Of all the whips I’ve sold, you won’t find any bullwhips out there that aren’t 16 plait. Until now… This week I finished a prototype version of my own line of 12 plait bullwhips. It’s made in the same manner as all my other bullwhips, but without the additional 16 plait overlay. I have posted this first-of-a-kind whip on eBay. If you would like to own it, please log on to eBay and place your bids!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/130630689823
Posted by RBK on January 13, 2012
http://rhettswhips.com/2012/01/13/12-plait-bullwhip-prototype-for-sale/
Attention whipmakers!
I now have 3/8″ sinker cord back in stock and ready to ship!
My prices are as follows:
1-19 ft = $1.00/ft
20-49ft = $0.85/ft
50ft -69ft = $0.70/ft
70ft – 99ft = $0.55/ft
100ft and over = $0.45/ft
Postage included to all U.S. addresses! Priority mail for orders over $20.00!
Email me at Rhettswhips @ yahoo dot com to order!
Posted by RBK on January 8, 2012
http://rhettswhips.com/2012/01/08/sinker-cord-in-stock/
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 38,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 14 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Posted by RBK on January 1, 2012
http://rhettswhips.com/2012/01/01/2011-in-review/
I often get calls and emails about making a bullwhip tutorial. While I had hoped to produce one by now, I just haven’t had the time to work on it and I’m not sure if I ever will at this point. Still, I try to explain to folks that just because my video teaches the Florida cow whip exclusively, that doesn’t mean it is without value for making bullwhips. The fact is, I think using my videos to create a cow whip prior to starting bullwhips is wise because most of what I do in this video in regards to plaiting, tapering, and dropping strands is exactly how I do it on my bullwhips.
On such DVD customer is Jay from Virginia. Jay ordered my DVDs back in December 2010. Jay wanted to make a bullwhip and used my tutorial and Ron Edwards’ book How To Make Whips to do it. The very first whip he made was a 12ft bullwhip. He then went back and made a 6ft cow whip! Here’s the correspondence and pics he sent me to share:
Rhett,
Attached are two pics of my finished 12 foot Indy style whip. This whip was made primarily using your Florida Cowwhip Tutorial video and with Ron Edwards book, How To Make Whips. The whip measures 12 feet from the turks head knot at the end of the handle, to the end of the tapered twist. I made it out of chocolate brown p-cord, with dark brown used for the knots and a combination of the two for the wrist loop. Both of the knots have a foundation using the treated catfish cord and Elmer’s Glue like you had mentioned on one of you on-line lessons on knot foundations. The final whip got a hot bath in Gulf Wax. I was amazed at how the wax treated p-cord changed in appearance and workability. What an improvement over an untreated cord.
Anyway, feel free to have and use the photos if it helps. I really enjoyed your video and found it to be a huge help in making a nice whip. I plan on starting a 6 foot cowwhip hopefully this week.
Take care and thanks again !
Jay H.
Virginia
Rhett,
Attached are some photos of my second 6 foot whip that I just finished today, which went a lot faster and easier than the first. I went with a mix of dark brown and chocolate brown for the cord and the handle is charcoal and gray diamond wood. That stuff is amazing.
Works really easy on my lathe and polishes to a mirror finish in to time. After I got done cutting it, I switched to a 150 to 220 to 400 grit and finished it with tripoli and a soft cotton cloth. Anyway the pics are yours and let your customers know that with a little reading and your DVD great whips can be created.Hope you and your family had a great Christmas and good New Year.
Jay
Posted by RBK on December 4, 2011
http://rhettswhips.com/2011/12/04/bullwhips-from-cow-whip-tutorial-it-can-be-done/
I need to let everyone know that I am not taking any more whip orders for the remainder of 2011. This is in part because I am trying to catch up on the orders I have and also because I was recently promoted with Walmart and I am going though training for my new position until the week of Christmas.
I am still taking orders for whipmaking DVDs! So please email me at rhettswhips at yahoo dot com if you are interested in getting one of those for the holidays.
I hope to start taking whip orders again after the first of the year.
Thanks!
Rhett
Posted by RBK on November 15, 2011
http://rhettswhips.com/2011/11/15/orders-for-remainder-of-2011/
See that Facebook thingy with my face on it? Click there and join the Rhett Kelley Whipmaker page and you’ll be eligible for my Facebook-only offer.
Hurry! Time is limited!
Posted by RBK on October 3, 2011
http://rhettswhips.com/2011/10/03/exclusive-offer/
This is the first auction I’ve had in almost a year. Because of my order back-log, I have not been taking orders this year and probably won’t start until the current list is almost caught up. This will probably be your best chance to get one of my whips this year if you’re not currently on the waiting list. Here’s the URL for the auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/130574033287
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Posted by RBK on September 9, 2011
http://rhettswhips.com/2011/09/09/bulwhip-on-ebay-until-sept-13/
To the right you will see my Facebook fan page badge. I’ve had that fan page for a while, but I haven’t really done a lot with it. That is apparent by the abysmally low number of fans subscribed at the time I am writing this [150]. Hopefully all that’s about to change as I plan to promote and update it more often. If you’re interested in keeping up with stuff I’m doing with the whips, please click there and “like” the page.
I once had my personal Facebook profile badge posted there, but I think the time has came for me to somewhat separate my business from my personal Facebook activities. Over time, I now have hundred of “friends,” many of whom I don’t know at all. Though I try to be a nice guy, I am rather opinionated and I commonly post things totally unrelated to whips or whipmaking. I know for certain that I’ve actually angered a customer or two with my personal opinions on Facebook, so I think separating the business from the personal side seems to be the best solution.
So here’s the deal going forward… If you know me personally, then by all means send me a friend request on Facebook.
If you don’t know me personally and are simply interested in whip related topics, then I ask that you please connect with me on the fan page only. This way you will get what you’re looking for an not have to wade through things you may not care anything about.
Fair enough?
Posted by RBK on August 24, 2011
http://rhettswhips.com/2011/08/24/facebook-stuff/
The first time I ever made a bullwhip, I was intrigued with how the handle, more specifically the heel knot, was very dense and probably would not feel very good if it was applied to the side of someone’s cranium.
In How to Make Whips, Ron Edwards wrote about how blackjacks were illegal to carry in Australia, so instead they would carry small snakewhips. Snakewhips were legal to carry, and when equipped with a weighted heel knot, the snakewhip served as a discreet, legal-to-carry blackjack (or a “life preserver” in Edwards’ Aussie vernacular).
While I’m not one to promote violence, I do believe that the ability to defend oneself is a basic human right. So for years I have been interested in developing a plaited device that would be good for self defense. All I needed was the impetus and time to develop it. Recently that impetus came in the form of an email entitled “special request” from an expert martial artist from Texas. The gentleman described the device he wanted and it matched up very well with the ideas I already had floating around in my head.
And thus the Bull Bat was born: The construction started out just like any of my regular bullwhips. An 8″ steel handle, a shot loaded core, 2 plaited bellies wrapped with artificial sinew for support, and all covered with a 16 plait overlay. Pretty much your average bullwhip handle and construction until you get around 21″ down the thong. There you encounter the thong beginning to thicken ever so slightly, then finished with a turkshead knot. The knot on the end conceals the payload: steel, lead tape, and nylon cord that is wrapped super tight and secured with glue and staples to be sure it doesn’t come off.
Overall, it’s 23″ long and weighs 13.5 ounces. From one end it looks like a bullwhip, from the other, a snakewhip. It functions much like the Aussie snakewhip “life preserver” but with the added benefit of a rigid handle for better control and leverage. The wrist loop keeps the Bull Bat from being taken away from the user. It can deliver a crushing blow. Even a light tap to the side of the leg hurts like the dickens.
I’ve decided to call it the “Bull Bat” because it’s partially a bullwhip, but intended for hitting instead of making an audible crack. At this point I am not sure if I will offer these as a regular product. I’m sure there are lots of places where owning such an item is prohibited by law, so that is a major concern -especially if one fell into the hands of someone who is not very responsible for their actions. In the mean time, I plan to work on the design a bit more and see what kind of variations I can make to improve on this initial design. I’ll post some photos if I do.
-Rhett
Posted by RBK on August 10, 2011
http://rhettswhips.com/2011/08/10/the-bull-bat/
I received sad news recently that Joe Akerman Jr. passed away. I was given this news on Facebook by his son Mark.
Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Akerman wrote the book Florida Cowman. Florida Cowman was a book that I read as a sophomore in high school and used as a source for a term paper in history class. Florida Cowman is, in my opinion, one of the best on the subject of Florida’s great cattle raising history.
The cover of my whipmaking DVD is actually one of the many sketches that Joe made as illustrations for Florida Cowman. I was granted permission by Mark Akerman on behalf of his father to use the piece. For that I remain ever grateful to Mark and Joe.
Mr. Akerman’s obituary can be found here.
-Rhett
Posted by RBK on July 29, 2011
http://rhettswhips.com/2011/07/29/a-brief-tribute-to-joe-akerman-jr/
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