Whipping hickory irons just above the hosel.

[Nickc]

Does anyone do this. Was looking at a restoration site (UK) and the guy recommended it as this was where a shaft often split / broke + he thought it looked nice.

[Jiggered]

I don't, I understand the reasoning behind it but it looks awful to my eyes.

 

The only shaft I've had fail was half way along the length.

 

[Foozle]

3 hours ago, Nickc said:

Does anyone do this. Was looking at a restoration site (UK) and the guy recommended it as this was where a shaft often split / broke + he thought it looked nice.

I have just finished reading Alex Hay's autobiography. Alex trained as an apprentice club maker with Ben Sayers before turning Pro and embarking on his playing, coaching and broadcasting career.

In the book he mentioned some hickory techniques including straightening warped shafts using the friction of your hands and also using whipping on the shaft to correct flex if you went too far in shaving down the shaft. He referenced Bobby Jones's Calamity Jane which famously had three bands of whipping on the shaft to create the correct feel. I am not sure i understand the science here but suspect the whipping you picture may serve this purpose with protection against splitting as a secondary benefit. 

[Nickc]

I suppose the whipping on the shaft could also change the swing weight of the club as well as the flex. Perhaps this was the case with Bobby Jone's club referenced above.

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

Ralph Livingston 111 maintained that whipping immediately above the hosel strengthened that area and he was supported by Randy Jensen and the hickory stars of the early part of this century. Ralph supplied the clubs for 'Legend of Bagger Vance' movie where you will see clubs fitted in this way.

Back then, you couldn't give a playable club away, never mind sell it unless it had this whipping. Ralph and Randy also stated that the application of boiled linseed oil to shafts caused them to split prematurely.

At that time I was supplying 80 sets of hickories around the UK, Europe and Canada, so anything that helped to prolong the life of my clubs was a winner. My clubs were noted for being highly durable and I followed this practice.

However, I followed it because it was fashionable (and still is)  and at a personal level I'm highly sceptical of the claims made. I don't think it made a blind bit of difference.

Alex Hay's claims however are spot on. You could adjust the flex point of a shaft by applying whipping. You could not modify a tired shaft with too much twist/torque by applying whipping.

If you want to straighten a warped shaft efficiently, use heat from a hot air paint stripping gun. Rubbing the shaft in your hands is like trying to start a bonfire by rubbing 2 sticks together when you have access to a box of matches !

Reinforcing repairs to split shafts works well, but on a temporary basis. It's a good way to mend putters which is what happened to Calamity Jane.

The amount a swing weight is adjusted by applying whipping, given the overall weight/density of the shaft, is infinitesimally minimal.

Far better to whack some lead tape on the blade, or in the case of a wood drop a lead slug into the sole. In the latter case you could do the job properly, remove the back weight and drill out the cavity and hot pour the required amount of lead in the back.

 

[northplatteriver]

I do it to all my players.   I started doing it after having two clubs crack in the spot right above the hosel.  It is a classic spot for cracks.  Usually on the face side of the club face side of the club at the hosel.  Have not had a club that had the whipping applied, crack in this spot.  The only question I had was having the whipping all the way down to the top of the hosel or leaving a small border.  I usually go all the way down to the top of the hosel myself because I think it looks cleaner, but I know others that like to leave a small border of a couple millimeters so they can see what is happening to the shaft.  If done neatly and carefully it looks good, no down side in my opinion.

[Nickc]

Thanks for all the information - very useful.

 

 

[bcstones]

On 10/21/2022 at 4:18 PM, The Aspidistra in the Hall said:

 

 

Back then, you couldn't give a playable club away, never mind sell it unless it had this whipping. Ralph and Randy also stated that the application of boiled linseed oil to shafts caused them to split prematurely.

At that time I was supplying 80 sets of hickories around the UK, Europe and Canada, so anything that helped to prolong the life of my clubs was a winner. My clubs were noted for being highly durable and I followed this practice.

 

 

 

 

i'm a bit confused....did those restorers give any reason why the application of boiled linseed oil caused the splitting & what is meant by "...to split prematurely"?

 

I've worked w/boiled linseed oil & turpintine mixture as a start to restore many wood project, for almost 50 years, from various wood furniture to garden wood shafts, canes & walking staffs ....all kinds of wood - maple, pine, ash, hickory, cedar/jumiper, oak, teak, the stem of the sotal plant & even an antique lemon wood archery bow. I've never had any kind of spliting happen....

Not trying to be argumentative, I'm open to learning...I've just never come across any reference to "blo" causing spltting. Makes me wonder if it does, could it be the application? I use that mixture cuz the turpintine get the "blo" deeper into the wood, then the turpintine evaporates during a "curing" time & I use immersion for the shafts, bow, canes, staffs....I don't know & would love to understand the above quote more fully.

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by bcstones

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

10 hours ago, bcstones said:

i'm a bit confused....did those restorers give any reason why the application of boiled linseed oil caused the splitting & what is meant by "...to split prematurely"?

 

I've worked w/boiled linseed oil & turpintine mixture as a start to restore many wood project, for almost 50 years, from various wood furniture to garden wood shafts, canes & walking staffs ....all kinds of wood - maple, pine, ash, hickory, cedar/jumiper, oak, teak, the stem of the sotal plant & even an antique lemon wood archery bow. I've never had any kind of spliting happen....

Not trying to be argumentative, I'm open to learning...I've just never come across any reference to "blo" causing spltting. Makes me wonder if it does, could it be the application? I use that mixture cuz the turpintine get the "blo" deeper into the wood, then the turpintine evaporates during a "curing" time & I use immersion for the shafts, bow, canes, staffs....I don't know & would love to understand the above quote more fully.

 

The short answer is 'No'.

 

I didn't and don't have your background.

Instinctively I doubted this to have any validity. I had been using boiled linseed to regenerate tired wood from my earliest days in hickory play and had seen no issues. I used to use boiled linseed as a heat transfer mechanism when heating and straightening warped hickory shafts, very effective btw.

 

So, I'm pleased to read your views and experience.

[bcstones]

5 hours ago, The Aspidistra in the Hall said:

The short answer is 'No'.

 

I didn't and don't have your background.

Instinctively I doubted this to have any validity. I had been using boiled linseed to regenerate tired wood from my earliest days in hickory play and had seen no issues. I used to use boiled linseed as a heat transfer mechanism when heating and straightening warped hickory shafts, very effective btw.

 

So, I'm pleased to read your views and experience.

Hmmm…very new at this restoration of hickory shafts (still getting garage set up). What is ‘heat transfer mechanism’ and what is the name of the Alex Hill book?

[Foozle]

26 minutes ago, bcstones said:

Hmmm…very new at this restoration of hickory shafts (still getting garage set up). What is ‘heat transfer mechanism’ and what is the name of the Alex Hill book?

If you are referring to the Alex Hay book, it is called "Ripening Hay". It is a good read with lots of amusing anecdotes from a lifetime in golf in various capacities. Alex was born in the 1930's and the book was written in the 1980's so it broadly covers the classic era.

I wouldn't recommend you read it purely for the hickory input as that is only a few lines / paragraphs in the book but interesting none the less.

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

I met Alex a couple of times in Musselburgh, at the Course and in Council meetings. Very knowledgeable and influential in his local community. He wasn't very interested in hickory or it's application to activities at Musselburgh Old Course.

 

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

18 hours ago, bcstones said:

Hmmm…very new at this restoration of hickory shafts (still getting garage set up). What is ‘heat transfer mechanism’ and what is the name of the Alex Hill book?

Linseed oil helps disperse heat more evenly along and into the shaft. It helps avoid scorching and localised overheating. Heat transfer oils are used a lot in engineering, similar principle.

I've something to add to this thought which I'll show in a photo later today.

[Wade Patton]

If linseed oil of any form was bad for wood, it would be widely known by now considering the hundreds of years it has been used on all sorts of wooden items and paints. Shellac and Varnish, beeswax (and more) have their places too (the traditionalists craftsmen usually mix each of those to his/her own recipe). Much of this information isn't passed down any more, but there are folks yet who use historic processes to make replicas and to repair/restore originals properly. I happen to know a lot of these folks and also try to work on old stuff and replicas just the same.  I do not have their skillsets yet, but I'm not a total hack.

I don't know what those folks had against linseed oil, perhaps they were convinced of their claim by some erroneous conclusion or information. There is a difference in real "boiled" linseed oil and chemically altered "boiled" linseed oil. There's also a acid-balancing ingredient used when boiling linseed oil (a hazardous endeavor itself), but it produces the fastest LO wood-finishing process of all.  What's sold in stores has chemical dryers (see "Japan Drier") added for a quicker cure time than RAW linseed oil, which is usually only seen in art/paint supplies if anywhere now.  Unboiled/Raw linseed oil will never fully cure without sunshine or UV light. I've used it for years a a thread locker on mixed materials or very small screws, and for a tool finish.

[Wade Patton]

I should add that I'm "here" now because I just bought a pile of hickory shafted clubs yesterday and joined the SOHG-what a way to start the year!  And I am studying on their refurbishment and such. Good Morning!

 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Wade Patton