In a conversation with larper friend I came to this question. If you wanna make a character with a whip, to use it as a weapon - is it doable in a larp safe manner? Someone showed me a whip like this, owned by NZLARPs, I think.
Question is - how to make it whip-like in look and action, and at the same time safe, so to not harm anyone.
its not really possible to be honnest either:
1: it is too strong and thus may get tangled around somone’s neck and choke them
or
2: is too weak and breaks all the time.
or
3: doesnt look like a whip and is infact just a tenticle 
3 - Tentacles - now that we can do!
I have seen some whips made from quite soft materials that could be used for a larp but as Adam has pointed out there are draw backs. We have a shop called Davids Emporium in Hamilton that stocks “prop” whips for just a few dollars.
They are weak, they would probably break if used strenuously.
They have a knot at the whip end, this would have to be removed to make it safe but you could probably replace it with something foam but it wouldn’t go crack anymore.
How exactly did you want to use it?
A weapon - that’s why it’s important to make it safe.
But from what is said here, I guess it’s better abandon this idea. I didn’t actually think of the choking aspect - and it’s the most possible one.
So I guess if a whip comes to larp it’s only to be used as a decoration prop, not as a weapon. I’m kinda safety-paranoid 
It would have to be rigid enough that it wouldn’t entangle weapons, necks, etc. It would have to be flexible enough that you could coil it. When coiled, it would probably be trying to uncoil itself (because it needs to be rigid), but that might be countered by looping it in a way that stops it unravelling.
A weapon made like that probably would work like the foam tentacles mechanically (i.e. a flexible coreless weapon that tends to spring back towards straightness, but not all the way). But it could look like a leather whip, which is the point. So I think it’s possible, but would require careful design.
A whip is at best a tricky weapon to include for LARP purposes anyways, as they don’t really do that much damage. Even moderately padded clothes or leather would disperse the sting of a whip so unless you are lucky you couldn’t really hurt someone with it (I know how you COULD hurt someone with it but you’d be lucky doing that to anyone in armour).
As a game mechanic I would suggest they don’t do any damage and would be primarily useful for entangling other weapons or people. If you wanted something that wrapped around shields I’d suggest a flail. I have an idea for making foam chain links which simply involve cutting out link shapes from campmat and gluing 2 of them back to back so that any joins are on opposite sides. If you glued fabric between the pieces the links would be quite durable.
I don’t really see a whip as a weapon. They’re typically used to make noise and inflict pain without killing. The main uses being to move cattle and to punish people.
Consider, a person might be tied up and receive a dozen lashes with a whip as a form of punishment, and expect to live. A person similarly similar tied up who received a single blow with an axe or sword would expect to be killed.
What about…
Instead of the bull whip style (that I’m admittedly assuming your discussing), what about the “Cat-o-nine” style?
Shorter, and with more tails, it tends to be far less dangerous unless intending to do some. THis is why it’s favoured by many in BSDM for example.
In real life, the cat-o-nine was a very damaging “weapon” or sorts. Used to throughly thrash a prisoner, tearing strips of skin and flesh… leading to death from various things like blood loss and infection.
So perhaps this could be a safer alternative, and still gives your character a whip-style weapon? Perhaps the character is a slave runner which might be fun 
You could easily make a cat o nine tails with black cloth with knots in it would make a fair and safe-ish representation.
In reality they were generally leather with knots in it, sometimes with extra nasties like metal in the knots or crushed glass glued to it. But they weren’t a weapon with any real use in warfare.
But like the bullwhip they would do little damage to even someone lightly armoured. Only lightly clothed or exposed skin would be in danger of being injured… or faces and heads maybe.
So again, for LARP purposes they wouldn’t cause damage. For RP purposes they could be used to inflict pain on prisoners and the like. And yes, wounds could be caused by one in this fashion BUT I’d like to see you use one against an armoured foe bringing a sword to your whip fight…
Is anyone thinking of that scene from Indiana Jones? 
I concur with most of the above posts. I think you’d have to make a replica whip out of safe materials and just use it carefully for roleplaying and flavour rather than combat. The nzLARPS gear used to have some replica cat o’ nine tails that we used in Wolfgang for the flagellants - they were made of soft vinyl and you’d have to really, really try to actually cause damage with them. In the final battle at the last Wolfgang, Nikki’s Viking NPC had a whip that she cracked menacingly before the battle but didn’t use it in combat.
I believe Nightmare Circle also used them safely for a scene, but I wasn’t there for it, and that was possibly one of those “we don’t talk about it” scenes that happens on occasion
What about taking a skinny piece of foam - say about 3cm wide and deep and wrapping it tightly in some kind of stretchy material until it forms a really skinny tentacle like creation… making the handle out of Coreflute and foaming it in (2 inches of foam - hehe) and wrapping that too in the same stretchy fabric used on the other part???
I think the problem with a bullwhip is the flick action. If it is sufficiently flexible that you can send a longitudinal wave along it, then the end can flick at quite a velocity - enough to cause concern.
Perhaps using it in as a non-combat prop is the way forward, or else using a cat-o-nine-tails lash. The main problem with a cat is that it can’t be felt through armour so your enemies may not take all their hits.
Whips and cats are, perhaps, best kept aside for torturous purposes 
It still comes down to the fact that a whip although painful to exposed skin is really not going to do jack squat in a general melee. Not unless you have Xena like prowess or Indy like skill.
And even then, actual damage, compared to say a sword is not really feasible. I’d not allow one for in combat damage period, tentacles are bad enough. Smell the cheese.
[quote=“Splntr”]What about…
THis is why it’s favoured by many in BSDM for example.
[/quote]
Sticks and Stones may Break my Bones…
But Whips and Chains Excite Me 
A slightly more fantasy based option would be to make a blade whip similar to that used by Ivy in the soul calibur series seen here. You could make the blades out of camp mat built around a woven fabric core though it would probably be best to make the tip out of open cell foam for softness. In addition to providing a larger striking area, the blades could also be used to control the whip’s “bendyness” to a certain degree depending on how closely they are spaced along the core. I think a design like this also has a bit more viability as a legitimate combat weapon flavour wise then the standard bullwhip, albeit in a strictly fantasy context.
As far as cores go, it may be an idea to check out electrical insulation as well. Some of the plastic/ rubber coatings may have a good combination of flexibility and rigidity.
OH good point! Electrical heat shrink stuff is fantastic for holding stuff the way you want it.
Build the core, cover in heat shrink and heat… done. Then you can easily add foam or other softer stuff, and the heat shrink provides an excellant base for various glues etc.
It’s good for achieving interesting shapes too that would otherwise take a lot of time and skilled hands 
how to make an unsafe larp weapon:
1: Make it long and thin, but strong enough to not break when somone gets it tangled in or around any of the following:
Arms, legs, weapons, shield or neck.
2: Make it whippy so its hard to control the velocity of its tip so that it takes an eye out with speed.
3: Use materials not traditionally used in larp weapons that seem like a good idea at the time…
eg: wood.
[quote=“NicNac”][quote=“Splntr”]What about…
THis is why it’s favoured by many in BSDM for example.
[/quote]
Sticks and Stones may Break my Bones…
But Whips and Chains Excite Me [/quote]Hmmmm, I need to steal that line…
I volunteer for the prisoner getting whipped by Aiwe <.</>.>
I hope something works!
If you want to make something that looks whip like but doesn’t injure (or hurt) I’d suggest the following.
Get a piece of light leather or vinyl about 9 inches by 24 inches
Make 8 cuts lengthwise, about an inch apart about 22 of the 24 inches of length.
This’ll give you 9 1" wide leather strips all connected at one end.
Get a stick (say 1 inch diameter by a foot long) - paint the stick black and glue the leather on. You may want a couple of light tacks in the end.
This should be pretty safe. It’s more cat-o-9-tails than bull whip and the dimensions of the leather should stop the tip moving too fast.
Just had another thought too… take the above excellant idea, and add:
BALLS!
Foam ones like the ones for bean bags or perhaps larger… this would be more cat-authentic, and it solves the safety issue as the balls will be softer and should remove the sting of a wayward snappy end. Might take a while to secure them inside the leather though… slit the leather, and glue perhaps? I think real ones were braided?
