Blog Archives

Betty Bruiser

1/26/2014

Doesn't that sound like a good name for a roller derby girl?

This whip has a lot in common with a roller derby champ. It is big, beefy, tough, sexy, black and blue and you shouldn't mess with it unless you have some skills of your own.

I'm working with a client right now that who has a need for heavy falls. I've been experimenting with several different designs. Some worked and some failed miserably. Just let me advise everyone that it is a TERRIBLE idea to fill a fall with bird shot. Eventually the shot rips through and peppers everything in its path. Not safe at all!

After I built some falls that were heavy enough and also safe enough I attached them to some whips and found that whips with a normal taper wouldn't even come close to controlling the fall properly. It felt like the whip had a big kick after the crack. Not safe either!

This is where Betty comes in. I thought and calculated and thought about it some more.... I built this whip around the idea of a one ounce fall. I was thrilled when it worked. I'm happy with this design and hope I get to make a couple more.

0 Comments

7 foot Sonic Alignment

1/26/2014

0 Comments

I quite like this SA whip. I did an experiment with the materials. As a rule, I never mix nylon and polyester in the same whip. I don't really like to use polyester at all. It doesn't lay as smooth as nylon... but it is a bit tougher.

This particular whip is going to be a real working tool. No babying for it. I wanted to see if the polyester would help it hold up better.

I really just had fun with this one. I made up a new plaiting pattern on the handle that I am lovingly calling the "Gills". Its nice when I have creative freedom.

0 Comments

Super sized Dragon's Tail

1/26/2014

0 Comments

This Dragon's tail is a little different from all the rest. It is 7foot long! Yes, it is still fast and flexible.

It is going to a good friend of Ron's and that is why I got permission to change the length. I'm excited to see what they end up doing with it.

0 Comments

Is a whip a Weapon?

1/25/2014

4 Comments

This question has come up quite a bit lately. Actually, when people hear that I make my living by making bullwhips they often get a weird smile on there face and say something to the effect that I must keep my husband in line.... wink wink, nudge nudge. This is not a good way to impress me as I have heard the joke a million times.

Lets take a moment and talk about what a whip is. A whip is a tool, plain and simple. A tool for signaling, for herding live stalk, and for entertaining and competition. There is this whole big world out there filled with people practicing new tricks and cracks for sport competition or as part of a show. There are many people who have a whip and it is a toy. Just something to give them fun, exercise and pleasure. Then there are a great many people who study the whip for martial and combative purposes. Yes, they have big competitions too.

Seriously though, 99.9% of all these people will never use their whip as a weapon in a "real life" senerio against an aggravated attacker. Thank goodness for that.

Any one who has ever picked up a whip and cracked it knows about the awesome power generated. Anything that breaks the sound barrier needs to be respected and handled with care. Much like any tool, it could turn into a weapon given the right circumstance. If you think about it, there could be martial purposes for the rolling pin, the curling iron, a bottle of wine..... and every other benign tool laying around the house.

I personally use my whips as my therapy, my meditation, stress relief, exercise and livelihood. I don't think of them as weapons at all. When I have the luxury of playing with my whips, I am alone in my bubble dancing with my whip... not fighting an imaginary foe. ((It is more fun that way))

With all that said, let me share with you the true story of the one day that my whip was a weapon.

It happened in the summer 5 or 6 years ago. Three young men parked there camper right next to my property. They pretended to be broken down so that they could have a free camping spot. (not that unusual in a tourist town)

The first day as I was watering the flowers and garden there was a few whistles. No big deal, I've been a girl all my life and know that it is best to ignore these kinds of things. The next day there were some cat calls. Still not a big deal. As the days went on though, the things they yelled at me got more and more vulgar to the point that I didn't want to go outside and didn't want my daughter to play in the yard.

I told my husband that I was uncomfortable with these men but because he never witnessed what was happening he didn't take me seriously. He said something about the trials of being a "cute blonde" and laughed it off.

The next morning, after he had gone to work it started again. I was out watering and this time one of the young men crossed over onto my property and exposed himself to me and started urinating in front of me.   I'm a proper lady, so I just went inside. I could hear them laughing at me and could see that the other two were on their way over the fence.

Then my beautiful daughter, who has autism, came into the kitchen. We have big windows with a full view of what these men were doing.

Just then, something DEEP inside of me snapped and the Mamma Bear in me stood up. I looked at my Angel girl and looked at my whip on the table and I knew this was going to end because my daughter has a right to be safe in her home and doesn't need to see penises out every window.

I grabbed my whip and marched back out. By now the men were right up to the house. I stood as tall and confident as I could and stated "No Trespassing! Get off my property!"

This led them to so much laughter at my expense and now to my horror all three were waggling willies all over the place.

The original flasher called out to me "What are you going to do? Call the cops?" followed by more laughter.

This was the one and only time in my life that the exact right words came out of my mouth at the exact right time. And I said calmly "No, Today, Free Circumcisions." Then I let off a good over head crack because those are the loudest. That set me up for a flick that tagged the closest one on the hip. I started rushing at them with the whip slashing back and forth in a horizontal figure 8 pattern.   Believe me, they ran as fast as you can with your pants down. One fell by the fence and I know there is all kinds of goat-heads and cactus right there. ((karma))

I went back up to my yard and found a spot that they couldn't see me and made the whip sing out loud so they would know I was still out there somewhere and ready for battle. It took them about 3 minutes to pack up and leave.

I went inside and called the sheriff, who is a personal friend, to confess. I told him the Whole story and then said that if they arrive in the ER, with a lacerated bum and goat-heads embedded in the genitals, telling a story of being chased by an Angry Cowgirl.... that was me.

10 minutes later the Sheriff was able to stop laughing enough to tell me that he would send someone over to take a statement from me. I learned that, in my state, whips are considered ranching equipment not a weapon. This was considered no different than if I had run them off with a broom.

I have no way of knowing if these men would have eventually intruded into my home and raped and pillaged. All I know is that their behavior was escalating every day at a very quick pace. In that moment I feared for my daughters safety and decided to put an end to it.

I'm not telling this story to brag or to promote whips as a weapon. In fact, the smarter thing would have been to call the sheriff first.    What I'm trying to get across is that there isn't a cut and dry answer. Anything could be a weapon given the right timing. I'm glad that for the most part whips are just tools and that is all.

4 Comments

Vivian's Sonic Alignment whip

1/15/2014

0 Comments

This is another whip that is staying here in Moab. I love the colors that Vivian picked. This is a good looking whip!

0 Comments

The difference between the Tibetan wave and Sonic Alignment

1/12/2014

0 Comments

I checked my email and facebook today and had no less than 5 people wanting to know if they can change the color or patterns on the Tibetan Wave whips. I get this question almost every day. (It can't hurt to ask)

Here is the deal. I made a promise to Ron that I would not change the color, pattern or length on his whips now that we have decided on the standard. I have a lot of love for this man and I'm not going to break my promise.

I do understand the desire to have something special and unique. I'm the same way too.

If you are studying the Tibetan Wave or Latigo y Daga whip systems I suggest that you stick with the Tibetan Wave whips. If you want a nice whip customized to your exact needs and wishes go for a Sonic Alignment whip.

So whats the difference anyway?

1. The Handle base- TWs have 10inch standard. SAs have a choice of 8,10, 12 and I'm open to longer if you really need that.
2. The core- The TW core is slightly heavier. The shot load is very similar but slightly heavier in the TW.
3. The Bellies- The SA whips have lighter bellies. This makes them a bit lighter and depending on the length, faster. The TW whips have two braided bellies that go farther into the whip making them heavier.
4. The Transition- This is the biggest difference between the TW and SA whips. The Tibetan Wave whips have a soft transition. Tom Meadows calls it "belly-less". The Sonic Alignment whips have a stiffer transition more like you would see in a traditional bullwhip. This is the feature that was the selling point of the Tibetan Wave whips and is the reason it can preform that cool Tibetan Wave move that Ron does so effortlessly. (if you take his class and want to learn that move you'll need that soft transition and roll out)
5. The length- TWs are 58 inches. SAs are what ever length you want.
6. The Taper- This is another big difference between the two. SAs taper down more quickly than the TWs and so are a little lighter.
7. The color- TWs come in 4 color choices. SA whips can be any color or combination that you want.
8. Knobs- The Tibetan Wave whips have knobs that are 5 inches apart. They are placed specifically to protect your index finger as you use the upper knob in the Tibetan Wave system. The sonic Alignment knobs are 7 to 9 inches apart, depending on the length of the handle base. I'm willing to move the SA knobs back for you if you need that.
9. Falls- both come with your choice of light or heavy falls.

The bottom line is they are both pretty awesome whip designs. I love them both. People who use whips a lot will notice a difference in speed and action. If you are new to the whip world chances are you won't be able to tell that much difference at all.

0 Comments

Form Entries

1/6/2014

0 Comments

This is just a quick reminder that if you use the Contact Form it is very important to make sure your email is correct. I can't get back with you unless it is exact.

Sadly, I have had been contacted by two people in the last week that the emails bounced back.

If you have contacted me recently and haven't heard back this is the reason. Please try again or use the email button.

Thank you.

0 Comments

Jerome's Trilogy

1/6/2014

2 Comments

This Tibetan Wave Trilogy belongs to Jerome and is going all the way to South Korea.

I'm always so excited when I get to do a whole set. I just think they are beautiful together. It makes it even more cool that they will travel so far.

I hope you enjoy these whips so much, Jerome.

2 Comments

Ron's New Dragon's Tail

1/6/2014

0 Comments

This is a one of a kind Dragon's Tail that I made for my Favorite Whip Master, Ron Lew.

I love this one with the pretty knobs and a dragon in the end.