The "Making of" Gallery - Rachel McCollough

[Sven van Leeuwen]

What a beautiful piece of wood! And the white thong finishes it off as a piece the resistance.

I love how the wood contrasts the pure white.
Well done.

Sven

[Rachel McCollough]

Thanks, Sven!

[Giovanni Celeste]

Rachel i love all the steps!
It's always so beautiful watching how you work and hand craft the handle.
Great job indeed
Gio

[Rachel McCollough]

Thank you so much, Gio! I appreciate that very much

[Rachel McCollough]

Making of a 5' charcoal gray 16 plait stock with an 18" Bocoté handle.

Handle:








Core


First belly


Second belly



More coming soon

[Jessie Edwards]

That wood always turns out so pretty

[Ron May]

It's looking good Rachel.
The wood is always a good surprise when it shows you it's personality.

Ron

[Robert Gage]

Exciting to see the progress photos! Such dedication!

[Roy Partin]

Tedious and beautiful work as always Rachel. I would love to see a video of this one in action

[Rachel McCollough]

Thank y'all very much,
WS thanks,
Ron yes sir the wood is always full of surprises

Mr. Robert thank you, I love to see them come to life!

Roy I sure appreciate it, I will ask my whipcrackers to help me get a video before it goes West.

[Scott A. Cary]

Rachel, I love watching your handles come to life. As always, well done!

[Rachel McCollough]

Thank you very much, Scott!

[Mark Elliott]

Rachel, you are such an inspiration, that handle is lovely

[Rachel McCollough]

Mark, thank you so much!

Here's the rest of the handle:










And that's most of what there is to the shaping of the stock whip handle.

[Mark Elliott]

Rachel, the transitions from the stair-step to the short herringbone to the herringbone are absolutely perfect. You already know how I feel about the handle. Are those little metal bits in the third picture what you use to stamp the butt of the handle?

[Rachel McCollough]

Thanks, Mark! I appreciate it! Yessir, metal punches- for metal. Harbor Freight, about 5mm their set is, but I prefer the 3mm I ordered off amazon. You can get several special symbols as well, but the simpler the more clearly they form the impression.
In Gonçalo and Purple heart, easy does it. Tap! In Bocoté and Katalox, etc... Very careful but a harder smack.
Bocoté is especially evil to line up, with all the varying lines and patterns.

[Mark Elliott]

Rachel (except for my wife and kids) you are rapidly becoming one of my most favorite humans on the planet!

[Rachel McCollough]

Rachel (except for my wife and kids) you are rapidly becoming one of my most favorite humans on the planet!

Why thank you!

[Sir Roger Tuson]

As has been said, seeing these handles come to life is amazing! Top work, Rachel.

[Rachel McCollough]

Thank you, Sir Roger!