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Whips and Whipmaking- a review 

9/18/2013

2 Comments

 
Picturevolley whips by Peter Jack
I was so excited to get this book.  Whips and whip making by David Morgan.....  David Morgan.  It must be filled with all kinds of goodies that no one else knows and insights to the man himself.  Yay!

Well....  not so much.

What I love about the book is there are lots of photos and drawings of different kinds of whips and some of the whip making process.  I like that I felt like I knew more about whips from all over the world and had a good working knowledge of the whipmaking vocabulary after I finished.

David plays his cards really close to his body.  He isn't going to give you his secrets.  Its no surprise that he isn't handing out all his unique trade secrets but he doesn't throw out any bones either.  I felt sad, that after reading this book, I didn't know much more about David or his personality.  He holds the reader at arms length.

Whips and Whipmaking reads more like a collection of terms and definitions.  You get the standard answer of what something is without any personal thoughts about it.   This book is not going to teach you HOW to build a whip, but it will teach you how to talk about building a whip if you can get someone to have that conversation with you.

So, there is my 2 cents worth.  Bottom line-  Get this book if you already have a collection of whip books.  You are going to want David Morgan to round out your library.  If you want to learn How to make whips, maybe go for a different book first.

2 Comments
Dan
9/18/2013 08:28:51 am

I also own said book, (what whip artist worth their leather conditioner doesn't?) and you're right about it not really being a "How To" guide.

However, I don't think it's that David is necessarily holding his readers at arms length, or trying to maintain any sort of "trade secrets," so much as having a somewhat dry, academic approach to his writing.

I've had a couple conversations with Will, (David's son, who is increasingly taking on more of the business as David's increasing age and diminishing health becomes more of a factor,) and David is very interested in sharing his knowledge, not only as a whip historian, but as a whip-maker.

I feel the book title may however be somewhat misleading, in that David talks about the construction of various kinds of whips without it being a guide to building them. Once again, an academic approach more concerned with the "Whys" than the "Hows."

David's educational background is as an engineer, and his meticulousness in DEFINING much about the historical construction of whips sacrifices any personality that might otherwise come through, (though I have certain issues with his "English vs. Mongol" classification system for whips, which reminds me greatly of Ewart Oakeshott's system of sword classification: VERY Eurocentric! Still, Morgan's is really the only "model" out there, and is developed from the standpoint of how the tool is ENGINEERED, not how it is UTILIZED. I could go ON and ON about that, and my own approach, but I digress.)

Morgan has personally been MORE than forthcoming on his whipmaking techniques, insights, and tutorials to the dozens of whipmakers who have contacted him personally over the years, and has always been willing to share his vast library of whip history and memorabilia with young whipmakers who are interested in the craft.

Joseph Strain, Paul Nolan, Adam Winrich, Isaac Louie and ESPECIALLY Bernardo Del Carpio have all corresponded, met with, and learned from Morgan. They have described him as being quite enthusiastic about sharing his approach, techniques, tips and tricks because he seems more interested in keeping the whipmaking tradition alive than maintaining some type of monopoly on his particular style of whipmaking.

I just don't think it was his intention for "Whips and Whip Making" to be marketed as any sort of "How To" guide, (and considering the personal experiences of a friend in dealing with Cornell Maritime University Press, I would say that David had little to input on that aspect of the publication.)

If you haven't read David's "Whips of the West," you might want to check it out as well. While still being somewhat dry, you will find a bit more of David's personal passion and enthusiasm for the bullwhip in it.

Beautiful whips, BTW...I expect I'll be in touch about getting hold of one for myself soon!

All the best, and happy cracking!

-D. Trout

Reply
Bobbi
9/18/2013 01:57:12 pm

Hi Dan,
Thanks so much for your insights. They're really interesting to me. I love how passionate you are.

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    Bobbi

    I wear a lot of hats!  I'm a homeschool Mom, Autism advocate, Jewelry maker, cosmetologist, gardener, spiritual adviser....and happy to be a Full time Whipstress whip-maker of HolyOak  Whips.

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