Just ordered my first whip from Giovani, an 8ft raiders style as it is the whip that I alwyas wanted. I think that sooner than I think I'll be ordering a 6ft Don Juan de la Celeste bc that is also such a beaufitul whip. Thanks for discovering me the craft of Giovani!
Giovanni's whip is so very elegant! It is like watching poetry in motion. it appears to travel in any direction you flick your wrist. It looks alive and responsive, and it is beautiful! What a classy whip made by a classy guy. Robby, thank you for bringing buyer's attention to the differences in quality for the pricing and over pricing. I know, personally, our money is hard-earned and when we purchase something and it's not as advertised? Oh not good. We are not able to just go buy another "whatever". I believe quality is worth paying the higher price for as the life of the product is usually much longer over the "cheaper" one, but... To pay more just because of hype gives me a stomach ache. And here, here is a quality piece of functional ART for LESS... Well done again, Sir. Beautiful, elegant whip Giovanni. Mario's photo stills really show the details of the whip so well. I can see everything clearly with my little iphone. Well done! And, love the music ;)
Rachel McCollough Thank you, Rachel. That whip is really fluid and responsive. And - which is a very important point - the price is realistic and fair. When I see that some folks sell their stuff (10 ft. Indy whip) for 700.00 US Dollar or more... That's preposterous. Nothing else! I try to point customers into the right direction. I know that a lot of whip makers hate me for that. But a lot - a whole lot - of customers are grateful, because they become informed buyers instead of clueless sales victims. Therefore there are the WB shorts. Robert Amper
Beautiful review Robby, I second every word. Giovanni makes some exquisite work, I have an eight foot 12 plait whip made by him. He has a very classic, and yet unique way of working with leather and delivers a whip that ticks all the boxes.
Keanu Shimaoka Thank you, Keanu. We're already experimenting and looking for new styles for the reviews. Good to see that you liike it. You're a whip maker yourself - so...thank you, again!
Leo Maxwell Dear Leo... You should inform yourself before you post such a comment. I did reviews on Noah Allen, Diamondwhip company, Karaka - New Zealand, Guy Washburn, Stepen Normand, Whitenorthwhips, Dustin Damrel Crease:n Corral, Handmadewhips, Victor SanSoucie and so on. And all those folks are NOT member of the Ring of Trust. I did never say that the RoT members are the only whip makers out there. But they are the ones who are the most trustworthy on the market. Sorry, but your comment was completely wrong. Robert Amper
i think when talking about the 'accuracy' of the reproduction... there were of course different whips used by the stuntmen etc but also the whip isn't special within the movie and in fact indy uses at least two whips (he loses one whip to belloq in the opening scene of raiders) so no matter how you define it there is not one 'raiders whip'. I wonder what kind would be historically accurate rather than screen accurate... would it have been made of kip most likely at least
Hello Robbie, I have to disagree with you on several points. If a whip maker specializes in a single type of whip, it doesn't mean that they aren't a great artist. Ansel Adams specialized in landscape photography and was one of the greatest artists to ever live. Specializing in say, Indy whips, may not be ideal for whip cracking enthusiasts who prefer all kinds of whips, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are limited in their talent. It would be akin to saying a brain surgeon is a bad podiatrist. I think of the phrase "man of many talents, but master of none." I admire an artist with range, but I can also appreciate one who has a singular focus. Second, I think that if the quality is there, a whip maker can charge whatever they want for their whips. Whether someone will pay that or not is another story. I've owned a lot of high quality whips since I got serious about this hobby from makers like Bernardo Del Carpio, Joe Strain, David Morgan, Terry Jacka, Steve Townsend, Dan Ellefson, Louie Foxx, and others. I've paid more than $700 for some of those whips and I was happy to do so because I knew I was getting an extremely high end product that was going to be durable and reliable. When I purchased the multiple Terry Jacka whips I've owned over the years, what I am purchasing (in part) was nearly 40 years of experience in whip craft from a master who lives in a place where whips are still a working tool and used by cattleman on a daily basis. Even before shipping his whips were close to $700 and in some cases, more. I'm not suggesting that whip makers should all charge insane amounts for their whips, but as a leather craftsman myself, I understand that shipping costs to get the materials in house and time have to be accounted for as well as the strain on your hands by doing leather work. More often than not artists tend to undercharge their work because they have to make their prices affordable. I would venture a guess that many of the good whip makers who charge a lot for their whips aren't turning a huge profit for all of the work they put into it, and for those who do it full time, there could be long stretches when orders just aren't coming in. As far as shipping goes, I have no doubt that there are some people who try and make a profit on shipping costs, but as someone who ships items all over the world on a regular basis and has done so for nearly 15 years, yes I can say from my own experience that it is expensive. I purchase items from all over the world as well and yes, shipping is just plain expensive. Sadly there is no way around that. The other thing about the price of quality kangaroo hides is that there was a severe drought and the Australian population of kangaroo diminished as a result. Consequently there were far fewer hides to be obtained and even fewer that were of a good quality to make whips from. That in turn costs whip makers more money to import it to their shops and the price increase is reflected in the final cost of their whips. Simple supply and demand. Sadly as far as our hobby is concerned a lot of makers have gone into semi retirement from the craft or have retired entirely, in part because of the drought and the drop off in demand. All that being said, I enjoy your videos and it's nice to see that there is an interest for our unique hobby of whip cracking. The whip in this video has a beautiful action. Keep cracking my friend! Nathan
Hello Nathan, and thank you so much for your detailed (and interesting!) comment. To diagree is a good thing. Because only disagreement - as long as it is in a respectful way - is a healthy and productive thing. I see your point and especially the "man of many talents, but master of none" is a good argument. My idea on all that is, that different whips are from the same "family". To use your example of the braim surgery - it may be all the time the same organ. But a whole lot of different operations. Same - for me - on a whip. A lot of people don't see any difference in whips. But there are snake whips, Bull whips, signal whips, steering whips, cow whips, stock whips and so on. And I believe that a maker who knows about the different types of whips has more over all experience. In the same field of expertise. The money thing worries me indeed. I mean... A 12 plait Morgan whip for nearly 1000.00 US Dollars? Not even made by the late master himself? I take pride in my work and I think you do the same. And I want good money for good work. But I don't want to rip off customers who don't know better. Sometimes they will learn and then those news will spread. I try to keep it realistic. Terry Jacka - I had some private conversations with him - is a good example. He makes a variety of whips. Working whips! And not only one particular style. I accept absolutely that I do not only pay for the material and time, but also for his experience. It's the same with my Whip Basics DVDs. Every now and then I'm asked why my DVDs are so expensive? My answer is always the same: "You pay for long years of experience as teacher. The discs are free." Anyway. I thank very, very much for your comment and I too thank you that you said everything in a respectful and friendly way. These days it's more and more that people are impolite, rude and unfriendly - especially on the internet, when they think they can post anonymous. I wish you all the best for your business, Sir! And I would be happy if you would go on and watch my videos. Thanks again and - take care! Robby
Hey Robbie, Sorry my post was so long. I'm just really passionate about whips too and I know that you feel the same. I agree with you that you there is nothing wrong with disagreement and there is no reason why it shouldn't be civil. It's great to be able to talk whips and whip cracking with a fellow enthusiast. Thank you also for the well wishes on my work, and I too hope you continue producing your high quality videos. Best to you and take care! Nathan
Just ordered my first whip from Giovani, an 8ft raiders style as it is the whip that I alwyas wanted. I think that sooner than I think I'll be ordering a 6ft Don Juan de la Celeste bc that is also such a beaufitul whip. Thanks for discovering me the craft of Giovani!
My pleasure, Sir 👍🏻
Giovanni's whip is so very elegant! It is like watching poetry in motion. it appears to travel in any direction you flick your wrist. It looks alive and responsive, and it is beautiful! What a classy whip made by a classy guy.
Robby, thank you for bringing buyer's attention to the differences in quality for the pricing and over pricing. I know, personally, our money is hard-earned and when we purchase something and it's not as advertised? Oh not good. We are not able to just go buy another "whatever". I believe quality is worth paying the higher price for as the life of the product is usually much longer over the "cheaper" one, but... To pay more just because of hype gives me a stomach ache. And here, here is a quality piece of functional ART for LESS...
Well done again, Sir.
Beautiful, elegant whip Giovanni.
Mario's photo stills really show the details of the whip so well. I can see everything clearly with my little iphone. Well done!
And, love the music ;)
Rachel McCollough Thank you, Rachel. That whip is really fluid and responsive. And - which is a very important point - the price is realistic and fair. When I see that some folks sell their stuff (10 ft. Indy whip) for 700.00 US Dollar or more... That's preposterous. Nothing else! I try to point customers into the right direction. I know that a lot of whip makers hate me for that. But a lot - a whole lot - of customers are grateful, because they become informed buyers instead of clueless sales victims. Therefore there are the WB shorts.
Robert Amper
Beautiful review Robby, I second every word. Giovanni makes some exquisite work, I have an eight foot 12 plait whip made by him. He has a very classic, and yet unique way of working with leather and delivers a whip that ticks all the boxes.
I really enjoyed this review, Robby. It was especially cool to see the pictures of Gio and part of his processes.
Bobbi HolyOak The idea is to make those reviews a bit more personal. Thanks, Bobbi!
Gorgeous whip. Love my 8ft Morgan and someday I'd like to buy one of these.
Joseph Chavez Thank you, Joseph! The old Morgan whips are great, no doubt! But I think you will be happy too, with one from Gio's workshop :o)
Sweet review Robby, and sweet whip by Gio. I also like the addition of the lens flare and song choice in this one.
Keanu Shimaoka Thank you, Keanu. We're already experimenting and looking for new styles for the reviews. Good to see that you liike it. You're a whip maker yourself - so...thank you, again!
I think you should do more reviews on people that aren't apart of the ring of trust.
Leo Maxwell Dear Leo... You should inform yourself before you post such a comment. I did reviews on Noah Allen, Diamondwhip company, Karaka - New Zealand, Guy Washburn, Stepen Normand, Whitenorthwhips, Dustin Damrel Crease:n Corral, Handmadewhips, Victor SanSoucie and so on. And all those folks are NOT member of the Ring of Trust. I did never say that the RoT members are the only whip makers out there. But they are the ones who are the most trustworthy on the market.
Sorry, but your comment was completely wrong.
Robert Amper
***** Ok, I just realized that.
i think when talking about the 'accuracy' of the reproduction... there were of course different whips used by the stuntmen etc but also the whip isn't special within the movie and in fact indy uses at least two whips (he loses one whip to belloq in the opening scene of raiders) so no matter how you define it there is not one 'raiders whip'. I wonder what kind would be historically accurate rather than screen accurate... would it have been made of kip most likely at least
Hello Robbie,
I have to disagree with you on several points. If a whip maker specializes in a single type of whip, it doesn't mean that they aren't a great artist. Ansel Adams specialized in landscape photography and was one of the greatest artists to ever live. Specializing in say, Indy whips, may not be ideal for whip cracking enthusiasts who prefer all kinds of whips, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are limited in their talent. It would be akin to saying a brain surgeon is a bad podiatrist. I think of the phrase "man of many talents, but master of none." I admire an artist with range, but I can also appreciate one who has a singular focus.
Second, I think that if the quality is there, a whip maker can charge whatever they want for their whips. Whether someone will pay that or not is another story. I've owned a lot of high quality whips since I got serious about this hobby from makers like Bernardo Del Carpio, Joe Strain, David Morgan, Terry Jacka, Steve Townsend, Dan Ellefson, Louie Foxx, and others. I've paid more than $700 for some of those whips and I was happy to do so because I knew I was getting an extremely high end product that was going to be durable and reliable. When I purchased the multiple Terry Jacka whips I've owned over the years, what I am purchasing (in part) was nearly 40 years of experience in whip craft from a master who lives in a place where whips are still a working tool and used by cattleman on a daily basis. Even before shipping his whips were close to $700 and in some cases, more.
I'm not suggesting that whip makers should all charge insane amounts for their whips, but as a leather craftsman myself, I understand that shipping costs to get the materials in house and time have to be accounted for as well as the strain on your hands by doing leather work. More often than not artists tend to undercharge their work because they have to make their prices affordable. I would venture a guess that many of the good whip makers who charge a lot for their whips aren't turning a huge profit for all of the work they put into it, and for those who do it full time, there could be long stretches when orders just aren't coming in.
As far as shipping goes, I have no doubt that there are some people who try and make a profit on shipping costs, but as someone who ships items all over the world on a regular basis and has done so for nearly 15 years, yes I can say from my own experience that it is expensive. I purchase items from all over the world as well and yes, shipping is just plain expensive. Sadly there is no way around that.
The other thing about the price of quality kangaroo hides is that there was a severe drought and the Australian population of kangaroo diminished as a result. Consequently there were far fewer hides to be obtained and even fewer that were of a good quality to make whips from. That in turn costs whip makers more money to import it to their shops and the price increase is reflected in the final cost of their whips. Simple supply and demand. Sadly as far as our hobby is concerned a lot of makers have gone into semi retirement from the craft or have retired entirely, in part because of the drought and the drop off in demand.
All that being said, I enjoy your videos and it's nice to see that there is an interest for our unique hobby of whip cracking. The whip in this video has a beautiful action. Keep cracking my friend!
Nathan
Hello Nathan,
and thank you so much for your detailed (and interesting!) comment. To diagree is a good thing. Because only disagreement - as long as it is in a respectful way - is a healthy and productive thing. I see your point and especially the "man of many talents, but master of none" is a good argument. My idea on all that is, that different whips are from the same "family". To use your example of the braim surgery - it may be all the time the same organ. But a whole lot of different operations. Same - for me - on a whip. A lot of people don't see any difference in whips. But there are snake whips, Bull whips, signal whips, steering whips, cow whips, stock whips and so on. And I believe that a maker who knows about the different types of whips has more over all experience. In the same field of expertise.
The money thing worries me indeed. I mean... A 12 plait Morgan whip for nearly 1000.00 US Dollars? Not even made by the late master himself? I take pride in my work and I think you do the same. And I want good money for good work. But I don't want to rip off customers who don't know better. Sometimes they will learn and then those news will spread. I try to keep it realistic. Terry Jacka - I had some private conversations with him - is a good example. He makes a variety of whips. Working whips! And not only one particular style. I accept absolutely that I do not only pay for the material and time, but also for his experience. It's the same with my Whip Basics DVDs. Every now and then I'm asked why my DVDs are so expensive? My answer is always the same: "You pay for long years of experience as teacher. The discs are free."
Anyway. I thank very, very much for your comment and I too thank you that you said everything in a respectful and friendly way. These days it's more and more that people are impolite, rude and unfriendly - especially on the internet, when they think they can post anonymous. I wish you all the best for your business, Sir! And I would be happy if you would go on and watch my videos.
Thanks again and - take care!
Robby
Hey Robbie,
Sorry my post was so long. I'm just really passionate about whips too and I know that you feel the same. I agree with you that you there is nothing wrong with disagreement and there is no reason why it shouldn't be civil.
It's great to be able to talk whips and whip cracking with a fellow enthusiast. Thank you also for the well wishes on my work, and I too hope you continue producing your high quality videos.
Best to you and take care!
Nathan
giovanni is the best ;)