How to drop strands from 16 to 14,14 to 12 , 12 to 10 and 10 to 8 strands

[Pantbera]

Do you get white, or white coloured leather too? How about a completely different bright colour coloured leather such as red or bright blue or yellow? Purple maybe?

[1914Sephiroth]

@Pantbera You can get white, blue, red, and purple hides. Can even get pink, green,

thinks like that. Yellow I'm not sure though.

[Pantbera]

Hi Bernie! I am also new to making whips. I am a borne Afrikaner and whips also played a big role in our past and it looks very interesting and very impressive. I think it's something to be very proud of after you finished yet another whip. I already purchased 3 books about whipmaking and I am halfway done with my first 12 strand bullwhip. It's very difficult for me though.

[bernie46]

@Pantbera It is never easy when you first start out in anything but with time,patience and lots of practice it will become easier.I have now been making whips full time for a living for 39 years now and I am still learning things.

[Pantbera]

@bernie46 Well, it is still very impressive I can tell you that! Making it so smoothe as if it is just a single piece of leather is really something to look at. I think to keep the whip like an ornamental "artifact" and cared for is better rather than carrying it around and cracking it and taking chances of getting it scratched or damaged.

[1914Sephiroth]

@Pantbera As long as you use it righ it won't get a single bit of damage to it Though the

end of it can break off right before the fall hitch, it's not too common. The only time it'll

get scuffed up or torn is if it's used on dirt, rocks, sand gravel etc. Best surfaces are

thick green(but not wet grass or smooth tile I understand some people wanting

to have a whip as a collector type thing, but most of the whips made are made to

be cracked, and if you're careful to take care ofit it's fine

[carr869]

G'day Bernie

I haven't made a whip in a VERY long time but watching you work has given me the bug to make another one. Your smooth plaiting technique is inspiring. Guess I need to make the lace beveler so I can get to it. I've had to bevel by hand before. Boy is that a pain in the behind. Thanks again for all your help and the videos.

Tom

[dugeclark66]

Bernie, i am new to whipmaking but have always had a passion for the art. Thanks for all your info and appreciate all your time.

[orangewheels01]

Many thanks bernie will do.

[orangewheels01]

Hi bernie, you have come to my rescue a couple of times now, is there any special way to come off the double diamond plait on the handle when changing back to the whipmakers plait for the thong in 16? Or do you just change back to under 4 over 4? Look forward to your reply, kind regards nick. Uk.

[bernie46]

@orangewheels01 I have a video up showing transition from 12 plait diamond to 12 plait herringbone. It's the same thing just add two more strands to your thinking. If your going to put a knot where you make the transition I wouldn't even worry about it,just go straight into the 16 plait as the knot will cover it anyway.

[zachchristiansen]

What is the spiral on your whip? Is that a long piece of leather that you wrapped over your plaited bellies?

[bernie46]

@zachchristiansen Go to my site and look up the tutorial page and then bull whip tutorial.All will be explained there.

[bernie46]

@zachchristiansen Have a look at my video called tying on the final bolster.

[Chase1095]

So why cant you just go from the diamond plait to the whipmakers plait...what happens if you jsut go from under one over one to under six over two right away...does it look bad or does it just not work?

[1914Sephiroth]

Hi Bernie i sent you a message by doing the @bernie46 thing but i think something might have messed up but i see that you answer questions directly so i thought i'd try that. You've said everything you drop, you say cut them off with a long taper, or are you saying for a long taper? Because if you are saying for a long taper all my confusion will be gone. But if you are saying "with" a long taper what do you mean by that?

[harleynita]

Hi Bernie,

I've got a quick question. Have you ever heard if goat hide would make a very good whip or not? Got a chance to pick some up at really good price, but, I don't want to waste my money. Respectfully ; Harley

[Ir0nF1st924]

hi, ive just recently got into whip making and wondering what would be a good core to plait around. for my first whip i made a 3 strand braid and just plaited over that. PLEASE REPLY

[bernie46]

@Ir0nF1st924 Go to my web site, the address is in my channel and click on the tutorials link at the top of the page then click on bull whip tutorial. You will find all the information you need there.

[bonntroy]

Mind boggling.

I can make whips but of different material. I use a 26 mm diameter nylon rope.

[blip789]

Do you sell DIY kits?

[bernie46]

@blip789 Sorry, no I don't but if you google Mike Murphy whips you will find he does.

[xXMUDSLINGERXx]

sisdeen to fodeen

[bluebarryization]

i cant du that its still complicated!

[bernie46]

@bluebarryization

Practice,practice,practice.Goo­d luck.

[CaptainRass]

This video is PROFOUNDLY useful! I'm a complete novice when it comes to whip making and your video has pointed me in the right direction. I'm still a little hazy about when it's appropriate to drop strands and the right way to start a belly for a cow whip. I think half of my problem would be that I have to use nylon/paracord. Leather doesn't hold up well in the wetlands of Florida....

[bernie46]

@CaptainRass

When your plaiting starts to become a little crowded, that is the time to drop strands. If you drop a couple of strands and you start getting gaps in your plaiting you will know it was to soon. All you need to do then is undo what you have done and plait some more until you feel it is time again. You wil pick it up with time and practice.

[houston4u2010]

i want to know what the core of your whip's are made from ? i love playing with my whips but they are realy cheap and cheesy and dont last for more than a couple of days because of the cheap core materal breaks right at the handle ...

[bernie46]

@houston4u2010 The whip in the video has a core of 2 plaited bellies and 2 bolsters but I now use 4 plaited bellies in all my whips.Go to my site em-brand-whips and look for the tutorial link and the link called inside a bull whip and you will see both methods.

[Strankon]

Can the same braiding techniques be used to braid a flat steel knife handle?

[bernie46]

Yes, you would have to hide the start and finish with a couple of knots. A better way would be with back braiding but I am afraid it would take a lot of pages to try and explain it. There is a book called The Encyclopedia of Rawhide and Leather Braiding by Bruce Grant that explains it all. Just Google it.

[jfgv100]

Hello Bernie. I'm a costarrican fan of your work. (Sorry by my English) I have a question:

If i want to end my whip whit 6 (like Indy style), How I can to drop strands from 8 to 6? Right now i have under 2 over 2. Thanks!

[bernie46]

Sorry for taking so long to answer. Just drop the first two strands into the center and plait over them.

[jfgv100]

@bernie46

Thank you so Much!!! Your work is really amazing. Now, I can finish my first costarrican bullwhip. Again, Thanks!!

[8plait]

Hi Bernie, First off thankyou so much for sharing your valuable knowlege freely. Your site is very informative and your whips look stunning.

My question is, is it possible to drop strands neatly in an 8 seam herringbone pattern?

Am I right in thinking this would make a stronger but slightly less flexible thong?

[bernie46]

I think your getting a herringbone plait mixed up with a goucho braid. The herringbone is the one normally used on whips. I know what you mean but am not sure you can do it. This is a braid I don't normally use but I have done it and from memory it would be pretty hard if not impossible to achieve. I doubt it would be any stronger or tighter than an ordinary herringbone braid.

[duster413]

When you drop from 14 to 12 and 10 to 8, you drop the back strands. Would it be problematic if you dropped the front strands like on the others?

[bernie46]

By dropping the front strands from 16 to 14 you end up plaiting under 4 over 3 so it wouldn't look to good if you dropped the front strands again because you would end up with under 4 over 2. You can however turn your whip around 180 deg, the bottom is now the top, undo the plaiting a bit until it evens out again and you now have a sequence of under 3 over 4. Now you can drop the front two strands and it comes out under 3 over 3. Just do the same from 10 to 8.

[farukfififara]

i want know hou you cut your braid with the tool ,i cant!!!

[bernie46]

I will send you a link to my web site tutorial.

[theoneandonly2142]

Great video Bernie. I recently began making paracord whips but only with one belly. From what I've been taught, the rule of thumb is to have the core extend half the length of the whip. However, does this apply to whips with 2 bellies? And also, approximately how long should the two bellies on a 8ft 16 plait bullwhip be?

[bernie46]

I can't say with para cord whips. with leather whips I now use a four plait belly method and don't use any bolsters. My last belly is the length of the whip to be made. Go to my site, just google embrandwhips, sorry not allowed to put the url here and check out the tutorial link and the inside a bull whip link as well. The tutorial will show you how I used to make my whips and the other will show how I make them now.

[slimdog1995]

how did you make the center.

[iamawesome7427]

What kind of leather did you use? Can you tell me the size or type?

[bernie46]

I use kangaroo hide 0.8mm thick to 1mm thick.You can use split cowhide,goat skin, or parachute cord to make whips. Para cord is good to learn with because you don't have to do any cutting and it is cheap.

[iamawesome7427]

thank you. you got me Interested in para cord. But how do i get it? Is it still in parachute form? Thank you for helping me learn how to make whips, I'm new at it.

[bernie46]

Just Google paracord 550 and you will get a lot of results.

[bernie46]

Give me a week and I'll try and get a video together to show you how it's done.

[bernie46]

It is a waxed thread that I get shipped over from the US. I will PM you with a link.

[sandlerb1993]

i dont get this at all wat is the base of it?

[bernie46]

go to my web site by googling embrand whips and have a look at the tutorial pages where you will get more of an idea.

[ramiejose]

hi bernie. when you say, say "this is an 8 foot bullwhip" is that mesuring it from the end of the handle to the end of the cracker? or the start of the whip to the end of the fall? or what because i dont want to make my whip too small so. thanks bernie. ps your website, your youtube videos and your rapid response on my questiong and comments are brilliant. so thanks bunch!!!

[bernie46]

Your welcome. I measure my bull whips as nearly all whip makers do from the end knot on the handle to where the plaiting finishes and joins the fall. Fall and crackers are extra. For a stock whip just the plaited part of the thong is used for a measurement so the handle,fall and cracker are not included.

[mydragon1989]

thank you

[mydragon1989]

do you know the the bolster is made of

[bernie46]

I make my bolsters from kangaroo hide when I use them. I don't use them in the construction of my bull whips now as I use a four plaited belly method instead.

[mydragon1989]

what is the black and white cord

[bernie46]

The white cord is to hold the bolster in place while plaiting over it. Not sure what you mean by the black cord.

[ramiejose]

hi its ramie jose again i have a few mor guestions.

1.can you make a whip with all the layers 4 strands?

2.can you tell me the lengths of all the strands to make the layers?

a reply would be much apriciated. Thanks!!!

[Chase1095]

Hey Bernie, I'm Having a hard time tapering my whip. I Don't Use leather though I use paracord. Os I can't really make a like cover and tie it in place. i also don't know how to tie the plait off at the end of the whip or when I'm finished with a belly. PM me please

[1straycat99]

hey bernie, why don't you taper your strans that you use on the overlay.

[bernie46]

I do actually but later on as I get towrds the end of a whip I end all my whips in 8 plait so the strands for a 16 plait whi[p will start at 5.5mm wide and gradually taper down to 4mm at the end. A 12 plait whip will start at 7.5 mm and end at 4 mm and an 8 plait whip will start at 11.25mm and taper all the way down the 8 strands to 4 mm.

[crazyhogg]

hey bernie. i am a big fan of your videos and have started making whips myself. i have 2 questions. first is how wide are the strands you use for the 16 strand? and second did you split the leather and would you suggest it if you did?

thanks

[bernie46]

You work out the width of your strands by measuring the diameter of your core and multiplying that by 4.5. Divide that number by the number of strands you want to use and you have the widthof your strands . I would use metric measurements, makes it much easier in my opinion.For esxample ifyour core was 20mm diameter x by 4.5 = 90mm and divided by say 16 means your strands would have to be 5.6mm wide, say 5.5. It works out to roughly 11/2 times the circumferance.

[cpsfig]

hi bernie

ive always wanted to have a bull whip but never realy understood how to make one do you sell yours and if so how much

[bernie46]

I do, that's how I have made my living for the last 37 years. If you go to my website em-brand-whips, just copy and paste that into google and it should get you there, you will find the whips I sell and the prices.

[cpsfig]

bernie

those whips are beautiful ive been thinking about them all day at school haha

but the thing is im only a teenager do u have pices mabe a teen can aford?

its takes me like a mounth just to get 100$

thank u for listening

your fan

connor

[HalfFull]

I'm interested and confused by the material you are using as a base. looks like rubber with white string spiraling around it. Can you buy this?

[bernie46]

It,s leather actually and the white stuff is cottong that holds the leather in place while I plait over it.. If you go to my web site em-brand-whips and look for the tutorial link at the top of the page then go to bull whip tutorial and that will explain it all. I'll PM you with a link.

[percyjacksoneragon43]

well now i know why whips are so expensive and why they take so long to make.

[grukora]

ok now for say im making an 8 plait whip that is 12 feet long do your videos/dvds show if you need a long series of strip either or you can take a series of strands and work them together as a single looking strand.

[IForgottenHopeI]

It depends, the more lace's you have the more flexable it is, but it also gets weaker to. The main problem is trying to find an eqaul balance between flexablity and strength. At the end of the whip takes the most ware and tare, some whipmakers end the braid it with 6 plait for stength.

[Moharmesh]

Hi Bernie,

which one is better the 12 plait or 16 plait bullwhip?

and what is the lead shot loaded whip?

[Moharmesh]

Hi Bernie,

How long does it take to make an 8 foot 16 plait bullwhip?

[bernie46]

I usually take about two days to make a single colour 8ft 16 plait bull whip.

[vilei110]

Hi bernie,

thank you for your new video.

I had some problems with the Change

to 14,12,10 plait, before I see your

video. It's so easy :-)

I had one Question.

If you make a Whip with a fixed lenght,

how much longer have the single plaits

to be, than the finished Whip-length?

[bernie46]

I normally make the diamond plait the length of the handle but you can carry it on for as long as you like.