Construction

All my whips are modeled after traditional American patterns but built with Australian construction methods which originated in England. The construction method employed in a whip is of prime importance because they dictate the durability and handling characteristics of the whip. Australian construction methods consist of constructing a whip with multiple plaited bellies. This is essentially a whip built on top of another whip. My whips are constricted on a latigo core, followed by a plaited layer. This core and first plaited layer are called the belly of the whip. I plait a second layer on top of the first witch is called the second belly, and then finish the whip with a 12 plait overlay which is the final braided layer you see on the whip. My Nylon whip line is constructed with similar methods to find out more follow this link (Nylon Construction).

This construction method produces the greatest density in the whip and due to the fact that each plaited belly has an increasing plait number this creates a very fluid action in the finished whip. Some whip makers employ bolsters in there whips, a bolster is a single strip of leather that encircles the braided belly and is usually carried the length of the whip. I don’t use bolsters in my whips any longer, I strongly believe (and I have this belief because of experience), that increased durability and decreased break in time are achieved by using all braided construction. To find out more follow this link (Bolster).

Each whip begins with a side of the highest quality latigo steerhide. The sides of leather used in my whips are hand selected for me per my specifications at the tannery to insure that only the best sides available are shipped to me for my particular projects. Some out there may be wondering why I use latigo steerhide to construct my whips. There are many reasons beginning with Americans traditionally constructed there whips from cowhide, steerhide or buckskin with cowhide or steerhide being the most prevalent for good reason. Steerhide is one of the most durable leathers available this characteristic was very apparent to our predecessors and to remain true to this traditional wisdom I have chosen this medium to work with. The best American whips were constructed from latigo steerhide. You may be wondering what latigo steerhide is the first thing you need to understand is what latigo means. The word latigo is a Spanish word that literally means whiplash the term latigo in reference to tanned leather is referring to a particular tanning process specifically developed to produce a strong limited stretch leather that can be cut in to fine strips and still retain its integrity specifically for the purpose of whip making. It is also important to note that the latigo I use is made from 100% American steers.

There are several tanning processes currently used today and possibly the most common of these tanning processes is chrome tanning. This process uses chromium salts to convert animal hides in to leather. It is a very quick low cost tanning method but the leather produced by this process has characteristics that are undesirable for leather that is to be used in whip making. Chrome tanned leather tends to have a high degree of stretch and low tensile strength. It can also be corrosive to metal if any trace of the chromium salts used to tan the leather are present in the finished product. Another tanning method sometime used is alum tanning which was chrome tanning predecessor and uses aluminum salts and other protein binders to tan animal hides. Alum tanning produces leather that is highly prone to rotting when exposed to damp conditions due to the proteins used in the tanning process. It is important to mention that in Australia alum tanned cowhide dyer red is called Red Hide and is sometimes confused with latigo, because of the processes used in preparing the cowhide latigo and red hide are not the same thing. By far the most desirable method of tanning for whip making is vegetable tanning.

Vegetable tanning is one of the oldest known tanning methods and produces the best leather for whip making from any kind of animal hide. Vegetable tanning is a process that employs the bark of different types of trees with oak being the most desirable. The bark is immersed in water to extract the plant tannins in the tree bark, hence the name vegetable tanning. The animal hides are immersed in vats containing this solution of tree bark tannins. The hides are progressively moved over time from a weaker solution to a stronger tannin solution, from anywhere from one month to six months to complete the tanning process and convert the hides to leather.

The process of vegetable tanned steerhide becoming latigo requires some other special processes, including something called hot stuffing. Hot stuffing entails immersing water soaked leather in a rotating drum containing hot liquefied tallow and other animal or vegetable oils depending on the tanneries particular process. This treatment drives the animal fat completely and evenly though the entire hide. The hot stuffing process causes two very important changes in the leather. Tallow used in the process is rendered bovine fat, animal fat introduced in to leather begins to oxidize as the leather dries and is exposed to the air. The oxidation of these animal fats produces a complex chemical reaction in the leather which produces aldehydes; this chemical is in itself a strong tannin. The production of aldehyde, due to the hot stuffing process actually re-tans the leather greatly increasing the leathers strength.

The second change is that the animal fats also act as a lubricant in the leather allowing the individual fibers in the leathers fiber matrix to slide besides each other. This gives leather its ability to stretch under tension, without this lubrication the leather fiber matrix would tear and break. This is why old dried out leather is so fragile and prone to tearing. The combination of vegetable tanning and hot stuffing produces a very strong durable leather and when this leather is produced from steerhide or cowhide it is called latigo which is very well suited for whip making. Although this tanning process can be used for any type of animal hide the name latigo has become synonymous in America with steerhide tanned specifically for whip making.

It is important to note that not all leather called latigo is of the same quality some manufactures will market red dyed chrome tanned cowhide or vegetable re tan (which is chrome tanned leather that has been vegetable re tanned for a short time) as latigo. It is very important that the right tanning process is used to produce high quality latigo it must be 100% vegetable tanned steerhide and hot stuffed without fish oil to produce the best product. And I can assure you that in the last 10 years I have been making whips I have used cowhide tanned in all the listed methods and vegetable tanned steerhide, properly hot stuffed produces the best latigo leather for making whips, and the latigo steerhide I use is of the highest possible quality commercially available today. The bottom line is that properly tanned steerhide is the strongest most durable latigo leather available bar none.

Don’t get me wrong kangaroo hide is very good leather and many outstanding whips have been made from this medium and the tensile strength of kangaroo is greater than that of an equal thickness of steerhide or cowhide but what kangaroo enthusiasts don’t always tell you is that kangaroo hide will not hold up like latigo under hard use conditions. A good example of this is the falls on 99% of all kangaroo whips are made of latigo or rawhide the reason is because of durability, steerhide can take the punishment in one of the highest stress parts of a whip and continue to perform. The primary reasons are that steerhide has a thicker epidermis in comparison to kangaroo the thicker epidermis provides greater abrasion protection to the leather fibers underneath and steerhide has a very dense fibrous structure in the papillary layer of the dermis, which also increases its abrasion resistance, this combined with the proper lace thickness gives steerhide its superior durability. Consider that kangaroo hide is on average about 1 to 1.3 mm in thickness max that equates to about 2/64". The latigo that I use in the construction of whips is 4/64" in thickness that's about 2 times thicker.

Now consider this, take a piece of kangaroo hide lace and a piece of latigo steerhide lace the same width and drag them across rocky ground the latigo steerhide will hold up longer because of its unique ability to endure abrasion and because the thickness of the latigo is about double that of kangaroo, the tensile strength of the latigo steerhide is quite comparable to the kangaroo. The point is don’t let someone tell you that a whip properly constructed from high quality latigo steerhide is in any way inferior or less durable than a kangaroo hide whip that simply is not true. To the contrary a latigo steerhide whip will outlast a kangaroo hide whip used in the field under tough conditions, kangaroo hide simply can not take the abuse.

Each material has its virtues and detracting factors it’s just that now days the virtues of latigo has gotten lost and there are seldom few whip makers using it. That does not mean that it is inferior it’s just harder to work with from a braiders perspective. It is also hard to find good quality latigo steerhide and it is expensive in comparison to other types of cowhide like kip or chrome tanned. But none the less excellent whips can be constructed with latigo steerhide if the proper construction methods are employed. In the photo above you see 250' of lace cut for a 14' bullwhip overlay.

There are other factors to be considered as well like the plait number of the braid higher plait numbers mean a more fluid action but there is a compromise the higher the plait number the thinner the strands must be which again affects durability, a good whip must be constructed with the right balance of plait number verses lace width. In the photo above you can see the process of splitting the lace all my whip lace is prepared by hand this is the second of a six step process to convert the raw leather in to whip lace.

Through experimentation with various materials I have developed a para cord fall system for my whips. This type of fall is extremely durable and will last for many years. Altho somewhat unconventional on a leather whip I always try to implement new construction methods in my whips to produce a whip of the highest possible durability and lowest maintenance to the whip handler.

I have found that by increasing the plait number in each belly that a whip with very fluid action can be constructed and because there are no bolsters to hamper the whips action break in is dramatically decreased. All my whips are balanced to insure smooth handling. Balancing a whip is necessary because the majority of the weight in the whip is located in the thong and when the whip is cracked at the moment of greatest energy transfer to the point of the whip, the whip will tend to pull on your hand like someone was trying to pull the whip out of your hand the amount that this will be noticed depends on the weight of the thong and will vary from whip to whip. The way to counteract this is to place an equal amount of weight in the butt end of the whip to eliminate this distraction. All my latigo whips are naturally falling and due to the construction method employed my whips crack easily.

I take great pride in my work and my main impetus is to produce a whip that is of the highest possible quality, the best whip that I am capable of producing. I continually strive to improve my methods and techniques to produce the best whips I can for my customers.