Sure would love to have some of the whips like Martin has. I have been told they were a Knie design, and I think the best, most well balanced whip every designed. Adam is currently using the last one I have and it is over 4o years old. Rumor I have always heard was when the factory closed down, Knie bought the remaining stock and the patent for them.
Psst Casey, measure the distance from the seated lions in the photo's yesterday and the length of the stick, and where the man stands. Measure that distance from Martin above to the seats behind. Don't try it with tigers. They will go right through you like your not there. LOL
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Casartelli Christmas Show--Martin Lacey,Jr.
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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8 comments:
I have wondered who was behind these whips, can Mr. Knie supply them?
Jonathan,
No they are not for sale. They are for private use. If you ever do run across one, no matter the cost buy it. The best ever made, and worth their weight in gold. Take care of it and you will have it forever. My son is currently using my last one.
Wade
Thanks for your quick reply!
I have experimented with various things using handles supplied by Fleck of Germany but nothing so far has seemed as smooth and perfect as the type of whip Martin has in the top photo. I have seen that this type of whips' lash is fully attached to the handle, how are they attached?
Thanks very much!
Jonathan
Jonathan,
Are you an Animal Trainer? Twisted willow, such as what you describe from Fleck, as well as from other sources in Europe are also very good, and you can make a very balanced and true whip with a proper weighed lash and keeper. Many of the great liberty trainers of old used a lunge whip with a swivel attached between the stock keeper and the lash keeper. That is the secret to the trueness and quickness of what has become known as the Knie whip. The stock is covered with a hand stitched calf skin, which gives it durability and prevents cracking or splitting as some willow whips will, if not properly linseed oiled. The lash is a solid piece of rounded leather attached inside a metal feral at the head of the whip to a swivel. The lash is tapered which also adds to it's balance, which is very had to make by hand or to have made with the traditional plaited lash. Additionally it has a metal "ball" at the butt of the whip, which forces the user to hold the butt in the palm of the hand(instead of choked up on the handle, as some do, which cause's a loss of accuracy and quickness) which then causes a "ball and socket" affect in the palm for additional accuracy and control. There is only one down side to the Knie whip, and that is if the lash should happen to break at the head of the whip it is almost impossible to reattach. Unless you are lucky enough to be contracted to Circus Krone. They have an incredible Harness Master, who knows how to "disassemble" the metal feral at the head, and can reattach the lash. But if a whip is treated with respect, and oiled and preserved as any fine working tool should be, it will provide many, many years of useful service. The one I gave my son is almost 50 years old, and trust me when I say it has been used to death for all of those years, and is even better feeling then the day it was made. Like a fine wine, properly maintained hand made whips get better with age.
Wade
Thanks very much for this information, it's greatly appreciated.
I am not an animal trainer but am very very keen on this.
Where can you get thin lashes for twisted willow and how can one weight one? I've seen fox-hunting supplies can supply them but they are too thick for the use on the twisted willow.
Also, I have seen many exotic animal presenters using a lunging whip that can be cracked using an overhead crack what can be done to one to allow this with a normal lunging whip?
Thanks!
Jonathan
Jonathan,
Unless you plait your own lashes it is virtually impossible to by them any more. The fox hunting "thongs" are made of a very dry leather which has a life expectancy of about a week, before they break. The "modern" fiberglass cored, nylon covered whips are almost useless as they are very unbalanced. You can sometimes compensate certain brands by wrapping electric tape around the stock. Westfield Whip company in Westfield, Mass. makes about the best whip available today.
How the whip is used go's more to the person using it, then the whip itself. It takes a long time to become a skilled whipsman. Often mentioned as one of the best with a twisted will was Lou Regan, the man I got my start with. Axel Gautier was a master with the heavier, longer lashed elephant willow whip. And Billy Baker was brilliant with the horse lunge whip. He could throw the whip out of this hand and make it crack in mid air before it hit the ground.
Wade
Wade,
Thanks for explaining this. I have seen many trainers using equestrian whips for wild animal presentations but have always wondered how they managed to get an 'over head crack' from a lunge style whip. Can lashes be easily made for the use of the lunge whip or does it have to be leather?
Regarding the fall of the whip, I have seen that the ones used for animal training and presenting don't have a leather fall, it generally seems to be cord. Am I right in thinking this?
Thanks, Jonathan
Jonathan,
By equestrian whip, I assume to are referring to a thin whip, 6 ft. or longer? The buggy whip(a 6ft thin stock with a short drop) that many use today is, because they can't use a longer lash, and because the think the public perceives it as a gentler whip, when in actuality it is a more sever whip.
Leather is ideal because it can be plaited in a tapered length which is what gives it the balance. Most "manmade" products are one thickness, and do don have the balance. The "popper" you are revering to was made of flax string in the old days, and nylon string today. Again the nylon is inferior to the flax string, which is hard to find now. The popper is plaited on the end of the lash to give the lash an aerodynamically straight lash, with out a knot or heavier item on the end, which will affect the throw, and the lash rolling naturally to the end of it's length and popping.
Contrary to what is believed, if a whip cracks it has not made contact with the animal. It it doesn't crack, it has made contact. The crack is what offends uninformed folks, who have watched too many movies.
Wade
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