A fantastic handcrafted leather whip can be a good accessory to your costume when you go to a party, or you may prefer to use it not occasionally but for farming or your hobby if you are a fan of whip cracking. Those who have to deal with animals on the farm daily practice cracking regularly will appreciate the quality and functionality of genuine leather handmade whips.

The selection of the best leather whips picked up by ordinary people and experienced users will help you make the right choice among a great variety of whips available on the market. All of them are handcrafted and made of genuine leather, high-quality and durable, and are ready to help you impress everyone with loud powerful cracking.

Below you will find a comparison table with all the details to consider and the Buyer’s guide with useful and practical tips and tricks to assist you in your choice, get more awareness about whips, and help you make your final decision.

VITAVELAAA Tan Leather Bullwhip – the best for great quality at a low price

The whip can unbraid, so follow all the instructions and perform a thorough inspection of the knots before each use.

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LB’s WHIP Indiana Jones Tan Cowhide Leather Bullwhip – the best for beginners

This amazing handcrafted bullwhip is made from genuine leather with 8 plaits braiding, which gives strength and durability to the tool. It’s powerful enough for whip cracking and farming, lightweight, easy to use, especially for beginners.

At first, the whip is stiff as it is new, but there is no need to worry, it will break in over time and get adapted to your individual style of cracking. Hard whip damages against stone, concrete surfaces, or any sharp edges will spoil the general look of the whip and even affect the functionality negatively.

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LB’s WHIP Indiana Jones Dark Brown Cowhide Leather Bullwhip – the best for farming and cracking

It’s great for practicing your hobby, even if you can’t boast of lots of experience in the field. It’s reliable, durable and with a perfect length for easy cracking.

This dark brown LB’s whip looks fantastic and will match your Indiana Jones costume perfectly. It is not being just a beautiful accessory for a party, but it is functional as well. For nice loud cracking, you have to practice, of course, but with this whip it’s easy. It’s great for beginners, just make sure you are safe, as it’s rather long.

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ARDOUR CRAFTS Genuine Real Leather Weaving Bullwhip – the best for craftsmanship

As you know, the bigger the number of plaits, the more labor-consuming the process of production. It definitely influences the characteristics of strength, durability, and overall performance.

The whip is described as black and off white, but in fact, it’s more black and yellow. The fall can be 2 shapes: flat or round. If you want to get it customized, contact the seller.

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ARDOUR CRAFTS Cowhide Leather Bullwhip – the best value for money

The Ardour crafts whip looks smart and is great for various needs: for a show, as a piece of decoration, farming, or whip cracking practice. It’s nice when you receive what you want, but it’s better if you get even more than you expected. This is the case.

Since this whip is leather, so to break it in to achieve maximum flexibility you can try some oil, baby oil will do. Oil treatment makes the unit softer, more flexible, and supple, but stronger at the same time.

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The Buyer’s Guide

Consider these key points before you make the choice

Leather 

No doubt, the whip must be leather. The quality and the type of material directly affect the functionality, durability, and general look of the whip. Bullwhips are typically made of braided genuine cowhide leather with a single tail. Originally they were intended to manage the livestock on the farm, and of course, they are still used that way, though an increasing number of people do whip cracking as a hobby. There is something fascinating in cracking and it’s a good physical exercise. As for the number of plaits, the more, the better.

Whip length

Bullwhips differ in length and usually range from 3 ft to 20 ft. The most common sizes are 4 ft and 8 ft. Shorter whips are great for restricted spaces or as a decoration. An 8-foot bullwhip is a comfortable and practical tool both for farming and whip-cracking even for beginners as it is an optimal length. Longer units such as 10 ft or more are not so easy to handle and require skills and practice, so they are suitable for experienced users or professionals. 

Design and purposes

There is a huge diversity of colors and designs of bullwhips on the market. Perhaps the Indiana Jones-style wins. It’s absolutely up to your tastes and preferences. However, always think about your primary goal. If loud cracking, durability, and functionality go first for you, make the choice according to your priorities. For farming and regular cracking practice select high-quality genuine leather bullwhips. 

Cracker

The cracker or the popper is located at the end of the whip and can be made from different materials. In case of heavy use, the cracker has to be replaced frequently to keep the powerful loud noise of cracking. 

 Other tips for leather whips buyers 

• Most new leather whips are quite stiff and you will have to break them in. Proper care will do a great job too.  Find a coconut oil or any other oil, you have at your disposal, even baby oil, and rub the whip with it thoroughly. This manipulation will make the leather softer and more flexible, but stronger at the same time. So it will be easy to crack and serve you for years. 
• If you are a beginner, try something lightweight and not very long, for example, 8 ft. Only masters can easily manage long and heavy bullwhips, due to skills and special wrist practice. 
• Always be careful with the whip not to hurt yourself or the others around you. The cracks can be very powerful and cause injuries.  

Choosing the Length of your Leather Whip

What length whip should you start out with? And there’s no simple answer to this. Some people think it’s for different sized people, they should have different length whips, but my general rule that I came up with is this. I say that whatever whip you pick to start out with, it should be a whip that you can swing around comfortably, easily without straining yourself too much and you can keep it all the way off the ground.

Whatever whip you pick, make sure when you first get it, swing it around your head and feel how it cuts through the air and feel how much effort it takes from your shoulder and your wrist to swing that whip around.

If you feel like you’re really pushing yourself, then the whip may be too short. If you can’t even keep the whip all the way off the ground, it may be too long and heavy for you, because many of the whip cracks, the overhead crack or the reverse overhead crack, the low horizontal figure eight, fast figure eight all require that you be able to swing the whip comfortably so you can transition from crack to crack.

This particular whip is an eight-foot stockwhip, so it has a slightly shorter fall. It’s roughly equivalent to an eight and a half foot bullwhip. This nylon stock whip here is the equivalent to a 10-foot bullwhip.

Good whip-cracking again comes from good whip swinging. If you want your cracks to look effortless, that your whip swinging should also look effortless.

If you find that it looks like you’re struggling with your whip cracking, or it looks like you’re really stressed out or tense you’re cracking your whip, practise swinging it and try to be as relaxed as you can while swinging the whip, and that should help your whip cracking look more relaxed and effortless.

Also, a quick answer about materials, for beginners, I would recommend nylon because it’s way easier to maintain and take care of than leather, but if you’re dead set on a leather whip, then go for it.

Video Tutorial: Making a Bullwhip – Preparing the strands and plaiting the overlay

Conclusion 

An amazing handcrafted Indiana Jones-style whip, made of genuine leather will add a final touch to your cowboy look if you need an accessory on a special occasion. It can be a wonderful option for beginners, who only start this unusual hobby and are searching for an affordable, though the high quality, reliable, and cracking unit. All presented models will suit perfectly all your needs either farming, whip cracking, or just as a fashionable addition to your costume.

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