Sandstone

[Mark Elliott]

Here's the whip I've been fussing about so much lately. It actually turned out better than I thought it would, but I still think it is too thick at the transition for the overall length f the whip. If I had just been making it of my own volition, I would have changed a few things, but it is to a customer's specs and took quite a bit of wrestling with it to satisfy him and me. At least I hope he's satisfied, I haven't heard back from him yet, but I just sent him photos of it this morning.

5', 3-belly cow whip with an 18" cocobolo handle. Instead of a traditional twisted-tapered tail, he wanted an English eye fall hitch.

[Robert Gage]

Mark, I like the handle and colours a lot! But I agree with you: it's too short for the thickness. It would have looked far better (and would probably perform far better) as a 7- or 8-footer.

[Ron May]

Mark, this has nothing to say about the craftsmanship, but it is a weird looking whip.
I am not a fan of the "zebra" look.

Three bellies on such a short whip, wow. It does taper rather quickly but with such a short target length it couldn't be avoided. Does he know about whips at all?

This looks like it would be very heavy and fast. Not my favorite combination, which would tire me out very quickly.

I think you pulled it off very nicely aside from what your customer wanted.
The handle is awesome.
Good job.

Ron

[Mark Elliott]

Ron and Robert, I tried and tried to get him to go with just 2 bellies, but he was insistent. Ron, it is fast and heavy, and it tires me out quickly as well, but it isn't hard to crack and no, I do not think he knows much about whips. Robert, I think this would have ben a great whip at 8'.

[Rachel McCollough]

With the restrictions you had, you did a fantastic job and built a beautiful whip.

[Mark Elliott]

Thank you, Rachel, It was definitely a learning experience.

[Collin Weaver]

Mark, I like it, steep taper and all! I'm also a sucker for cocobolo wood. Where do you purchase your wood? I haven't been able to find anything that large and would really like to for pen blank cutouts.

[Mark Elliott]

Thanks Collin. I think I bought that at Bell Forrest
https://www.bellforestproducts.com/
They have a pretty big inventory, from pen blanks to long turning blanks to bowl blanks and even planking.

[Mark Elliott]

Heres a video of the whip being cracked by some fat guy.

[Mark Elliott]

Well, crap, forgot to put in the link. Try again.
Heres a video of the whip being cracked by some stupid, fat guy.
https://youtu.be/xG4hi3sesec

[Nathan Mayer]

That’s still a fine looking whip. I am a fan of the zebra look, and love how the stripes get further apart with the drops and eventually fade out to just brown. The handle is beautiful! The grain makes it look like you carved a twist into it, very unique.
Nice work Mark!

[Ron May]

There's no doubt that the maker and practitioner are not stupid.
There is massive doubt about the customer.

Yep, quick and heavy.
Thanks for the video.

Ron

[Scott A. Cary]

Mark, I really like how the shape of the handle seems to accentuate the grain of the wood. That truly is a gorgeous handle.

[Mark Elliott]

Thanks, Scott. I've really been enjoying working with wood again.

[Robert Gage]

Thanks for the video, Mark!

In a curious way, that whip doesn't look so short in action - from a purely aesthetic point of view. It's obvious, however - to anyone used to cracking whips - that it feels too short! (Is your customer a performer, perhaps, who wanted a whip to use in a confined space, and yet be highly visible?)

[Mark Elliott]

Robert, I got the impression that he really didn't know much at all about whips. And yes, it certainly felt too short for the weight. I have some stock whips with exactly the same thong and handle lengths and they don't feel nearly so awkward to me as this one.

[Jyri Haveri]

Well done Mark!
Satisfying customers isnt always easy

[Mark Elliott]

Thank you, Jyri. No, it isn't, but it is essential. I have no intention of making a living doing this, but I truly love making them and selling a few here and there sure makes it easier to justify this hobby to Sheila.