This idea is by no means original, but this is a prototype of a design I’ve wanted to try for a while. These aren’t currently available to be ordered, but maybe one day in the future I’ll add this style to my online store. The handle is 16.5″ and turned on the lathe from laminated Padauk and Oak blank with an Aussie style keeper attached to the handle instead of the traditional cow whip cup. The thong is a standard nylon stockwhip style.
I announced on Facebook last week that I am planning to throw my hat into the ring and start producing the ever-popular “pipe whips” popularized and marketed by Lauren Wickline as Performance Hybrid Stockwhips.
I haven’t began working on my design yet, but when I get it completed, I am going to give it away in a drawing.
For details on how you can enter, click the link below:
I’ve just made the first section of my whip making tutorial available publicly on Youtube for the first time. It’s my introduction all the way through making a keeper and adding weight for the belly. The rest of the tutorial is available on DVD, for sale at http://www.cowwhips.com/whip-making-dvds/
I’ve used USPS Priority mail service almost exclusively for all the years I have been shipping whips. Except for a few minor issues here and there, I have always found the service to be reliable. I never had a whip lost or damaged. USPS provides free boxes that fit most of my whips and the prices are lower than other services. Overall, I’ve found it to be a great value and have come to rely upon it.
Lots of changes have been made recently with the U.S. Postal Service and their website is touting improvements to Priority Mail. Some of the changes and realignments to their sorting centers have actually had a negative impact on the quality of service based upon my experience. Those who receive USPS shipping notifications from me should be aware that this recent decline in service could add a few days to your waiting time. Packages that are supposed to take from 1 to 3 days are now taking from 4 to 12 days. International transit times for my packages are equally abysmal.
I recently spoke with a manager from their consumer affairs division about the lagging transit times and he said that, overall, their transit times are largely within their goals, but that the recent changes USPS made are directly impacting me. He assured me that they are doing all they can to work out the bugs. I could switch to other shippers, but I want to keep prices low.
For now, I guess I just happen to be shipping from a location that’s 4 to 12 days from everywhere. Just keep that in mind when you receive your shipping notification.
A while back, I received an order from Fabian F. in Argentina for a set of my whipmaking DVDs.
Today I was pleased to receive an email with the following pictures asking for my opinion of his efforts using my DVDs.
My reply: “Most excellent!”
Your results may vary, but if you have an interest in making your own nylon Florida cow whip, consider ordering my whipmaking DVDs. This is one example of the many photos I have received from people who have used my DVDs to learn to make their own cow whips.
-Rhett
Rodeo clown Mike “Scooter” Smith has a huge list of rodeo related accomplishments to his credit. He began riding broncs and bulls 
back in 1992 and eventually moved into entertaining crowds with a variety of outlandish costumes, characters, and four legged assistants. He has appeared in rodeos all over, on television, in music videos, and in the movie Pure Country II.
When Mike commissioned me to make him a cow whip to use in his shows, I knew it was going to be an interesting project. He wanted an 8ft Florida cow whip with orange, purple, white, and green.
For the handle, I thought of using osage orange at first, but later went with Argentine Lignum Vitae because it’s such a tough wood and would better withstand the rigors of the rodeo. The result was a crazy looking whip with one of the toughest handles you can find:
The next time you’re at a rodeo and you see an orange haired clown with a crazy looking Florida cow whip, it might just be Scooter.
If you’re a rodeo clown and you would like your own custom made whip, let me know!
Visit Scooter on the web at mikescootersmith.com and on Facebook at Mike “Scooter” Smith: Rodeo Clown Extraordinaire.
Rhett Kelley
A while back, I was browsing some other whip websites and I happened across the statement that said that no “real cowboy/cowgirl” would dare carry a whip on their saddle that was any other color than black, tan, or brown. I thought I’d interact with that idea for a bit and demonstrate that, apart from being untrue, a case could be a made that “real” cowboys and cowgirls might actually be better off in some cases with a whip that was made in colors other than black, tan, and brown.
Through my whipmaking adventures, I’ve noted that there’s actually quite a bit of diversity among the cowboys and cowgirls of America. They come in all sizes, shapes, and colors and so do the horses, equipment, and tack that they use. Whips are no different. Suggesting that a “real cowboy” won’t use whips that are only certain colors is just as silly as saying cowboys won’t drive Dodge trucks, wear yellow shirts, eat Krystal burgers, or ride an American Paint Horse.
One big reason why a “real cowboy” might consider ordering a whip in colors other than black, tan, and brown is because whips get lost. About a decade ago, I had a “real” Florida cowboy call and order a solid hot pink whip. His old whip had fallen off his saddle and he wasn’t able to find it. He said he knew he would get laughed at by some of his peers, but he wanted his whip easy to 
see if it happened to fall off his saddle again.
Indeed, I could probably take my wife out to a nice dinner if I had a dollar for every story cowboys have told me about losing whips while working cows. The earth tone whips often blend in so well that they cannot find them if they backtrack searching. Having a whip that won’t blend in can help with that problem. So in reality, real cowboys ought to seriously consider buying whips with lots of bright colors.
So while I’ll grant that lots of working cowboys do order whips in earth tones, I’m also happy to cater to the ones who want them in other colors and patterns. I’d also like for the reader to note that all the whips pictured in on this post are examples of whips I’ve made for “real cowboys” who derive most (or all) of their income from working with cattle.
Visit my online photo gallery for more examples of whips I’ve made. Stop by the store to buy one! Others may judge you by the color of the whip you order, but I won’t.
The internet whip market is really one of the freest markets there is today. People can freely buy and sell all over the planet. Every whipmaker is free to market his or her wares in whatever way they see fit and charge whatever price the market will bear.
Thankfully, there’s no Federal or U.N. Whip Agency overseeing what we make or how we make it. In having such a free market, I think we have to police ourselves so others won’t have to.
With that idea in mind, I want to touch on the topic of truth in advertising.
For now, I’m withholding names to protect the guilty, but I’m hoping a few whip buyers will read this and be more alert. Better still, maybe the guilty sellers out there will read this and have a change of heart.
I recently started keeping a small inventory of items on eBay. I hoped perhaps it would get me more established in a market I’ve not really taken advantage of over the years. To me, eBay is a real mixed bag when it comes to whips. Over the years I’ve seen hucksters succeed there, while a few really good whipmakers couldn’t seem to make a go of it. You’ve got some great stuff being sold right along side of rubbish, and unfortunately, lots of people can’t seem to tell the difference.
There’s nothing at all wrong with “talking up a product.” In marketing, sellers are supposed to do that. No whipmaker in their right mind is going to advertise a whip with a line like “Eh, they’re okay. I guess.” I could nick-pick about claims I see about whips sounding like cannons, but I think (hope) most customers recognize such things as the hyperbole that they are.
What I’m talking about are those who make claims that are plainly false in order to deceive unsuspecting customers. That’s what really irks me!
I’ve watched one eBay whip seller for a while. He’s on the 3rd seller I.D. that I know of… In a recent listing with his new seller I.D., he states that he’s new to selling whips eBay, which is flatly untrue. In addition to that, he can’t seem to figure out when he started making whips. At one point the date was coincidentally the same year as I started making whips. In another place, it says that he’s been making whips for “going on a decade.”
So which is it? 22 years or less than 10?? 1991? or 2003-2004?
I don’t expect someone to know the exact day they started a new hobby or craft, but there’s something fishy if they can’t decide which decade they started.
Another inconsistency I’ve seen is great swelling claims of having made “[insert random number] thousand” of nylon whips on one listing and then another “[insert random number] thousand” of nylon whips on another listing. An unsuspecting customer may not think anything of this, but it sets off all sorts of warning flags for me.
A while back I did some math with the claims I saw on one eBay listing. If I recall correctly, it came out that in order to support the claim, he had to be making something like 750 whips per year in order for it to be possible! That’s 2 whips per day. While I won’t say that’s totally impossible, I’d say it’s highly improbable. From other information I’m aware of, I’m almost certain our unscrupulous seller just picked a large, random number in order to fool people about his experience.
The most prolific whipmaker I know of in the USA is Krist King. He has many retail outlets selling his nylon whips and they are literally everywhere. He tells me he produces an average of 12 or 13 whips per week, depending on what kind he’s making. I believe that claim because I’ve seen evidence of it over the years. With the particular eBay seller I have in mind, I’ve seen no evidence to support the outrageous claims that have been made.
Personally, I see nothing to be gained from making boastful claims of having made “[insert random number] thousand” whips or something when I know it’s not true. I’d rather be known for quality instead of quantity anyway.
I don’t understand why some people can’t just be real. What’s wrong with being honest about your experience and doing your best to make a good product? Why not be proud of what you’ve actually accomplished instead of trying to deceive people into thinking you’re something you’re not?
In closing, I hope whip buyers will take time to evaluate some of the claims they see. Compare listings and see if the seller is being consistent in the stories he or she is telling. If a seller won’t put his real name on his product, that should be a red flag right there.
If you see claims of thousands of whips having been made in a certain period of time, break out a calculator and see if the numbers look realistic. There’s far too many good sellers out there for you to be doing business with shysters.
Top to bottom: Zebrawood, Redheart, and Bocote
For a while now on my main website, I have not advertised that I sell custom cow whip handles. Though I do make custom handles on request, I don’t really want to get bogged down with orders for them.
The reason:
Cow whip handles are one of the least profitable items I sell given the time they take me to make them.
Yet, I was recently told by someone that my handles are “high priced”.
Steven Huntress recently posted a great article on his blog addressing the erroneous idea that the value of a product should be based solely upon the cost of the materials used to make it. I commend it to you as I share his point of view on the subject.
In my article, I just want to touch on how my handle prices are figured and the rationale behind it.
My wife would probably tell you I’m the King of Wasting Time, but I do value my time and I like to spend my productive hours in a profitable way.
In general, making whips is probably the best paying job I’ve ever had on an hour per hour basis. However, that doesn’t mean that every facet of whip making is profitable alone. That’s sort of the situation with making cow whip handles.
I normally charge a base price of $25.00 to make a standard ash cow whip handle. On exotic wood handles, I charge roughly what it costs me to get the handle blank being used, plus $25.00 per handle for turning and finishing it on the lathe. In the photo, you’re looking at roughly $140.00 worth of handles. That may sound like lots of money, but when I deduct the expense for materials and figure in my time, I could’ve made much better money working on a 12 or 16 plait bullwhip instead.
The price I charge for making a custom handle is really the minimum amount I will accept for the time it takes me to do it. I would ask for more, but I’m making a conscious effort to keep the price low. Unlike many markets today, the “whip market” is free and unregulated. Buyers are free to buy, or not to buy a product, and there is a growing number of sellers from which to choose.
Are there other, less expensive options out there? Sure. There’s Eli’s in Florida that sells handles cheap. I suspect these are mass produced because all the ones I’ve seen are all clones. What you see is what you get. It’s not a bad handle, but when I sold them as part of my whipmaking kits last year, people didn’t really like them as much as my standard handles. After you figure in UPS shipping rates, the cost of a plain Eli’s handle isn’t much less than one of mine.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind making handles. If you want one, please get in touch with me and I’ll be happy to take care of you. Just know that even though the price may sound a little steep from your view, from my view, I’m offering a real bargain.
Browsing a nylon paracord supplier’s website recently I saw something that intrigued me: Paracord with 2 small reflective strips running thought it. Though expensive compared to normal paracord, I thought there might be a possibility of incorporating this cord into my existing products and making some unique products:
Introducing “Kelley Lightning Whips.”
These whips are are neon yellow and neon orange with the reflective trace and available not only as cow whips, but as bullwhips, snakewhips, and stockwhips as well. This makes them both black light reactive and they will reflect brilliantly when light shined upon them. The result looks almost like you’ve harnessed lightning.
These whips are not waxed because the wax dampens the reflective quality of the neon orange cord. This particular cow whip weighs in at just 11.4 ounces and the 16″ ash handle weights a mere 4.5 ounces, making this whip a very light weight cow whip.
This prototype Lightning Whip will be auctioned on eBay later today. Be sure to like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter to get the link when it is posted.
(Edit: Here’s the link to the eBay auction!)
Safety Bracelets
Applying this new reflective paracord to our line of survival bracelets gives us a new twist on a popular product. When applied to our bracelets, you have a high visibility bracelet that does everything regular paracord bracelets are made to do with the added benefit that whenever you’re in the dark and light shines upon this bracelet really shines!
The color and reflective quality make these bracelets great for hunters. But also for people who jog, cycle, or walk near streets or roads, these bracelets could alert oncoming motorists to your presence and help you avoid being stuck by a motorist. Look carefully at the photos of my son above to see how well the bracelet reflects.
This first safety strap will be given away in a drawing from those who joined my email newsletter. Prices start at $20.00 for the larger sized bracelet seen here. They can be ordered by contacting us by one of the options seen on the contact/order page.
Rhett Kelley
The name “Kelley Lightning Whips” is copyright 2012 by Rhett Kelley Whips, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Synthetic and Supersonic 