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the first to see the new design by visiting Construction.cowwhips.com and enter your name to be notified by email when the new design goes live. You may also select click to follow me on Twitter to be notified.
The title of this post is a question I get from time to time that I think it’s time I address it:
At $85.00, my DVDs certainly are not cheap. Sometimes people tell me they won’t spend so much for a low-budget, homemade DVD. I totally understand that and don’t look down upon a person who holds that opinion.
Over the years I’ve had many people contact me asking for personal lessons in whipmaking. I have had people offer to pay me to teach as well as cover the cost of my travel. Some even even wanted to fly here and learn from me directly. My thoughts were that I could create a DVD based tutorial to teach my techniques and that even at $85.00, it would be much more affordable than some of the things people have offered to do to learn from me.
Granted, the production had a lower budget than an Ed Wood film and I made it myself with the help of my wife and son. If you’re looking for a dazzling Hollywood production, you won’t find it here. It’s mostly footage of my hands plaiting and me talking quite a bit. In hind sight, there’s several things I wish we did better. I’m a whipmaker, not a movie producer. I did the best I could…
So what are people paying for??
They’re paying the opportunity to learn a craft from someone who’s had to figure out much of what he knows by himself for the better part of 20 years. They’re buying a front row seat to see exactly how I make a whip; something old-time whipmakers would never share with anyone no matter the price.
A person who buys my video is buying an opportunity. An opportunity to learn a craft that can result in people paying them for the whips they’ve made. I’ve lost count of how many people who bought my DVDs are now selling their own whips. It just happens. Most aren’t even looking to sell whips when they are starting out.
One final thing a person buys when they get my DVDs is follow-up help. I always try to assist my DVD customers with their questions and I share with them tips and tricks for learning how to make other whip lengths as well as other kinds of whips if they so desire. I don’t have all the answers, but I always do my best to help in any way I can.
Bottom line is that I’m a free market kind of guy. People will only pay what they think something is worth. If you feel it’s worth it, good. If you feel it’s not worth it, that’s okay too. But keep checking in because it may go on sale one day.
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?
I want to let everyone know that if they look up the domain nylonwhips.com, they will find themselves landing on my main website Cowwhips.com. As of yesterday, I’m now the owner of the nylonwhips.com domain. This domain was previously owned by Ron Allen doing business as Loxahatchee Whip Company.
I registered the domain because it had expired and it doesn’t appear that Ron Allen is going to be returning to selling whips online for a while. The name fits my website even better than Cowwhips.com because I now make more than just nylon cow whips.
I realize that perhaps some will see this as a case of opportunistic cyber-squatting, but I was able to get in touch with Ron recently and told him my plans. He had no problem with it and I told him that if he ever decided to get back into selling whips online, I would sell him back the domain. Had the domain fallen into the hands of someone else, there would be no guarantee Ron would get it back.
If linking to me, it may still be better just to use Cowwhips.com or Rhettswhips.com, because until Ron tells me otherwise, I am treating my ownership of nylonwhips.com as temporary.
Have a great day!
Rhett Kelley
Just want to share some information with everyone to bring everyone up to speed on the latest from my neck of the woods…
1) I am eagerly awaiting the birth of my newest son, Vance. I expect my wife to start labor any time now.
2) We have started work on the cow whip construction DVD, but I will probably not have it ready for sale until October. I hope to work on it some while I’m off work after the baby is born.
3) I just finished my Basic EMT training. However, today I decided to take another EMT class starting in late September, this time it will be for the “EMT Intermediate” level. This will be a 8-10 week course, so it won’t last nearly as long as the previous course. Because of this development, I will not be taking new whip orders until I am finished with that course. (I will still accept orders for falls, handles, piggin’ strings and poppers)
I really appreciate everyone bearing with me through this time.
-Rhett
Pardon the off-topic post, but in effort to extend my life and thus my whip business as well, I started a fitness program about a month ago that is really helping me to get healthy, in shape, and feeling much better. If you’re wanting to find a good program to help you meet your fitness goals, I highly recommend the following product because it’s really working for me!
My injuries are getting better. I was able to finish a 10ft bullwhip today. Soreness in my index finger is making it hard to go very fast. Last night we started filming some footage for my upcoming DVD -that didn’t involve plaiting of course.
Next week is the last week of my EMT training. I am hoping by mid-August to be totally done.
We will be having a new baby sometime in the next few weeks. That will bring on a new set of challenges, but nothing that will slow me down as much as school has since March.
It doesn’t happen often for a nylon plaiter, but today I drew blood! I was making handles for my son and the end of the handle I was drilling out split apart allowing the rotating wood bit to make contact with my left hand that was holding the piece. It chewed up the end of my index finger and “cradle area” by my thumb. It bled a lot and it throbbing like crazy right now. I think I’ll be out of action for upwards of a week. I’m typing with only one hand right now… 
This is the first such incident I’ve had in almost 10 years of whipmaking. Maybe I should’ve listened to my grandpa’s advice all these years and used something other than my hand to hold that handle while drilling it out!!! 
To those waiting for an order, I apologize for the delay. As soon as I am able to use my left hand again, I’ll get back to work.
Thanks,
Rhett
Before I begin accepting orders again, I want to post a brief explanation of my new price schedule.
For years I have tried to be somewhat of a “low price leader” among nylon whipmakers. (I guess working for Walmart Logistics for 14+ years has had an effect on my business philosophy.) While my prices have crept up some over the past 9 years, a survey of other whipmaker’s websites recently showed me that have been charging far less than some of my competitors on comparable whips. Things have even gotten to the point where some of my customers have suggested that I am not charging enough for my whips.
Keeping my whips affordable for my cowboy clientele is still very important to me. I have always tried to keep my cow whip prices within an acceptable range for them. This concern has been the main thing that kept me from raising my prices already. While the price of my whips in the “sport cracking” category are a good bit higher, my new prices are relatively the same for the whips most commonly ordered by cowboys from Florida (12ft and 14ft cow whips).
For example: With the new schedule, my 12ft cow whips are only $12.00 more. 14ft cow whips are only $4.00 more… However, these prices are now a much better value than in the past because they now include a choice of several exotic and laminate handles! No more paying extra for a fine exotic handle unless it’s one of the very expensive African species.
Another change is that my bullwhip price schedule now groups woody bulls and regular bulls together. As with the cow whips, there is no additional charge for an exotic handle on a bullwhip unless an expensive African species (white and black ebony, blackwood, or gaboon ebony for example).
If it seems I am being greedy or that my price increases are too steep, I would like to recommend the following article by Steve Huntress. I think he makes some great points on why a quality nylon whip doesn’t always have to be dirt cheap:
Quality Isn’t Cheap & Neither Are Nylon Whips.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or post them in the comment box.
Thanks!
Rhett
When I start accepting orders again, I will have an entirely new price structure. The prices will be higher than in the past, but I think the prices are still competitive. The side-effect will be that my waiting list becomes much shorter [hopefully]. I am doing away with the old “price per foot” structure than I have always used. This change may also help customers figure the cost of their order more easily. On cow whips and woody bulls, the new prices will include a choice of exotic wood handles and not just my standard ash handle. (Some African species may cost a little more)
Cow Whips:
6ft $120
8ft 140
10ft 160
12ft 180
14ft 200
Bullwhips (standard or woody)
5ft $190
6ft 200
7ft 210
8ft 220
9ft 230
10ft 240
Stockwhips:
4ft $130
5ft 140
6ft 150
7ft 160
8ft 170
Snakewhips:
5 ft $120.00
6 ft 140.00
7 ft 160.00
8 ft 180.00
10 ft 200.00
Thanks!
Rhett
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Synthetic and Supersonic 