Bullwhips are usually the ones which come to mind when people in the US picture whips. They have a seeming film industry monopoly--name a whip-wielding action hero and chances are he or she used a bullwhip. Bullwhips are a predominately American whip. They were developed by ranchers in the American West as tools to both make noise and to slap cattle. The characteristic feature of a bullwhip is that the body of the whip is one piece, continuously braided over a stiff, typically short handle. When the American bullwhip was introduced to Australia, the design was modified to make the handle longer and the whip lighter, faster, and more suitable for noisemaking. While bullwhips can be any length, most whipcrackers seem to prefer them between 3 and 20 feet.

Australian Bullwhip

Photos courtesy of David Morgan and Michael Murphy.

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