8KCAB

Great things for braiders: http://www.ebay.com/itm/140938100738?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 http://www.ebay.com/itm/140938103264?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 http://www.ebay.com/itm/140938107289?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 http://www.ebay.com/itm/140938130125?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 http://www.ebay.com/itm/140938109953?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 All auctions starting at $0.99. Thanks!

I bought one of the aforementioned cutters: It was $250. I have my Lace Master "Vaquero" for sale on eBay if anybody's interested: http://www.ebay.com/itm/140901620732

Gordon Hayes (http://www.ghbitsofsilver.com/) makes the cutter now that you will see in Gail Hought's book. He told me a really great price - not sure if its for all or not. Hansen works ok, but the splitter is a pain because you have to reset the depth each time.

I've always wondered about maintaining the moisture on a big project like this. Do you just let it dry out and add it back when you get back to it?

I am still starting out, myself, so I'll tell you what I did. A few years ago, I ordered a beginners kit from ubraidit.com, including the book "How to braid Quality Custom Tack". I made many projects using paracord. Than last winter, I ordered a "Complete Beginner's Braiding Kit" from Gail Hought, which included many practice roohide strings, a fid, bone folder and book "The Art of braiding: the Basics." It was expensive, like $350 or something. Not much learning transfered from the paracord to roohide braiding, becuase I never did any buttons in paracord - only flat and round braids (of which the 8 plait transfered) - the terminal knot also was common to both. I have since ordered two more of Houghts books (also expensive - $50 each) and the complete Key fob kit - which included materials for over 20 buttons placed on leather key fobs. The books can make you mad if you only have one - they keep refering to others in the series. The illustrations and directions worked great for me - I would have never started if I had only Grant's "Encylopedia of Rawhide Braiding". I have also started cutting my own strings of rawhide using a Hanson string cutter ($450) and rawhide from Tejas Industries ( $90, including shipping for a "side"). So, all-in-all, I have spent over $1000 so far trying to get to my ultimate goal of braiding rawhide bosals. I'm getting damn close, too! You can do this much more cheaply by finding online tutorials and perhaps buying something like the "Aussie Strander" to cut strings. You can learn all of the buttons by simply using paracord and taking the core out to flatten it. Best of luck!

Slight hijack here, but did you use a core on the 4 plait reins, and, if so, what? Thanks.

Yes, that's where I get them. Thanks for the advice!

What weight raw-hides do you guy's use for things like bosals and romal reins if you order them? The first one I ordered was a 5 oz side. It seemed like I split off more than I used. I split them down to thicknesses similar to the roohide strings that came in a braiding kit. My books are telling me to use a little thicker stuff when I get ready to plait a full-sized bosal core, so I won't split as much. I just ordered a couple 3 oz rounds.

Really, really nice job. Your curiosity and dedication are commendable. Yes, there is a thin line beween genius and insanity...

Stuff like that is my ultimate goal! Do you make your own rawhide or order it? Do you use anything besides good technique, rolling or a stick to make the buttons uniform in girth?

Great work! I love the hybrid with the rawhide...

Wow! Great call on the giddyupflix. I think the queues may be getting longer...

I am going to try dying with a skid-row merlot when I get to that piont. I figured the old Californios must've had some vino from the Padres.

I think I'm starting to feel what "tempered" is. I wish it was like that when I cut my strips with the draw gauge. It's almost waxy, or like cutting a soft cheese. My book said to split the strips, then size and bevel, and the instructions that came with my cutter said to size, split and then bevel. It's a lot easier to split when it's already sized. My book warned that they are easily stretches when already sized, but I think it was worse with the extra friction of a wider strip. I could need a better edge on my splitter, but I'm just not great of a sharpener. My book also says to bevel both the hair and flesh sides. My splitter instructions had a bevel on only one side (beveling with the flesh side up, which I thing means beveling the "hair side"). A lot of the work I see here (including the honda's recenclt discussed) look like they are only beveled on the hair side. I'm going to just do one side for now, since it's pretty much a big cluster right now. I have managed to get a few strings I can actually braid with, I think. Any thoughts on beveling?

Thanks for the kind words. I have read similar advice (it may have been given by you..) about making sure the skeleton knot is straight. I was attempting this as I progressed through the kit. Sometimes things seem to shift as I add the interweave - like I have to keep pulling the skeleton back to where it was when I started the interweave. I can almost get my mind around it when using a contrasting color. I get lost with a single color, though, and get to see what I came up with at the end... Thanks again!