SNAKE WHIP TUTORIAL   
   At long last I hear someone say, the long promised snake whip tutorial.
I'm going to deal with both snake whips and pocket snakes here. The main difference between a pocket snake and an ordinary snake whip is the weight and diameter at the base of the whip. Pocket snakes are usually 3/4 of an inch in diameter at the base of the whip, at least mine are anyway, and usually  come in sizes of 4ft, 5ft and 6ft, any longer and you need an awfully big pocket. A full size snake whip is 1inch in diameter at the base and come in lengths of 4ft to the horizon if you have the time. The longest I've made is 18ft and as you can imagine was fairly hefty but I must say, patting myself on the back, that it cracked remarkably easily. Just a quick mention for signal whips here as well. A signal whip is really a pocket snake, usually 4ft long but instead of having a separate fall the cracker is plaited into the end of the whip which is a bit of a pain because when you need a new cracker you have to find someone who can plait another one in for you unless your a fairly accomplished plaiter.

LET'S GET STARTED

 Firstly we'll make a pocket snake,5ft long, covered with a 12 plait kangaroo hide overlay. These consist of a shot bag cut to the size shown in the picture. There are two bags shown because I was making two whips at the time. Form this into a bag as shown on the bullwhip tutorial page and fill with lead shot until you get about 1 and 1/2 inches from the top. Into this space we will insert a rolled leather plug to prevent all that lead shot coming out and the seal it down with some tape over the end of it. Over this goes a bolster cut so that it fits neatly around the shot bag with no overlap. I tie this on with some cotton to hold it place. Next comes an eight plait belly. Cutting instructions for this are on the bullwhip tutorial page 2. These strands need to be cut the same width and length as on the bullwhip page. You know what to do now, plait them and roll the finished belly and your ready for the second bolster. Again make this to fit neatly around the belly with no overlap and tie it down. Now comes the overlay of 12 strands. Remember the strands need to be cut so that they cover the circumference of the  belly 1 & 1/2 times otherwise the plaiting will have to be pushed up while your plaiting and will eventually come loose. Plait this out to 5ft dropping strands when appropriate and end with 8 strands, hitch on your fall and give it all a really good roll. Put the knob and wrist strap on the same as you would for a bull whip. A lot of the method for this whip and the snake whip which we will come to next are the same as for the bull whip which if you click here we will get on with.         PAGE2