Aggiebraider

I agree I have never seen conchos like that. I would have assumed that they just had chicago screw backs, but definitely a cool way to attach the straps to the spurs basically underneath the concho. The only problem though would be if you had real fancy buttons on the hangers of your spurs, they would be covered by the conchos. But still very cool spur straps

Very nice Mark! Who made the conchos?

Both are going out right at 10 seconds. Just tried it again, still not working for me.

Hey Brian, Thanks for posting these (and thanks to lilpep as well for putting in the time and work), they are great to watch for someone that needs some guidance on overall braiding technique and not just on fid work. For some reason, the audio goes out on the 6th and 7th videos at around 10-15 seconds for me. Not sure if everyone else is having this problem, and I tried reloading the page, but it didnt help. Just thought you would like to know in case you can fix this. Have a good one, Calvin

Im pretty sure its a dp but I could be wrong and I couldnt think of a maker with those initials. It may be the brand or initials of the person it was made for.

Hey guys, I have really wanted to learn this Argentine style of handle coverings, but have yet to find anywhere that it is explained. Im very curious as to how you change directions and patterns with the same strings. Thanks, Calvin

Hey everyone, I was wondering if someone could point me in the direction of a good supplier for kangaroo and rawhides (obviously doesnt have to be the same supplier for both). I dont have the ability to prepare my own hides, so quality to me is very important as I really wouldnt have a hand in controlling that. Thanks, Calvin

Hey guys, I've been looking around and been unable to find anything that really explains dying rawhide except for the thread that talks about using coffee. I really like the color that this makes, but I was wondering if there were any other techniques that allowed you to get exactly the color you needed, such as black or red? I saw somewhere that someone said they used Ritz clothing dye (which I absolutely loathe using because I used to have to dye my own paracord and talk about a horrid task) but I havent seen any explanations as to how much, how concentrated, for how long, if you need to set with vinegar, etc. A tutorial on this would be awesome. I have heard that some people dont like to dye rawhide because it doesnt hold color very well over time and when working interweaves in, people would use Kangaroo lace because it can be dyed much easier. Does anyone else do this? I think this would be much easier since you can buy roo hides that are already died to the color you want. Thanks, Calvin

Thanks for the help guys. Alan, I have been braiding with mostly parachute cord for about 4 years now making jerk lines and neck ropes mostly and have made a few bosals out of old head ropes with paracord nose buttons, so I completely agree that function is more important than form and have always said that I want to make gear that is usable and will stand up to time, rather than sit on someones wall. roo4u, Thats funny, because I have a Red Heeler that felt the need to follow in the footsteps of your dog and eat the heel knot off a bosal I bought a few years ago, and I have yet to try and recover it. She really didnt bother the foundation much, but she did get into the ends of the strings that cover the core so I think I will have to do some major work on the foundation to recover it. The new heel knot might also be a bit larger but would look MUCH better than it does now lol. Jerry, Do you know what type of turk's head you use as your foundation knots? I still have yet to become even partially comfortable with understanding all of the different styles. Also, could you use the same principle with a Spanish Ring knot by passing the strand through the bosal to help anchor it in place? I use the Spanish Ring knot alot and feel really comfortable tying it is the only reason I ask and I wasnt sure if it would give you the real shape you need for make good, round Pineapple knots. There is nothing worse than finishing your Pineapple knot and realizing its not perfectly round. I really appreciate the answers and enjoy reading though the posts everyone has put up here. It has really given me the motivation to make the jump from nylon to rawhide and leather. Have a good one, Calvin

Howdy everyone, First off I would like to say that I have been braiding for a few years (have yet to make the jump to rawhide) and had I stumbled upon this forum like I did tonight a little earlier, it would have helped alot lol. I was looking around and saw that a few of you use Floral Tape for building your nose button and heel knot foundations and was wondering if this was the norm or if anyone used anything different. In talking with Gail Hought, she said that she uses book binding tape but it is hard to find and recommended using Tarp tape, which worked well but not really what I was looking for. Also, I saw that there were multiple recommendations on cores for romal reins, and I had attempted to find leather belting before, but couldn't find it in lengths more than like 8 ft, let alone a spool, so I thought maybe you could use a good and heavy hide cut to your target width and run it through a rounder (maybe after beveling the edges before hand) but most of the rounders I have seen don't actually cut the leather into a circle, rather just try to turn a square into a circle and smooth the corners out a bit. Last question, I think that I saw in one of Grant's books he said that you can use a steel core for a bosal. Have any of you done this and if so, what was the actual core (I know it isn't a solid piece of steel, but rather some type of steel rope). Thanks for your time and any help you can give. These are just some questions I have had bouncing around in my head for a while and really glad to finally find some people willing to give some good advice. Have a good one, Calvin