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A whip is a cord or strap, usually with a stiff handle, used for delivering blows to human beings or animals as a means of control or punishment. Whips are also prominent features of certain forms of BDSM.
Different kinds of whip include: Bullwhips, the Cat o' nine tails, Crops, and Quirts.
Stock whips (or Stockwhips) are a type of single-tailed whip, used by Australian ranchers. Its form originated in the English hunting whip, but it has since become a distinct type of whip. Similar to an American bullwhip in body composition, its main difference is in handle construction. Unlike a bullwhip's imbedded handle, the stock whip handle is not fitted inside of the thong and is usually longer. A stock whip's handle is connected to the thong by a joint typically made of a few strands of thick leather. This allows the whip to hang across a ranchers arm when not being used. The handles are normally longer than those of a bullwhip, being between 12 and 18 inches in length. Stock whips are also almost exclusively made from tanned kangaroo-hide.
Signal whips (Signalwhips) are a type of single-tailed whip, originally designed to control dog teams. A signal whip usually measures between 3 and 4 feet in length.
Snake whips (Snakewhips) are a type of single-tailed whip. The name snake whip is derived from the fact that this type of whip has no handle inside and so can be curled up into a small circle which resembles a coiled snake. They were once commonly carried in the saddlebag by cowboys of the old west. A full sized snake whip is usually at least 4 feet in length (excluding the fall and cracker at the tip of the whip) and around one inch in diameter at the butt of the whip.
A pocket snake whip can be curled up small enough to fit into a large pocket, and ranges in size from 4 feet to 6 feet in length. The pocket snake whip is primarily a whip for occasional use, such as in loading cattle. Both of these types of snake whips are made with a leather shot bag running approximately three quarters of the length of the whip.
Blacksnakes are the traditional whips used in Montana and Wyoming. The blacksnake has a heavy shot load extending from the butt well down the thong, and the whip is flexible right to the butt, ranges in size from 6 feet to 12 feet in length.