swordguybuilds

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One of the most frustrating things about making whips is all the things that can cause the seams to twist. In this case, even though the seams were straight after braiding, the wax bath was a little too hot and caused an uneven contraction in the strands. It's not bad in the pictures, but when the whip is laid out straight it becomes more apparent. Otherwise I was very pleased with the aesthetic and handling

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This whip was made almost exclusively to try out a new flat braid I like for the wrist loop. I just think it looks super elegant, instead of the more common under-one-over-one diamond pattern I used a specific under-two-over-two variation to give it this scaly, chain-link feel.

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Braiding patterns into two very similar colors can be pretty difficult, but the results were well worth it in this case! This nylon bullwhip has a ghost theme for the halloween season

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While the quintessential Indiana Jones style bullwhips have certain characteristics you can't imitate with nylon, some of the base visual elements can be conjured by fairly simple means; this whip was intended to hit that mark, while obviously also deviating from the standard earth tone and patterns.

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Strand sizing is an important facet of leather braiding; I generally use this formula:

(Core DiameterX5) /Number of Strands = Strand Width

That gets me very solid coverage with minimal crowding, and facilitates great tension and movement.

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It's always a challenge to do patternwork in the thong that matches the patternwork in the handle because the number of strands is different; in this case I just did some birdseye in the thong, since it pretty much goes with everything!

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I always enjoy collaborations and this one came out excellent! The handle was burnt by my pyrographer friend in a rose motif.

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Whenever I do lettering in 16 plait I like to align the letters vertically and keep them narrow so that they can be read fully from a single angle. I also try to avoid lines of single diamonds just because I feel it looks a little artless, though obviously there are times it can't be helped.

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I've been playing around with handle shaping a lot lately! In this case I bolstered up the base of the handle with cane, but you can achieve the same effect with extra leather. You can also remove material instead of adding it to change the nature of the contour.

See it in the shop here!

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The chevron pattern in the thong can be maintained as long as you have six or more strands; when you get down to four it will be read by the eye as a spiral which breaks the aesthetic. In this case I terminate the chevrons as I exit the eight strand section.

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8 foot 20 plait Cecil Henderson inspired bullwhip, in saddle tan and whiskey

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My contribution to the Whip Toss Challenge! I got 8 tosses in 15 seconds

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A quick slow motion clip from practice the other day! This move is called the Arrowing Corners, named by Ben Hughes, and combines the arrowhead and four corners techniques. You can see the full video on the Swordguy Builds yt channel.

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This was a great order, super subtle combination of black and dark brown! I love projects like this because the intrigue isn't immediately apparent, so the whip becomes visually richer over time

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September featured In-Stock!

SwordguyBuilds.com

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A 4' 16 plait Main Gauche snake whip in natural tan and black. These can be ordered from the All Models page here!

[swordguybuilds]

Just thought this was a great pic! This is a 24 foot cow whip thong in chocolate brown with blue chevrons; I just dig what the coil does to the pattern visually.

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