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Indiana Jones is famous for his trusty bullwhip. A long strip of leather, Indy has used it hundreds of times throughout his adventures. It can be used for pulling levers, swinging over chasms, or simply smacking a Nazi across the cheek. It takes a great deal of skill to use a whip, as it has a tendency to snap the wrong way, resulting in an inexperienced wielder beating himself half to death. The first time Indy uses a whip in-universe is in the Last Crusade prologue, when he is trying to drive off a lion.
Behind the scenes
Whip history
Creation
David Morgan is credited with creating the whips used in the trilogy. Over thirty whips were supplied for the films, ranging from 6 feet to 16 feet. The most commonly used whips in the films were 8 and 10 feet, with the others being used for stunts. Harrison Ford mostly carried a 10 foot whip, but used 8 foot ones for some stunts.
The whip used in the film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, was made out of kip hide, with kangaroo hide being used for the other films. At the time of Raiders, there was a problem importing kangaroo leather in to make bullwhips, so David Morgan used the leather made from young calves to make the famous whips.
Indiana Jones
The whips were from David Morgan's 450 series, and hand braided with a kangaroo overlay. For Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Terry Jacka was commissioned to create the famous bullwhips. While Jacka's were the ones cracked in the film, David Morgan and Joe Strain whips were used. Morgan's for the whip swing and Strain's for Indy's belt. Morgan's were used for the "Crate" teaser poster.
Since the creation of the films, the demand for "Indiana Jones" style bullwhips have risen. Therefore, other whipmakers have done thier "interpretation" of the Morgan whip, giving those who would want a "Indy" bullwhip, a way to own one.
Whip manufacture
Indy's whip was made with a core of twisted leather, then a plaited belly, then a bolster, then another plaited belly, then another bolster, then the final 12 plait overlay, also called "double bolster".