WHIP MAINTANENCE

     Those that are experienced know what a cracker or popper is, Australian cracker, United States popper, for those that are not sure yet the cracker or popper is what makes the loud boom at the end of the whip.  They call it a “sonic boom”.  We will call it a cracker in this article.  There are times when when replacement of the cracker will be necessary.  They are not a necessity but without a cracker, the fall quickly wears down. 
     The fall will also make the loud boom without the cracker, but not as loud.  The fall is the part of the whip that captures or strikes the target and is any length up to thirty inches.  It used to be at one time, the most popular length was eighteen inches, but these days it is thirty inches.
      Replacing a cracker is not difficult; it might take a little practice to get the perfect knot first time every time.  Thread the loop of the new cracker on your fall and move it up until it is sitting several inches from the tip of the fall.  Then fold the fall tip around the cracker, keep the cracker straight when doing this it makes it easier.  Push the fall tip through the loop you made with the cracker.  Pull the cracker and fall in opposite directions, gently; this will cause the knot to snug up.  You only need quarter of an inch of fall tip free of the knot to pull both it and the cracker away from each other, make it tight.
      Though the keeper, the knot attaching the thong to the fall, does not need to be treated often, it is imperative the fall is kept in good order.  It needs to be well dressed always if it is to last a long time. 
When the whip is used, it is the fall and the crackers that wear the most and these will need to be replaced most often.  Never allow the fall to wear down to less than a few inches, when and if it does, it should be replaced to get the best out of your whip.
      As for crackers, the right size cracker is important, despite what some people believe, that larger crackers make louder noises, it isn’t true, they just break down faster and will eventually cause damage to your whip. 
Leather can become brittle which could cause breaking, and eventually leading to dry rot, conditioning is important.  After about twenty minutes, remove any excess dressing from the fall with a dry cloth. 

Even when used often, the knots in the whip will not require any conditioning at all, natural oils are sufficient, too much dressing can loosen the knots.
    As with most things, it is less expensive to make the crackers yourself, they are easily made with several choices of materials, then easily attached to your whip no differently than those purchased. 

Crackers are easy to make and cost very little.  Different materials and styles, and different methods of manufacture have been published by different whipsters, there are different views on each aspect of making and attaching crackers to your whip.