Mechanical Cowgirl

Bud, Thanks for posting that, good to know! It must not damage the leather much if you can keep repeating the freeze and thaw on working gear without it breaking.

Well, it tooled up and dyed with no issues. There is no difference between the part that froze and the part that didn't so far.

Hi Steven, I don't know about bleaching the leather, but would it work to use some sort of a slicker to firm up the leather? Get it damp and use a piece of glass or very smooth wood to rub it down and hopefully compress the fibers. I've also heard of someone adjusting their splitter so that it only rolls the leather through it, compressing it, without splitting it. Not sure if this helps...

Best of luck on it! And, have patience, it may take a few rounds over a few weeks to get it rejuvenated.

I've worked with some very dry saddles before and had some success on them. I use saddle soap and water, clean it and get some water soaked in to it. Don't drench it, just let it get nicely damp, then let it set in a cool area for a few hours and check on it now and then, add a little more water as needed to get the bag evenly damp through the thickness of the leather. Just be patient and don't get too much water in there at once. After you have the leather dampened evenly (again not wet, just lightly damp) put a dubbin inside and out. I can't guarantee what result you will get but with some tinkering I've had some good results on saddle skirts. Good Luck!

I agree that it may be difficult to get a good result stamping on a finished belt. The best thing you can do is to try it on the same type of belt and see what happens. A girl came over last weekend and stamped a name on a used belt, it turned out okay, but not like it would have been if it was done as the belt was made.

I haven't sewn thin leather, but my mom does a lot of sewing (machine) and she often uses a smaller diameter thread on the under side than on the top. Maybe this would help in hand stitching as well? Just a thought...

Thanks Bob. I think I will complete this one as an experiment and let the owner know to keep an eye on it, and also to let me know how it performs over time. It will be doubled and stitched so if some saddle makers did this on a saddle, I should be okay here. I've never even thought about what happens to leather if it freezes before... water and mould and getting dried out I've seen before, but not freezing! I wonder about gear that gets used in freezing weather in the snow and such where it could be soaked with water and then freeze?

I haven't tooled any leather since we are working on the road so last night was my first time casing leather overnight in the RV fridge. Long story short, it froze about half of my piece. Has the strength of the leather been compromised? This is for holding big iron worker wrenches, so it needs to be safe and strong. Will the leather be ok, or do I need to cut a new piece? Thanks!

If it's just bent up from improper storage and not because it's dry I'd say you could dampen it and put a draw down on it. if you don't havea draw down strap put the saddle on a stand put a clean cinch over the seat and use a latigo to snug it down till it dries. I have a saddle stand with a tray underneather for brushes and stuff so this gives me something to hold the contraption down. If there's any indication that the top of the leather wants to crack when you flex it down where it should be make sure you condition it well first before strapping it down. I've used leather new and a local Dubbin with good success, make sure the leather is pliable before doing the above And of course when you strap it down it doesn't need to be too tight and make sure you aren't mishaping anything else in the meantime. This is what I've done before, can't say it's right, I'm self taught, but it has worked... Good luck!

I'm having trouble getting the picture to load, trying again...

The fenders, rigging, seat, and jockeys on this saddle are doubled and stitched. No tooling, no makers mark. It is numbered, the latigo keeper has a '0' above the slot and '3761' below the slot. Rawhide covered tree and all brass hardware, the rigging rings are North and Judd as a. I'll attach a picture on here, anyone recognize the work?

Thanks everyone! This hardware is on a really cool old saddle, all brass hardware, and the seat, jockey's, fender's, and rigging is double layer and stitched together. Not a whole lot of wear, no makers mark, just a number.

I have an older saddle, numbered but no makers mark. The rigging rings are brass and stamped with a small anchor. I thought I remembered seeing somewhere what company this was and now I can find them. Anyone have an idea?

Has anyone made their own saddle pads? I'm not sure if it would be cost effective at all, but just wondering if there's a way to make a good contoured saddle pad for less than the 150 to 250 Classic Equine and Professionals Choice make them for. Plus it could be made to really compliment your saddle. Ideas?