Mario Desgronte

[Mario Desgronte]

Hi folks and here is one of my favorite whips from my collection with a special story:

At the end of January 2012 I bought a beautiful 16 plait, 6,6 ft. target whip made by Celedonio Santamaria from Santamaria Whips on ebay.

After I bought the whip, the whip was sent from New Zealand to Germany. The whip arrived after 5 days to Germany. But our big stupid german customs made a mistake and sent the whip back to New Zealand.

After a very long waiting time ca. 5 months, Chel got the whip back from the new zealand customs and he sent the whip back to me to Germany.

And two weeks ago the long journey had a happy end, the target whip arrived save at my home.

I'm very happy with this excellent target whip, the plaiting is so smooth and the whip is very, very easy to crack. Chel made a fantastic job.

And here are some pictures of this beautiful target whip with the long journey.







Best wishes,

Mario

[Devin Bauer]

Very beautiful whip Ralph, that is terrible to have to wait that long because of a mistake by customs, but it looks to have been worth it. You say it cracks very easily, would it be because of how far out into the thong the weight is carried?

[Robert Gage]

Mario, that's a great looking whip! I can imagine how it handles, as I, too, have a 6.5 footer by Chel - one of my own favourites. Mine, too, cracks very easily. (The weight IS carried a long way down the thong. Chel described this whip as 'extra thick and heavy'.) I'm trying to overcome some technical problems to post a photo....

It came with a slightly curious looking cracker. I asked Chel about this, and he said it's bow string, obtainable from any archery shop. It seems to hold up better than any other crackers I've used.

[Bobbi Holyoak]

Beautiful! I love the whip.... not the wait. Its such a good thing that it wasn't lost in one of the customs offices.

[Devin Bauer]

Hmm, bowstrings come in all sorts of materials, but you could be describing one made with a dyneema blend material which would be very strong.

[Jonathan Lewis]

Great looking whip Mario. I do love nylon whips, but you just can't quite do that with anything other than leather.

[Robert Gage]

I hope these pictures come through! This is the 6.5' 16 plait bullwhip by Celedonio Santamaria. (These are Chel's own photos.)





Robert

[Robert Gage]

I can now post photos! Robby was right: there was a problem with my browser. A little profession help has put this right....

Here's another whip from my collection - a 10.5 footer, 12 plait kangaroo:



This whip is not perhaps one of my favourites, but it's a real curiosity. I saw this on eBay (!) from Calvin Singo in Florida. (I don't have any of Calvin's own whips, and know nothing about them.) Calvin said this whip was made by Troy Horton of Whips Tasmania. He said Troy used to have a web site, but that this no longer exists, and I've been unable to learn anything more about this maker. If any of you know something, I'd love to hear it!

This bullwhip has three plaited bellies and is heavily lead loaded. It weighs a massive 1725 grams - so heavy that it's almost unusable unless you're a champion weight-lifter! Calvin said: 'This whip is special because it was Troy's personal whip and he made it heavier and more robust than his other whips.'

This is not a great photo, but at the moment it's the only one I've got.

[Mario Desgronte]

Many thanks for all the compliments.

Robert, your whip from Chel looks great, Chel makes a fantastic job, his whips are so smooth.

Mario

[Robert Gage]

Yes, Chel's work is amazing. This 6.5 footer is probably the best whip I've ever had. It's a great pity that Chel doesn't seem to make very many....

Robert

[Bobbi Holyoak]

Really nice, Robert!

[Mario Desgronte]

And here is another favorite of my collection, a beautiful bullwhip made by Dusty Damrel in the year 2012.

I love this whip!!!!!

This is a 7ft., 16 plait bullwhip made from cowhide, color dark brown with a ten inch handle.

The highlight of this whip are the brass ferrules and the "birds eye" pattern at the handle.

This whip has a very stiff transition area, it is very, very easy to crack. You can use this bullwhip excellent for target work and for multiple cracking.

I think this whip is an excellent piece of art, Dusty makes a brilliant job.

And here are some pictures of this beauty.












Best wishes,

Mario

[Alex Lewis]

Wow! All the brass on that whip look fantastic.

[Bobbi Holyoak]

Oh WOW!! That is the most striking whip!

[Gideon Rodgers]

It is Beauty to look at.

[Jared Routon]

Man Mario and Robert both those are all beautiful whips.