Huh. I always wondered why so many whip makers are based in Australia. There's tons of them. It must be the growth industry. I bet it's because Australia was a penal colony. Whips were probably used all the time for punishment, and so in the national psyche, whip handling was associated with power, skill, and rank.

It's so much easier to buy a whip in a store than it is on-line. You can take it out to the parking lot, give it a throw, and see if you fall in love. I'm sort of a sucker for lots of plaits (the strands of leather used to weave the whip). But just got email from someone who recommended that 8 plaits (as opposed to 12, 16, or 32) would be better for me. I wonder if they say that because it's less work. Whip makers don't make the money that they should for the time, effort, and skill that goes into making a whip. So I imagine when they get an email from some chucklehead like me they steer them towards an 8 plait that they can bang out in a few hours instead of a 16 plait that will take several days of work.

Gosh, those people at Happy Tails Whips sure are helpful.