Bullwhip
A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather, which was originally used as a farmer's tool for working with livestock.
History
Bullwhips were traditionally used as a farm tool especially popular with cattle drivers. A bullwhip's great length and pliability allows it to be cast by an expert in such a manner that the very end travels fast enough to break the sound barrier. When the tip of the cracker goes supersonic a minor compression wave (sonic boom) is created. This sounds something like a small thunderclap. This loud noise was used to train cattle and keep them from straying. While a bullwhip can be used for protection against stray cattle, it would be very rare for the herdsmen to actually strike the animal due to the damage that can be inflicted. As the rural cultures have shrunk over the last hundred years, fewer and fewer whipmakers maintained the art of Bullwhip construction.
In recent American culture the bullwhip was re-popularized when featured in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. The hero, Indiana Jones uses it as a means of controlling his enemy's position while he maneuvered for advantage. He can also use it to snare handheld objects and pull them away from his enemies, while the same technique allows him to use the whip as a swing line to traverse gaps.
Even city dwellers became interested in the art of whip making and whip cracking. Having little ability to drive cattle in an urban setting, the modern bullwhip is now more well known for doing target work. Show cowboys and circus artist will often do trick-cracking and target work in their performances. In the past bullwhips were also used as a whip for physical punishment, though due to the much larger size the damage inflicted from bullwhip flogging can be much more severe than that of a cat o' nine tails.
Anatomy of the Bullwhip
A bullwhip consists of a handle section, a thong, a fall, and a cracker.
The main portion of the bullwhip's length is made up of a braided body or thong. Made of many strips of leather, the number of braids or plaits is an important factor in the construction of the whip. Often times the thong is multilayered having a "belly" in the center. Unlike in the Australian stock whip, the thong connects in line with handle (rather than with a joint), or even engulfs the handle entirely.
The handle is usually short, being between 8 and 12 inches long. While mass produced low quality whips generally have an exposed wooden grip, it is very common for high quality whips to have an intricately braided leather covered handle. The handle also usually contains a butt foundation, which is held in the palm of the hand when cracking, and can have a wrist loop, used for hanging the whip at the end of the day, not for putting around the wrist during use.
Bullwhips are measured from the butt of the handle to the end of the plaiting of the thong. The thong typically terminates at a fall hitch - a series of half hitches that neatly tie the replaceable fall (or tail) to the whip. Whips range in length from 3ft to very long bullwhips of 20ft with some examples being even longer. A whip can be classified as a dinowhip if the handle girth is over 3 5/8", and the thong is over 10 feet.
A fall is a single piece of leather typically slightly thicker than the braids used in the thong, and between 10 and 30 inches in length. During trick shots, or target work the fall is usually the portion of the whip used to cut, strike, or tie the target. The fall can also be a continuation of one of the strands used in plating the overlay. Further, the fall can be an extension of the core of the whip, with the strands from the overlay tied off, and the core continuing on as the fall.
Tied to the end of the flexible fall, is an even more flexible piece of string or nylon cord or wire called the cracker or the popper. The cracker is the portion of the whip that exceeds the speed of sound causing of sonic boom. This can cause severe fraying and punishment to the tip, and well used whips frequently require new crackers.
Bullwhips come in many different weights, materials, and designs. Some light whips use shot loading or lead weighting to affect their balance. Though usually made of strips of leather, nylon whips have become popular in wet climates where leather is difficult to maintain. In America, cowhide and oxhide leathers are most common for construction with kangaroo also being used; these first two tend to be quite thick and sturdy and are good for harsh conditions. In Australia, where whipmaking still thrives, kangaroo leather is by far the most popular, being very pliable. Most whip-crackers doing target work prefer a whip made of kangaroo skin.
See also
References and further reading
- Andrew Conway, The Bullwhip Book, Greenery Press, 2000. ISBN 1890159182.
External links
- Bullwhip Home Page - bullwhip.org
- English Whips Info Pages. These pages provide a lot of information about whips and whip cracking in general, including an illustrated discussion of most types of whip used by whip crackers, a glossary, safety tips, advice on choosing a whip and tips on maintenance.
- Rhett's Whips
- Murphy Whips News
- Internet Whip Links
- Bullwhip Lessons & Training
- The Wild West Arts Club