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There's a whole bundle of words out there that you won't understand if you're new to the whips. The pages on this site are written in such way,as we suppose you know what they mean. If you don't, here are some specific words together with our explaination of what they mean.
- Balanced:Usually the whip makers take care that the weight of the fall and thong in a bull whip equals the weight of the handle,because lack of balance affects handling. A decent bullwhip should be more or less balanced. A really good whip should be perfectly balanced. With stock whips, it isn't so critical and the balance point tends to be slightly higher.
- Belly:An inner layer of the whip, or the innards of the whip as a whole. Sometimes referring to the core.
- Bolster:Usually it's a smooth layer of leather fitting tightly over a braided belly, and compressed by the addition of the next layer. Adds mass to the belly, whilst providing good foundation for the next layer, helping to make a smoother braid. Also helps to prevent dirt and grit from finding a way in to the layer below, where it can wear at the leather unseen just like dirt inside a rope.
- Braid (braiding/plait):The process by which a layer is made, or a reference to the complexity of that layer (i.e. 8 strand braid/ 8 plait). Sometimes used as a name for the thong as a whole.
- Butt (heel knot/pommel/pineapple knot/Turk's Head):The knot at the thick end of the whip. Many whips are designed so that this should fit in the palm of the hand. Can occasionally slip or come undone which is why, in the whips we make, we usually end-splice the butt of the handle to give a similar shape that's part of the braid. A Turk's head is also commonly used for cover knots and decorative work. Can vary considerably, in complexity and beauty.
- Cane:Either the most common material from which Australian stock whip handles are made, or a piece of wood in a bullwhip that protrudes into the core of the whip and provides a foundation for attaching the thong. The end of the cane is sometimes noticeable in poor quality bull whips as a point close to the handle where there is a distinct kink in the thong. This should be treated with suspicion, because it indicates that this area of the whip has not been sufficiently reinforced and will wear out quickly. Also (less commonly, these days) the name given to the entire handle of a bullwhip, regardless of the material used.
- Core:The material at the very centre of the whip. The quality of the core and how it's connected to the stock, is fundamental to the longevity and handling of the whip (especially bull whips). If the core is bad, the whole whip is bad. So, first question to ask a whip maker is not, "how many strands are in the overlay", but "what's the core and how is it made?"
There are Mexican whips with a core made of strips of rubber and 'j-cloth' material. Other poor quality cores can be made of paper. Rope cores are sometimes used and, if the whip is cheap enough (say around ?25 for a 6 foot bullwhip) can be good value. Leather cored whips should be good, but are often let down by lack of reinforcement.
Good quality American whips traditionally feature a rolled hide core. This is where one or more tapered strips of greased leather or raw hide are twisted together and rolled under a plank, or similar, to give them a round cross-section and even taper. A high quality braided core is generally regarded as having greater potential longevity than a rolled core; although this is less important than how well the whip is put together around it. For instance, exist some braided core whips that have lasted less well than similar quality rolled core ones.
- Cover Knot:A cosmetic knot, usually a Turk's head, used to cover a join in the braid, or protect a potentially vulnerable point from wear. Most of the bullwhips have a cover knot where the thong joins the handle.
- Cracker (popper):Usually is a bit of thread attached to the end of the fall, or braided into the end of the thong. This is the secret ingredient for breaking the sound barrier.
- Crop:The finished stock with hand part, overlay and keeper as appropriate; but without a thong added. The same are "riding crop", "hunting crop".
- Fall:A bit of un-braided leather or nylon at the end of the thong, designed to take all the wear and tear. Will break occasionally and is normally removable (but not that easily). If it isn't, you probably have a whip designed for the tourist trade rather than for technical whip cracking. The only whips used in whip cracking that don't have falls, are signal whips - don't buy a bull whip if it doesn't have a fall!
- Handle:This is the rigid bit that you usually don't hold onto on a bull whip! Hold the knot, instead.
- Hand Part:If the maker doesn't intend for the Turk's Head to be gripped, that part of the stock immediately above it is the hand part; and is often shaped to give a comfortable grip (especially in two piece whips such as stock whips).
- Lash:Correctly: the flexible part of the whip. Also just the fall, especially in America.
- Lace:Hide cut ready for braiding, or a reference to individual strands used in a whip.
- Keeper:The loop at the top of a thong, or the bottom of a crop, that "keeps" the thong and handle of a two piece whip together. It can be tight, as in stock whips, or loose, as in hunting whips.
- Naturally Falling: Not shot loaded. Although shot assists with cracking a short whip, many whip makers feel that longer whips of quality should not require it.
- Overlay:A layer braided over one beneath. Also - the outermost layer of the thong.
- Shot loaded: Lead added into the core, usually in a conical bag called a shot sack. The aim is to make the whip easier to crack, and it is most useful in short snake and signal whips. Longer bull and stock whips of any quality don't need shot loading.
- Single Tail:Specifically, a signal whip. Generally, any whip non-equestrian whip that isn't a
cat or flogger.
- Stock:The more or less rigid part of a whip, without keeper or overlay added.
- Strand:A single lace, or used to convey the complexity of a braided layer (i.e. "8 strand overlay").
- Target Stand:As the name implies: a stand for holding or supporting targets.
- Thong:The braided part of the flexible bit of the whip.
- Whip:Any single tail or straight-out equestrian whip. Depending on how you define cats and floggers, a cat could be a whip by dint of method of manufacture and technique in use. A flogger is not.
- Zorro Board:Target stand for snuffing out candles without knocking them flying. Cape and mask not included.
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