"One of the biggest problems — see, when I try to balance this whip on top of the handle, gravity pulls it down to a sharp 90-degree angle. So when I hold it up, it falls below the handle. I want the whip to get above this — to travel from above, not from below."

"I'm wondering if you could have a sleeve, or a collar, or maybe you weld the first few links — something that makes it come from handle to chain and holds that up just a little."

"Does that make sense?"

"Thank you for the clarification and perspective. I'll keep these points in mind when I'm exploring the Kirin Whip."

This is the kind of insight you can only get from the person who built it.

"See mine — this is thin, thin, thin, thin. Then all of a sudden yours gets very big. The cracker on your Kirin Whip is much thicker than it needs to be."

"The thinner the fall, the thinner the popper, the faster it goes. The thicker it is, it slows down — unless I use a lot of power."

"To me, noise is the least of it. What I want is precision, accuracy, and consistency. I do Tai Chi. I do the Tai Chi of the whip. I float. On a candle, I will take out the candle — not just make noise. I go stab."

"Yes. And I have a new bullwhip student who just received one of your slightly heavier Kirin Whips with the ribbon cracker — and I quite like it. I want to explore how it affects pin-point target accuracy."

"Different focus. Same craft."

"There's another thing. Where your chain meets your whip head — you're using a metal connector ring to attach them directly. Every time you connect metal to braided material through a rigid ring, there's a 'hiccup' in the energy transfer. A break in the smooth flow from handle to tip."

"Find a way to make that transition smoother. Maybe tie the Fall directly onto the last open chain link. Remove the metal connector. Any rigid junction is energy being lost."