Rachel McCullogh has been making whips since early 2015. The first was a nylon snake whip if I remember correctly, and she soon became known for her nylon cow whips with hand shaped exotic wooden handles. She is the founder and whip maker at Wolf Creek Whips and a fellow paramedic as well. I’ve never met her in person but we have corresponded quite a bit over the last 3or 4 years and I consider her a friend and a teacher.

Rachel’s first kangaroo hide whip was a little 4-foot stock whip that she made sometime in 2017. I acquired it from her in the fall of that year, around the same time as I made my first roo whip. This week I bought another kangaroo whip from her, a 6-foot bullwhip, she describes as,

“The first of a series I’ve made, #001 of a Wolf Creek Whips, wood handled, American style, heavy bullwhip. Featuring a single plaited belly with two bolsters and twisted taper core. The overlay is 14-plait. A few fancy patterns throughout, with stair step on the handle. Length 6’ 3”, handle is Bloodwood 5”, with an epoxied insert of 1/4” spring steel, total handle length, a little longer than most American style bull whips, to transition is 10.5”. An 8-plait fall hitch. A quite nose heavy whip that cracks nicely. Color is saddle tan. 100% kangaroo hide inside out.”

The whip is, as advertised, a pretty heavy whip for a 6-foot whip and the balance is about 2-3 inches in front of the transition. The plaiting is beautiful with very straight seams and well cut, beveled, and tapered strands and is solid as a rock throughout. It has a very smooth taper and ends in a very neat 8 strand fall hitch. I’m a big fan of single colored whips with variations in the plaiting to give it texture. The bloodwood handle is an elegant variation on the normal plaited handle of a bullwhip. It is very comfortable to hold, and provides great control of the whip. The whip cracks easily with minimal effort.