blocks" the fluid motion of the whip. Fluid is a good point here, isn't it? And if you experienced something like that... Is there a solution? A way to get good, smooth action with a waxed whip in winter?

Please tell me what you think.

Thanks in advance and all the best,
Robby

[Andree]

For very humid conditions wax prefents water to penetrate into the nylon. So it won't effect the whip so much.
Whithout wax the whip will become much heavier.
frost in winter gives dry air, So not much need to use waxed whips.

Due to the heat when the wax is applied, the nylon will tighten a bit, the wax also fills the small gaps and will add some wheight to the whip.
For me this looks only a temporary advantige, But i am not speaking out of experience only from technical point of view.

Like to hear from others who did waxed their whips

Andree

[David Cross]

On a side note, I have just completed my first successful bullwhip waxing. On another thread, I commented about the white flaking and residue I experienced. This probably occurred because I simply took the whip out of the wax and let it cool. This time, I repeatedly ran paper towels along the length of the whip, applying pressure, and let the towels absorb as much wax as possible.

The result I was left with was a very small amount of flaking and residue after a good bit of cracking. Even the fall shows minimal signs of the undesirable residue, which was my main concern. I didn't want my customers taking home a new, beautiful whip, only to see it transform into something ugly on the first crack!

In the future, I want to experiment with high volume, low temperature heat guns and a high-absorbancy cloth, to try to get even more of the surface wax under control. For now, I am happy with what I have. I will now wax whips upon request, for a small additional fee.

Something else to consider: It was mentioned that the nylon tightens a bit. Is this something like what happens when the whip gets wet? I had my newest whip almost soaked through (on one side) when my dishwasher overflowed. The pattern is now showing a definite twist, and it is my belief that the nylon shrunk when it dried. Since the whip was only wet on one side, if that side shrank and the other did not, it would certainly account for the twist.

How can this best be avoided? Can the nylon be treated before it's braided? Would a hot water wash help to prevent it?

[jeanfifi]

I don't know anything about wax for nylons. I've never used nylon whips till now, sorry.

BUT, for my leather whips I'm just using mixed wax+beefgrease. I mix it myself, and the result is a simple leather care wery usefull when it rains or when the ground is still wet.

It's been such a good thing for my whips that I'm now used to use it on my shoes or boots when walking in the rain or in the snow, whether they are leather-made or synthetic-made.

I hope it was not off-topic, I'm afraid you're talking exclusively nylonwhips, arn't you...

anyway.....

JP

[Robby Amper]

No, no...! Good ideas and informations always fit in! No matter what topic. We are a little group of nice folks who treat each other with great respect. So - even it would be off topic... I'm grateful for every advice

Robby

[jeanfifi]

ok Robby thank you! That's precisely because you(we) are so respectful to eachother, I prefer to remain as polite as possible! after all I don't master english as you do and a misunderstanding is always possible!

so no wax alone for my leather whips: mixed wax+beefgrease before "wet"cracking
JP

[Robby Amper]

Okay...Just one thing. JP - what, please, is "beefgrease"? I don't have the smallest idea on that. It sound protecting, absolutely, but I don't get a picture

Robby

[Tyler Blake]

For TheOldWay: What colors were you using on that whip? I have always heard that black and olive drab were more susceptible to shrinkage than other colors. You can pre shrink your strands before plaiting by soaking them in bowl of hot (not boiling) water for ten minutes, then lay them out to dry.

For Robby: I believe what Jeanfifi might have been referring to is beef fat, like what you might have left in a pan after cooking ground beef.

[jeanfifi]

Robby, Tyler is right, I was meaning beef fat: Mine comes from a butcher shop in my town. It's a part of the animal they don't don't use, so I kindly ask them for some and they give me simply some.
But there is some prep to make the fat real pure and ready to mix it with wax.
Actually when beef fat has been prepared (purified), it becomes what's called "tallow" once it cools down.
Mixed with wax, both still hot but not boiling, I get my leather dressing.

I'll take some pics as soon as I can, if you're intersted

JP

[David Cross]

Jeanfifi,

As to your earlier comment about misunderstandings: It is certainly true that some information will be lost in translation, but it is thanks to forums like these that such things can be handled well. I would like to think that any person involved in this group would be able to discuss a dispute, or a misunderstanding without insult or offense. It's really what the group is all about!

I like the idea of people from all countries coming together for a common cause. It seems like whipmaking is something only purely physical, but it can be a bonding experience for all involved. It can bridge gaps in understanding, and it can bring people together.

So, don't worry if your mastery of the English language isn't 100%. How many people on this forum can say that they speak more than one language? I can't do it. If there is something I don't understand, I'll just ask you to explain. I'm sure everyone else will do the same. No problem.

Something like this might be a good way to start a global community. We are one people; not separate from each other in any way. We should act like it. ^_^

[jeanfifi]

Very well said.......it makes me love more and more this forum AND the whipmaking's world!!!
Thank you so much!!!

JP

[MikeTheRipper12]

I have a question. I had asked a few people on how to remove excess wax from a nylon whip. I tried leaving it in the sun to soften up, and that worked until the wax hardened again. I also tried putting it in the washing machine on hot super heavy wash and it seemed to remove SOME wax.
Is there another way to remove excess wax? This whip has so much wax in it, it is more like cardboard.

[Tyler Blake]

Hi Mike,
This is purely conjecture on my part, but do you have a heat gun? (sort of like a hairdryer on steroids). It seems like you could maybe use the heat gun and then wipe immediately. I've never waxed a whip, I've always wondered about it but now I'm thinking it sounds like a lot of trouble.

[Diamond Whips]

From my experience if you get a lot of wax build up on the overlay of a whip, that usually indicates that the wax wasn't hot enough when the whip was dipped. The wax seals the whip before any wax can enter the belly. I think that's what causes the build up to occur. I've found that re-dipping the whip with the wax at a slightly higher temperature then the first go around will remove all the unsightly build up. Take care not to get the wax to hot.

[Guy Washburn]

Hey guys, a lot of great observations here !!
But to Robby's original question, you hit the nail on the head. I've noticed that a waxed whip in cold weather will become stiffer and lose some of it's response and feel. If you take it from a warm environment out into the cold it's not much of an issue, but if it's stored in a cold environment it can feel rather stiff. My personal feeling is that the protection of waxing is an acceptable trade off. Here are a couple of shots of my "Lab Rat", It's about a year old, is waxed @ 250f, has been immersed in water for over a month, left outside for most of it's short life, heated to 350f, cooled to minus 30f, used as a leash for "Smokey" who has dragged it around for miles, (as a side note I've sold about 15 whips due to his great salesmanship ! "Hey is that a whip tied to that dog?...don't be ridiculous!!, that's a dog tied to a whip".
last but not least, it has been cracked thousands of times by many different people that ranged from skilled to down right abusive. Guy