Snake whip
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.
Both signal whips and snake whips are usually shot loaded by braiding the body of the whip over a tapered bag containing weight (often shotgun shot). These whips may also be constructed without loading but it is rarely seen.
The most obvious difference between a snake whip and a signal whip is: a snake whip has a fall (a narrow, flexible, un-braided strip of leather) between the body of the whip and the cracker, and a signal whip has the cracker braided into the body of the whip.
