# Whipcracking help **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2005, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipcracking-help/325727 "2005-10-11T08:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipcracking-help/325727/1 "2005-10-11T08:55:24Z")
For a presentation on acoustics, I need a whip that will produce a good old CRACK! for a reasonable price and not too much training. A website here in the UK shows handmade leather bullwhips for upwards of $100, but that’s a little too much for me. Will any decent leather whip crack properly? (Incidentally, I’ll be talking about the sonic boom caused by the faster-than-sound [kink](http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00088B33-8E92-1CEE-93F6809EC5880000) - _not_ the tip. I have all the funny titles I need, thanks!) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipcracking-help/325727/2 "2005-10-11T10:39:44Z")
If you know someone in southern California, you can get a 10’ bull whip in Tiajuana, for $10-$20. If you practice, you can make lotsa noise with a wet towel 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipcracking-help/325727/3 "2005-10-11T11:09:21Z")
Great! Any Southern Californians willing to help an acoustician out? (Note that the 10’ bullwhip you send me upon receipt of my cheque or PayPal payment will be featured on BBC television in November if I can get the darned thing to crack properly by then!) ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipcracking-help/325727/4 "2005-10-11T11:17:38Z")
If you are going to use it in a presentation I suggest you _really_ practice before hand. And wear protective goggles and clothes. A bullwhip is a dangerous thing. You might want to speak to [these people](http://www.whipcrackuk.co.uk/) . ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipcracking-help/325727/5 "2005-10-11T11:19:26Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Great! Any Southern Californians willing to help an acoustician out? > > (Note that the 10’ bullwhip you send me upon receipt of my cheque or PayPal payment will be featured on BBC television in November if I can get the darned thing to crack properly by then!) [Bullwhips for sale cheap.](http://search.ebay.com/Bullwhip_W0QQfnuZ1QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ3) [How to crack a bullwhip.](http://www.bullwhip.org/) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipcracking-help/325727/6 "2005-10-11T11:22:53Z")
It is actually pretty easy to get a decent whip to crack. Years ago i took the family on a farm holiday where they had activities like boomerang throwing, whip cracking, sheep shearing etc. After a few minutes instruction most people in the group, including lots of kids, could pretty much crack the whips at will. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whipcracking-help/325727/7 "2005-10-11T13:41:21Z")
I would suggest practicing with jeans on (or chaps, or a shin gaurd tuned to the outside of your leg. It REALLY hurts when you hit the side of your calf with it.