How to Order Something From Mojave Outliers Whipmakers

Yes, I am now accepting custom orders again, yay! However, I’ve made changes from how I was doing it before, so read carefully.

I’ve invented what I call my “Interested Parties” list. On this list I take down your contact information and a description of the whip you’d like me to build for you. Then, when I’m ready to start your build, I contact you to find out if you’re still interested. No money changes hands, and in the meantime, you’re free to shop with other whip makers if you like. Once I’ve completed your build, THEN I will send you a PayPal invoice.

My queue is longish, varying between 8 months to a year (and sometimes longer, especially during the holiday season for instance), which is actually pretty normal for whip makers. Part of the time I spend in my shop I build smaller spec items, because this helps me even out the cash flow in between custom orders. The idea behind the “Interested Parties” list is to keep us both flexible. I need to be able to control my work flow, and naturally you need to control your cash flow, so not having a debt between us until I’m ready to ship seems to me the best way to go. What this translates to is that if you’re on my “Interested Parties” list, that doesn’t mean there’s a contract between us such that I’m going to build your whip by a specific date, it just means that I’ll check that list FIRST before I do my next build. The advantage to you is that you’re not out a bunch of cash at the outset (some folks use the wait time to save up for their whip, which I think is quite clever), and you’re not “locked in” to your purchase with me–you can shop if you like, as I said above.

Naturally if you have questions about this, send me an email at desert.minx@mojaveoutliers.com. And if you’d like to place a custom order, why, then send me an email at desert.minx@mojaveoutliers.com, and we’ll get your details sorted!

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Payments and Shipping

Payment is via PayPal, so don’t worry about sending a payment until after you and I have talked and sorted out all the details. I can give you a quote for your build, of course, but typically I don’t send an invoice until I’m ready to start your build. I can also give you an idea of what the shipping will be, but since the post office tends to raise its rates pretty much by surprise, then when I actually send you the invoice, I will re-calculate the shipping at that time. If there is a change in shipping costs, I’ll make sure you’re aware of it. Naturally, the invoice needs to be paid in full before I ship your whip to you.

As for shipping, domestically so far I use the United States Postal Service (USPS) exclusively. For tiny items (like the Baby Basilisk) I can ship First Class, but for most everything else I use Priority Mail, which includes tracking and tends to be a lot faster.

For international shipping, I use USPS Priority Mail International, which takes about 6 to 10 days to deliver. While the package is traveling in the US, you can track it using the USPS postal tracking site. Once it crosses the border, then in MOST cases you can simply use that country’s postal service to track the package using the same tracking number (which also happens to be the customs form number). I do NOT use First Class for international shipping, because they HAVE lost packages when I’ve done so.

International shipping also entails customs and other taxes for you, the receiver, based on the declared value of the item you’re receiving, payment of which is between you and your customs officials. Please do not ask me to risk my livelihood by fudging the numbers on the customs form for your order.

As always, if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Trade In Your Whip (or crop, quirt, etc.)!

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For those of you who have purchased a Budget Boudoir mini pocket snake whip (or any of my whips, really) and find that you’ve outgrown it, you can return it to me for a credit against a new whip purchase. Trade in value will of course depend on the age and condition of the whip, and for a Budget Boudoir whip I expect the trade in value will range between $25 to $100 towards a new whip (no cash, sorry, I don’t have any of that stuff!). Others of my whips will be evaluated on an individual basis.

IF you have a whip made by someone ELSE you would like me to consider for a trade in towards the value of a new whip from me, feel free to ask me about it. And yes, I do like the odd bit of weird vintage stuff, so don’t be shy!

Typically what I like is for you to send me pictures of your whip to start with; if it looks like it might be workable then at that point I’ll have you ship it to me for a final appraisal. When you take pics, give me a shot of the whole whip, loosely arranged with no hidden bits (as best you can manage), as well as detail shots of the handle and heel knot, thong, tail, fall (if applicable) and cracker areas of the whip.

Whether or not I accept a whip for trade in will depend solely on my appraisal of the whip in person. If I decide, once I examine the whip in person, that the whip is not suitable as a trade in, I’ll let you know and ship it back to you on my nickel. If I do find it workable, then the figure I offer is final (no dickering!). If you decide you would prefer to keep your whip after I’ve given you a trade in figure, that’s of course no problem; again, I’ll ship it back to you.

If and as traded in whips become available, assuming I don’t keep it for myself, and AFTER I’ve made any repairs and reconditioned them, I will offer it for sale on the Ready Now Gallery (see left side menu), so keep an eye peeled if you’re looking for a nice whip on a budget!

Kangaroo Leather Mini Bullwhips

Mini bullwhips black and red pair

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First, of course, the pricing chart and ordering instructions just to keep things easy to find. Details about mini bullwhips follows. Note: if you would like spiral plaiting (16 plait or above) on your whip, talk to me first, but ordinarily add between $50 to $100.

3ft whips are ONLY available in 12 and 16 plait. If you would like spiral plaiting, bump it up to a 3.5ft whip–that gives me enough room for all those strand drops. :)

Mini Bullwhips – Shot Loaded Core
12 plait 16 plait 20 plait 24 plait
3 feet $345 $370 Not Available Not Available
3.5 feet Not Available $380 $410 $440
4 feet NA $390 $430 $450
5 feet NA $410 $450 $510
5 feet w/extra plaited belly NA $595 $615 $635
Mini Bullwhips Naturally Weighted
16 plait 18 plait 20 plait 24 plait
5 feet $485 $535 $585 $635
5.5 feet $510 $560 $610 $660

What is a mini-bullwhip? Not a big mystery: a mini bullwhip is simply a scaled down version of a full sized bullwhip, shorter and narrower. I do two different general types of builds: shot loaded, and naturally weighted (if you look above, the first chart is for shot, and the second is for naturally weighted).

The shot loaded whips are a little heavier or “beefier” if you will, with a finished diameter at the heel in the 22-25 mm range, shorter handles, and a bit more heft in the hand. Too, I’ll build them as short as 3ft long if you like, because we can account for the short length with the shot bag, right? Right!

The naturally weighted whips do NOT have a shot bag–they depend for their balance on the natural weight of the leather. Instead, I build them with 2 bolsters and 2 plaited bellies (and a number of layers of binding with flat sinew).

Naturally weighted whips have a more slender profile, with a lighter heft in the hand, and generally the finished diameter at the heel is in the 19-21 mm range, with longer handles. These I don’t recommend building at less than 5ft, because they’re just too light to go that short without a shot bag, okay? These whips are splendid if you like doing fast volleys, and they slick out on a throw like they can read your mind, and will reward you on demand with a crisp, loud crack.

5ft 16 plait NW Black Bullwhip

THIS is a naturally weighted bullwhip, 5ft long at 16 plait, with a 30″ tapered latigo fall. The handle is plaited in short herringbone, with a section of solid bands interrupted by a single row of double diamonds (tribute to Mike Murphy), more short herringbone, and then I transition to regular herringbone for the thong.

I have photos of BOTH types of builds below, and I’ve written in the captions to the photos which ones are which, so take a peek!

This is a 5ft 16 plait bullwhip with an extra plaited belly, in brandy & saddle tan kangaroo leather, with modified birds eye on the 12" steel core handle. This also has a shot load, so the build has some nice heft in the hand.

This is a 5ft 16 plait bullwhip with an extra plaited belly, in brandy & saddle tan kangaroo leather, with modified birds eye on the 12″ steel core handle. This also has a shot load, so the build has some nice heft in the hand.

2x Red and Black Kangaroo Leather Mini Bullwhips

A matched pair of 4ft 16 plait mini bullwhips in black and red kangaroo leather, diamond plaiting on the handles (8″ long), alternating chevrons on the thongs, tapered latigo falls, and nylon crackers. These two whips were built to travel a bit more lightly than usual, with a hint of Mike Murphy in the mix, granted both of these DO have shot bags, just a bit narrower than I normally build.

Mojave Outliers Whipmakers 4 ft 24 plait mini bullwhip in coral snake pattern

This is a 4 foot, 24 plait shot loaded mini bullwhip done in a coral snake pattern, with red, black and yellow kangaroo hide in alternating chevrons. In this case, the heel knot is rounded per the client’s request.

Generally speaking, mini bullwhips are great for learning to throw: the weight of the fall slows the whip down a little bit, so that once you’ve thrown the whip you have a bit more time to get out of the way if/as it comes flying back! πŸ˜‰ Too, the rigid handle gives a bit of extra control compared to a snake or signal whip, so that also helps if you’re just learning to throw.

4ft 16 plait black mini bullwhip

This is a 4 ft 24 plait mini bullwhip in black kangaroo leather–what I’ve termed the “slim line” model, as it starts out with a more slender shot loaded core, resulting in a more slender, lighter whip. Please mention it if you’d like this kind of build.

Mojave Outliers Whipmakers 4ft 16 plait mini bullwhip in black with red knots

…and a 4ft 16 plait shot loaded mini bullwhip in black with red heel and transition knots…

4ft 12 plait NW forest green and natural

This is a 4ft 12 plait naturally weighted bullwhip, with a 30″ tapered latigo fall, the overlay plaited in forest green and natural using the single strand offset pattern.

5ft 16 plait NW JW

…another 5ft 16 plait naturally weighted bullwhip in all black kangaroo leather, with a 30″ tapered latigo fall

5ft 16 plait NW Handle and Fall Bullwhip

And I just like this pic. It’s a detail shot showing the handle and fall knots of the previous 5ft 16 plait naturally weighted bullwhip…

Royal Blue SS Bullwhips

These are a pair of 4.5ft 16 plait naturally weighted bullwhips in royal blue and black kangaroo leather. Steel core handles in this case are 10″ long, and I did both transition knots as pineapple knots (see detail shot below) rather than the more usual 4 bite 2 pass turk’s head because I felt it would look nice with the diamond plaiting on the handles. The whip is finished with 30″ tapered latigo falls.

Royal blue bullwhips transistion knots detail

Detail shot of the naturally weighed bullwhips, with the transition knots in place…

If you have questions or an interest in a mini bullwhip, of course drop me an email and I’ll get back to you toot sweet!

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3ft 16 plait Mini Bull

Customer’s remarks on this 3ft mini bullwhip: “Arrived today! Beautiful work! :) We’re both a bit “stiffie” at the moment but I’m sure at least one of us will slacken a bit over time πŸ˜‰ Love the weight, it feels just perfect. And the end knot adds another dimension to this wonderful instrument…*evil grin*
Couldn’t be happier!”