Whips Archives - David Morgan

Sticking To Our Roots

December 6, 2024

A lot has changed over the years, but at David Morgan, we’ve always worked to keep things steady.

We’ve been importing kangaroo and crocodile skins with the Fish and Wildlife Service for quite a long time now. While the quality of our products remains as strong as ever, the paperwork has certainly changed. Take a look at the difference between our current Fish and Wildlife permit and the one from the early 90’s. Maybe we’re a little “old school” but we prefer the look of the older one.

Like No Other: Crocodile Leather

Our Crocodile Hat Bands and Leather products are a point of pride. It’s rare to find another company in the U.S. offering the kinds of authentic crocodile leather items we do. The Hornback Crocodile Belt and the Crocodile Hat Band with Teeth showcase the exceptional texture and durability of this hide. The Hat Band with Teeth is a standout accessory on any hat, especially on the Snowy River. It’s rugged, sharp, and undeniably unique.

Feel Everything: Kangaroo Leather

Our classic Bullwhips, crafted from kangaroo leather, remain a cornerstone of our business. Owners value the unparalleled quality and the care that goes into every hand-made whip. Beyond bullwhips, kangaroo leather continues to shine in other products, emphasizing its incredible lightweight strength.

Geier’s Kangaroo Leather Driving Glove is a perfect example. These gloves protect your hands from wear and tear while maintaining exceptional touch sensitivity. They’re durable, reliable, and built to last—traits we know our customers appreciate.

Whether you’re looking for leather goods that stand the test of time or accessories with a story to tell, David Morgan has you covered. Quality never goes out of style.

Stagecoach Whips

October 18, 2019

Working at David Morgan is really fun when we can put people together to solve problems and preserve history.

Because of my father’s work in the field of whips — which included writing the book Whips and Whipmaking — I occasionally field general queries regarding whips.

A few weeks ago I took a call from a Mr. Patt Patterson of Missouri who asked me if I knew anything about stage coach whips. He was writing a book on them. I told him no, nothing past what was in my father’s book. I offered to check David’s list of whips, I checked and found Dad had a couple of stage coach whips in his collection so I said I’d clean them up for him and send him photographs.

A few days later I took a call from Jimmy Wilson in Texas who was looking for someone to clean up and put new falls on his wife’s whips. His wife had been a Wild West arts performer in the fifties and sixties. Jimmy mentioned that, by the way, he ran a business building stagecoaches, see J Wilson Stage Coaches.

I introduced Patt and Jimmy by email and Patt is now busy fixing up the whips and has gained a friend in the world of stage coaches.

After receiving the performer whips, Patt mentioned that some of the whips were made by the J.M. Bucheimer Co. I found a Bucheimer catalog or three in David’s files that dated from the mid-sixties, when they were in Frederick Maryland. Included with the catalogs was correspondence from David where he mentioned that he was interested in buying the Drovers and Performers whips. He then bought a couple and responded they were advertised as 12 plait but arrived as 10 plait. Later Bucheimer catalogs described the whips as 10 plait. In 1967 the performer whips cost from $10.60 to $31.00 depending on their length, with extra long lengths available on special request.

The stage coach whips in David’s collection were labeled and measure as follows:

No. 94 Stagecoach Whip, Bert Hill, 1960s. He had made coach whips for Cobb & Co. 11′ thong 6 plait dropped to 4. 12 plait. Covered handle is about 54″.

( see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobb_%26_Co )

No. 95 Stagecoach Whip Bert Hill, 1960s. 9′ thong 6 plait dropped to 4. 12 plait covered handle is about 53″. (No photo.)

No. 98

Useless Thong by DWM on a Lungewhip handle by Millowick. Thong lacks weight in the belly. Handle is a bit under 50 inches.

It appears David had made an attempt at copying the stagecoach whip thong and failed. Thankfully David kept on trying his hand making hundreds of functional whips albeit not for stagecoaches.

Our best wishes to Patt and Jimmy’s respective and collective endeavors!

Will Morgan

Enjoy a few more photos below:

How to Replace a Whip Fall

July 18, 2014

For some people, replacing a whip fall looks intimidating. We are happy to do it for you (See Whip Repair Services), but why not give it a try yourself? The instructions are below:

If a fall has broken to shorter than 12-18 inches, it needs replacing. If it has stretched, it should be replaced when it has become noticeably thinner than the end of the thong. Red hide falls tend more to hold their shape, but break off. White hide falls tend to stretch more but break off more slowly. The kangaroo strands adjacent to the fall may eventually break because of the sharp flexing at this point. The fall should be replaced as soon as the first of these strands breaks.

Fall Replacement Method 1

If none of the braided strands adjacent to the fall are broken, the old fall may be removed without undoing the hitches.

To do this, attach the main body of the whip to a hook or some other secure anchor, then trim the end of the new fall to a point. Put the eye of the new fall over the old fall and the end of the thong. Grease the new fall with braiding soap or Pecard Leather Dressing.

Attach the main body of the whip to a hook or some other secure anchor, then trim the end of the new fall to a point, put the old fall and part of the thong through the eye of the new fall and grease the new fall with braiding soap or Pecard Leather Dressing

To remove the old fall, put a fid through the eye of the old fall (between the fall and the braid). Using a sharp knife, cut the fall against the fid, taking care not to cut the braid. Pull the old fall out of the hitches.

Feed the point of the new fall through the tunnel left by the old fall. Pull the new fall into place while holding the strand of the final hitch. Put this strand through the eye of the new fall as it is pulled into place. The result should appear as shown below.

Fall Replacement Method 2

If the strands of the braid next to the fall are broken or badly worn, the hitches and part of the thong must be undone until the shortest strand of the loose ends is about four inches long.

Place the end of the thong through the eye of the new fall as shown below and grease the strands with braiding soap or Pecard Leather Dressing.

Place the end of the thong through the eye of the new fall as shown to the right and grease the strands with braiding soap or Pecard Leather Dressing

With the top strand on the left, tie a half-hitch around the fall and the other strands in the direction shown and pull tight. (With short strands use pliers to pull the strands tight.)

With the strand on the left, tie a half-hitch around the fall and other strands in the direction shown and pull tight. With short strands use pliers to pull the strands tight.

Move the remaining strands to the left, leaving any core strands against the fall. Fold the end of the first strand down and hold it against the fall. Taking a second strand pull it tight and tie a second half hitch in the same manner as the first.

Move the remaining strands to the left, leaving any core strands against the fall, and fold the end of the first strand down and hold it against the fall. Taking a second strand pull it tight and tie a second half hitch in the same manner as the first.

Continue on with the remaining strands of the braid, but after the final strand is hitched, put the end of the strand up and under the eye of the fall.

Continue on with the remaining strands of the braid, but after the last strand is hitched put the end of the strand up and under the eye of the fall.

Tighten all strands again in sequence from the first to the last, pull the fall securely into place, and then trim the ends of the strands to a uniform length.

Attach a cracker.

Lastly, roll the attachment between two hard surfaces to make it smooth.

Tighten all strands again in sequence from the first to the last, pull the fall securely into place, and then trim the ends of the strands to a uniform length. Lastly roll the attachment between two hard surfaces to make it smooth.

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

Leather and Braiding Supplies

Attaching a Cracker

Kangaroo Hide Color Changes

May 8, 2014

There have been a few times when our customers wondered why their new kangaroo leather goods were a light tan and not a dark brown. This is understandable when you see a photo of Indiana Jones with his dark brown whip

When we receive our kangaroo leather, it is a light tan. Almost immediately the color begins to darken. In the two photos below, the two whips are placed on top of a piece of kangaroo leather that we received a few months ago. You can see in the image how light the skin is.

Compare the skin with the two whips. The lighter whip in the photographs is approximately one year old. The darker whip is approximately ten years old. Both have remained indoors and have not been directly exposed to sunlight.

Close up of two whip handles, ages (left to right) one year and ten years.

Two whips, ages one and ten years.

We strongly recommend that you do not try to prematurely age your skin. This is a natural substance and excessive trauma on the skin will weaken it. We all know what happens to our skin when we expose it to intense sunlight and heat

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

Braided Leather Goods

Braiding and Leather Supplies

Desensitize a Horse to Whip Cracking

November 15, 2013

Joe Williams of Skyler’s Acres in Gillette, NJ is an expert horse trainer. When Gucci (seen in the video below) arrived for training, Joe needed to expose him to a wide variety of surprises and noises that Gucci had never experienced as a show horse.

Joe uses a Karaka whip from New Zealand to help desensitize Gucci to unexpected noises like firecracker and gun shot sounds that he will likely experience in the outdoors.

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

Karaka Whips

Adam Winrich Swings by David Morgan

October 5, 2012

Adam Winrich, one of the world’s fastest whipcrackers, stopped by David Morgan in September.

Watch as he demonstrates a brief multiple cracking routine with a pair of black six foot Karaka bullwhips.

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

Karaka Whips

Whip Fall and Cracker Replacement Video Now Available

August 17, 2012

We’ve posted another video on YouTube. This is for anyone interested in learning how to replace their fall and/or cracker.

If you still don’t want to do it yourself, you can have us do it for you.

How to Replace a Whip Fall

July 13, 2012

Falls and crackers take the brunt of the wear from whip cracking. Over time, the end of the fall will wear off. When it gets down to 12-18 inches, it needs replacing.

Leather falls also stretch and should be replaced when they have become noticeably thinner than the end of the thong. In addition, the kangaroo strands adjacent to the fall will, in time, break because of the sharp flexing at this point. The fall should be replaced as soon as the first strand breaks.

People often ask the difference between red and white falls. Neither one is better than the other. Red hide falls tend to hold their thickness but eventually break. On the other hand, white hide falls stretch more but need watching to prevent them from getting too thin.

We get many questions on how to replace a whip fall. For whips with the thong strands intact, it’s quite easy! If the strands of the whip are damaged, the process is a little harder, but you can do it with a little patience. Here is a link to the instructions at davidmorgan.com.

If you wish to have us change it for you, you can check out our service here.

Update:

We now have a video that demonstrates a whip fall replacement. Click on the YouTube Icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to see all of our videos.