whips, I own several, from a couple of the hatband type snake whips and signal whips all the way up to my 8 foot blacksnake and it's loaded, a heavy and thoroughly dangerous toy to use, it's made from cowhide, not the supple sensual roohide and I have used it often to cut cardstock in half when showing someone what it could do. my roohide whips are more refined and I never use them to demonstrate what a whip can do. They're more expensive and made from less common material, so I'm not into beating them apart. The hard cowhide fall on my blacksnake has been replaced several times and it cost little to have replaced. I also have a roohide galley whip, which I recommend as a first whip. the introduction to whipwork for neophytes. actually hurting someone with the galley whip is nearly impossible but it teachs a lot about throwing a whip and lets someone learn some accuracy in the throw. and it teachs basics well. I let a jr grade indiana jones use the blacksnake, which most people only try once. He tried it several times before throwing it, the first throw hit him across the back, the next hit his bare shoulder and he finally hit himself across the ear. needless to say he lost a little blood and also learned that you have to practice throwing whips. He actually learned that whatever your arm does is amplified by the whip. IF you have a tendency to pull to the left or have a jerk in your throw, the whip does that too, and amplifies it. A little bit of lefthand movement by your arm translates to the whip swinging hard left and any thought of accuracy is out the window.Not to mention what you can do to yourself. just remember that whips are no joke and if you're thinking of using one start with a galley whip. and practice a lot before even thinking of using them on a sub. basically, when you can consistently hit pieces of playing card sized target stock, whether Up down right or left and can use one to break a balloon,(Not as easy as it sounds) and use one to whip a teddy bear, you might be ready to use one in play. and yes, I'm serious about whipping a stuffed animal, You can see where the fall lands and practice leaving lighter marks in its fur,There are other things, like whipping a hotdog and not cutting it(Also not as easy as it sounds), or My favorite pasttime, trying to wrap a doorknob repeatedly. Wrapping the fall around something without actually hitting it is very useful in play. so is being able to just brush the sub with the cracker, It all comes down to accuracy. If you're not accurate don't even try on a sub, and if you can't control how hard it hits the same. Because, whips are dangerous.
