bex DK

Thanks! Rawhide isn't really an option for me anyway, as I can't handle cutting it all myself and haven't been able to find it precut here in a quality I'd want to use. Too expensive to import, although I may consider looking for some for stuff-for-ourselves on my next visit to family in the US. And I'm not planning on making bosals at this point at all, but more on using the decorative knots in other ways. With the problems I already have with my hands, I doubt I'd do well even with all the leather and roo braiding on a bosal. Not with keeping things tight enough. Although who knows what might tempt me once I get a little more practice. My project of the moment that I'm experimenting with is very nontraditional. A rope rein in a romal style but I want to put some paracord decorations on it and use knots to cover the spliced eyes, as decorations other places, and a sliding knot at the top as well. Our climate here is very damp, partly from being close to the sea but also because of copious rain. We've bought a decent braided leather romal for my husband, but we end up never using it because it feels too valuable for heading out into the sea, sand, and the inevitable mud. So I'm playing with making similar use options that we don't have to care so much about but still might look interesting. Planning on chains for weight to help balance the bit, although marine grade rope isn't exactly lightweight. Leather would look much better than paracord for decorative knots but would lose the advantages of moisture tolerance and ease of cleaning. Although I might end up back there anyway if the paracord is too thick to end up with an attractive knot on the rope I'm using. But if it is all polyester and nylon, I can throw it in a bucket of water as needed and don't even need to store it in the living room or furnace room to keep the mold off. But back to the knots I am struggling with. Grant says the one of them is the same as the double gaucho knot of two passes from the other book. Well, I've managed to tie that one (although it requires I fix a few of the loops in the start of the knot, as otherwise it gets way too tight in the middle by sliding on the mandrel). So last night I took colored string and ran it through the tied knot to replicate the 4 strand method. I am keeping that as a reference, so when I get confused, I can study it to see how a string worked when it met itself and on the subsequent passes. Attaching a pic of that, although it looks a bit messy with the string transitions in the middle. Tried braiding it one more time after that and it went wrong again in the middle, but I may have figured it out. I am missing a string somehow. I end up odd in the middle so when a strand meets the start of the next strand over, they don't quite line up. I think it is one off. So I will experiment more later today and try taking the one on top when I work down and twist it around one more time. I had some trouble mastering tying the knot as well because of the need to be 1 and a half times around, crossing two, but then the next passes don't come as far down. So I suspect it is a similar issue here... that I am being TOO precise in making my rounds even and instead need an extra pass with one string. Not that I'm sure any of that makes sense in writing.

I've got a couple of the Grant books and I found a photo tutorial online and whatever directions I try to use (and whether I use lace or paracord), I keep ending up with sections in the middle of my cowboy button knot where things have gone very wrong and I have strands crossing 3 or 4 instead of the 2 they're supposed to. I think my trouble is related to the transition from the top half of the knot to the bottom half of the knot. I especially had issues where my ending of a strand was meeting the start of the next strand over. Those didn't always match up where they should in terms of over-under--I was able to get to the right strand. Part of my problem is the Grant book doesn't show or explain how to work the bottom half of the knot on the second time down AT ALL. It says over two under two for the top and splitting parallel pairs, but when I get to the bottom there are no pairs to split, so I tried over one under one like the pdf I found online said. But it's going wrong somewhere in there and I haven't yet managed to figure out how. I will keep trying. I am looking into investing in some other books (or putting them on my xmas wish list and hoping my parents will spoil me), but I'd really like to master this knot in the near future. I do pretty well with tied turks heads and such, but have more trouble with the braided variants of the knots. I have found that lace crowns much more nicely than the paracord, but I had more luck with 4 different colors of paracord helpign me keep track of my twists and stuff and making sure I hit the right strand at the end. I've done most of my knot practicing on a mandrel, but I ahd to switch to a piece of 6mm rope when I did the leather because my mandrels are too thick. I probably need to work out some mandrels that are pinnable as opposed to the plastic pipe I am using now, so I can better keep the shape on some of the knots that are teasing me. I am going to keep at it, but if anyone had any tips or could point me at other freely available resources, I'd really appreciate it. Most of my searching on this group about knots pointed to links that were broken. I'd also appreciate some advice on what books are most worth the money. My budget is VERY tight so I can't just get everything I want and since I'm in Europe, no interlibrary loan to hope could track one down for studying in advance. I definitely do best with photo or diagram and writing combined. I cannot learn well from video. I often lose track of where I am and need to compare my work to several stages to find the right spot. Video would drive me bonkers. I want to learn some different varieties of the fancier applied knots for doing both in leather lace and in cord on rope tack. I can't get decent rawhide lace over here and my health makes it too difficult for me to cope with making it myself. I did manage many of the turks heads and pretty well understood expanding them as well, but I'd like something that would help me comprehend the different weave types that enable adding a second color. In the mean time I will keep pounding away at practicing and maybe if I practice enough different pineapple knots I will start beign able to figure it out on my own. If there were other knots that I should master to work up to the cowboy button and might help me understand it better, I'd also appreciate that advice. But the only books I have right now are Ashton and Grant and I haven't gotten into the diagraming way of tying them. Maybe someone who can do this knot felt like quickly braiding up a 4 strand one with only one twist in each half and each strand a different color and taking clear photos? Preferably leaving the ends visible at the initial connecting point, not cutting them off so I can better find the initial transition (I get that I'm supposed to work some backwards and end them all different places after that but I need to master it intially first). Maybe if I match my colors to someone else's colors and can compare what's over and under what along the way it would be easier to figure out hwere I'm going wrong.

I routinely dye a piece completely in spirit dyes (different brand because of what is most available here in Europe). Then I use very thinned acrylics or spirit dyes on top to paint the patterns (spirit if they are darker and it matches what I need to make, always acrylic for lighter colors). Then I use supershene only on the painted areas. I always paint directly on the leather ebcause I feel it bonds better with the surface that way. BUT I do sometimes find, at least with some colors, that some of the spirit dye will bleed into the paint... but I do intentionally use very thinned paint and several layers. It is painstaking, but I worry thicker paint will peel off more easily. I am often painting into deep letter stamps, and I suspect more excess pigment from the dyes accumulates in the stamped areas and I can't buff it off with a lcoth like I can on the rest of the surface. I dip dye with the spirit dyes for a more even coating. Stohlman does have a nice book on coloring. You might want to check it out if you haven't.

I need some advice. I've been working with spirit based dyes for a while (ROC Narvsværte--I'm in Denmark in Europe). Lately I've been having more and more trouble with dye transfer, even while working on a project. Was just working on a small one. Dyed blue with the alcohol-based dyes. Then stamped letters accented with white acrylic paint (very thinned, used 6 coats to get the letters completely white). Topped the letters off with supershene to make them shine and seal the paint. Used wax and a wooden wheel on a drill to buff the edges and reverse and while doing that, some dye (or wax mixed with dye) transferred onto my fingers and from my fingers into the white letters. So I probably need to make a new one, but luckily it is small and not too much expensive although a lot of time from the careful coloring. I do the dying by dip dying then try to buff with the soft cloth. But any tips for minimalizing the risk of transfer like that? I seem to have more trouble with some colors than others and try to be extra careful, but this is only the second time I've used the blue for complete piece dying, but I still think it is worse than last time. And the past several times I've done the acrylic letter coloring I've had trouble with the dye color coming up in the paint when I start applying it. This is also a problem I don't think I used to have (at least not to this extent), but we can't find anything that has changed in our process. I have shifted to different containers of dye with some colors when I ran out of the old ones and I do know some of my dyes are a little old because I got extra when a local shop shut down (do spirit dyes break down with age?). But I'm getting really frustrated. I like to keep my leather as natural as possible, so do not cover the entire piece with any kind of top coat, beyond a leather treatment with a good bit of beeswax in it. I want my leather to still be able to breathe naturally and absorb the types of treatments that are common here. We also have an extremely moist environment (tons of sea air) and the beeswax treatment holds up far better under these conditions than oiling. We've compared things before and it definitely is slower to mold and I much prefer the feel. Just have to be careful not to let the wax build up too thick in tooled areas, but that can be resolved with a soft toothbrush if a cloth can't do it. I am pretty sure the worst of the transfer will stop once the piece has had a few of the beeswax treatments and plenty of time to dry, but that doesn't help me while I'm working on the project. One idea I intend to try next time is wiping the surface down after dying with a cloth with a little alcohol on it in the hopes of easier removal of excess pigments on the surface. But I'd appreciate any suggestions for limiting my problems.

Thanks to your help, it is now fully functional. My husband is very happy and we really appreciate the help!

It didn't occur to me to photograph it before, but I can after. Right now it is stretched to dry in the attic. It worked BEAUTIFULLY while wet, so hoping it will also work as well once it has dried.

It bubbled from the twists but not much else. But the water definitely helped get rid of some of the oil the idiot had used. There was a layer og oil on top of the water and the water was yucky dirty very quickly. It is now packing in plastic for the night. Rawhide cream is unfortunately not available over here. We have white/clear saddle soap... no problem there. I did a lot of reading on rawhide care and it looks like a lot of the "old" recipes are a mix of something fatty and beeswax. We have what is meant to be a leather treatment that is similarly comprised. So had thought to use that last--just a thin layer, but the saddle soap first. Looks like the white saddle soap is also frequently recommended for rawhide care.

Thanks. We'll give it a try. It's not worth anything as it is anyway.

My husband recently got his hands on a two strand twisted reata. Well, most of it is two strand twisted, but a short section (about a meter or so) up to the honda switches over to a 4 strand braid. We're in Denmark, so who knows where it comes from and how it got over here. The person we got it from got it from someone else. The person we got it from was a bit of an idiot and treated the whole thing with leather oil! ARGH. So far my husband has cleaned it thoroughly with glycerin and tried stretching it for a while like he's used to with rope lassos. But despite his stretching, it still seems to "remember" a lot of the twist from having been stored a really long time. So when he tries to make a loop to throw, the loop shows multiple twists and he can barely catch a post (this is not a problem with his usual lasso). So is there anything he can do to make this thing usable again or do we have to resign ourselves to having it as nothing but a wall hanging? I would really appreciate any advice you can give.

You could check if your local library has any books or maybe can get some through interlibrary loan.

What you want is a wheel that looks like a rowel from a spur. It makes little marks at an even distance. You just roll it along where you want it. But if your project is a one-off, it is probably cheapest to use a ruler and make marks along it with the same distance between.

I bet it would look nice if you burnished the entire outside instead of just that one spot...

My plan was to just fold the ends back, whip them into place, and cover with osmething (like a decorative braid/knot if I can figure out how to do one). I have no idea how else I could do it. Can you point me at some online resources if another method would be better? The only braiding books I have are the Grant ones (leather braiding and how to make cowboy horse gear).

Thanks. That also makes it easier to do a braid with more strands without stressing. Now the hubby just has to figure out his length and the supplier has to get lace home for me. I may try making a key ring or something else small first just to make sure I can make it work before I cut and start on such a large project. But I have to learn sometime...

Thanks. We were thinking of using rope for the core, but will check if we can get rounded leather at a good thickness. Most of what we have seen is too thick. The hubby has a set of 4-strand braided split reins he picked up in Canada on a trip years ago that look great. But to do that he'd have to cut the thongs, since they'd need to be wider than what I can get on the roll. Grant says the width of the thongs used should total the circumference of the core. Is this correct? Are there times it "works" when they are wider even if not ideal? Studying the 4strands he has, they look like the strands are about 1cm each, but the circumference isn't 4 cm. So that really confused me. I've never braided on a core before, but I've done some 4 and 6 without cores. Have also done a lot of edge braiding, but that is much different. The hubby will have to get trying on his horse before I do any cutting or braiding to figure out the length. Thanks again for the advice!

The normal bevel is the outside of things. Then there is inverse carving where you bevel inside the outer line. In either case, you bevel inside the way that works right to build the shape. Places where the parts are about the same height, you double bevel (beveling on both sides). Experiment and follow your gut, and you're not likely to go far wrong. Just think about hwat should be looking closer or taller or on top of what and bevel accordingly. I've done a bit of smaller carving and definitely found an angle blade easier for that. It also helps to keep it sharp, but I don't know how that works with the ceramics. If you didn't try it, sharpening might help a lot with the steel blades you do have. You need a leather-on-wood thing for stropping and the rouge. The Stohlman tool book is a great reference. It has some info on how to use the tools and even more on how to maintain and hold them. That is one I have definitely found helpful to own.

I want to try to do some simple braiding. My main reference is Grant's Leather Braiding. For most of you this is a stupid question, but how do you calculate how long each strand needs to be from the desired final length? My husband has requested a roping rein, which makes a great first big project for me. Since it's for him, he's bound to love it even if I mess up a little. I am not sure whether I will be doing 4, 6, or 8 strand--depends on what he decides as the thickness. But I can't really afford to waste a ton of leather and would hate to have braided a whole bunch just to find out I cut my strings too short. Hence the question. How long strings? I would also appreciate advice on the overall length for a roping rein. We're used to split reins and it seems like lots of lengths available, so it is hard to choose. He rides a pretty big paint horse (she's 155cm at the withers). Thanks for any tips you can give me. Google didn't turn up much, so I thought I'd be better off asking the people who have plenty of practice. Thanks! Rebecca

You probably mean the Mexican Basketweave edge braid. I have it in a small lacing book... Not sure of other sources.

also look for free clipart. those kinds of designs are often easier to convert.

I think I've done it by putting it on a flat surface and leaving it there with somethign else near the edge on top so it cant bend. Then burnish with a rough cloth with a little saddle soap. Then flip and repeat to be sure to get it more rounded.

I don't think anything is really odorless. We use mainly spirit dyes for coloring (unless it is fancy detailed stuff, where I use thinned acrylics). Finish with a bit of super shene if needed (especially ont he acrylics) or for shine. Treat pretty much everything with a leather grease with beeswax in it. The super shene dries pretty much odorless, but the smell of the stuff reminds me of elmer's glue. Beeswax has a slight scent as well. The grease with beeswax is the same as we use for all our horse tack. It will darken undyed leather, but doesn't color it. Leather usually needs some kind of maintenance treatment with oil or grease and pretty much all those will darken slightly. Spirit dyes are more drying that the water based ecoflow, so the leather always needs some restoration. Hopefully someone else will have better advice. It might help if you mention what sort of color you are looking for. Brown? Black? Green?

How are they attached? Ours are easily replaced.. they are attached on rings with a split braid.

I don't have a copy myself, but this might be in one of the Stohlman books. Picture Carving Finesse, I think. I only have the figure carving one but my understanding was that the "background" stuff would be in the other one. If you have a Tandy nearby, you could probably go page through it to make sure it has what you want before buying. Otherwise you'll have to hope someone else chimes in with a more certain answer.

If I remember correctly and have understood properly, one of the drawbacks of the less expensive stamps is the inconsistency in patterns. I have not yet invested in anything beyond Crafttool, but have problems as well with consistent patterns among bevelers as well as the backgrounding tools.

What about trying the resolene then topping it with the beeswax? That might remove some fo the shine while allowing the resolene to offer water protection.