steve mason

Howdy JW; nice clean looking saddle, not much to get picky on. the one thing that my eye picks out is the line on the front seat jockey, this is a round skirt saddle so there should be no straight lines, I think that the line of your front seat jockey would fit very well with a square skirt saddle, when doing a round skirt rig try make the curves of the seat jockey a little more gradual, I use the same size of a circle over the string buttons as I do on the curve going up to the handhole, this gives a smooth S curve going up to the hand hole. I did up a little sketch since a picture is worth a thousand words. Hope this helps. And one more thing, this is just the line that I personally like, always build your rigs with the line you like not what someonew else thinks they should be. Steve

Reading the small skirt post reminded me of some saddles that I have not seen in a long time. I have heard them called either a skeleton or poor boy saddle. From what I recall the swell, horn, cantle back are not covered, just left exposed. I remember hearing that Bob Douglas rides one of these, while visiting harwood there was one in his tack room and I remember hearing that Chuck Stormse used to make them. Anyone here made one or have any photos of one. Thanks much.

Howdy Brent; the 7 1/2" gullet is the height not the width, the gullet width is 4 1/4 at the handhole and 90* bar spread, this will fit your average ranch type horse. Any questions give me a call or email. thanks much Steve

price reduced to $425 with shipping included.

you keep yelling at me in capital bold letters, I take this as abrasive.

Ted here is a very quick sketch of a wing style horn wrap, you will have to adjust the pattern to fit the type of horn you are covering. In regards to the "cop out" cap and wrap style horn cover. They are in now way a cop out, in my opinion they are very well suited to a wood post horn, if your horn is covered after the swell you do not have to cut such a large hole or split the back of the swell to fit the swell over the horn. Using a cap & wrap style horn cover will not distort the hard work my treemaker has done to put a correct shape to the horn neck, which should be designed to have your dallys run down the horn, when the wing wrap style is installed on a wood post horn it can add to much leather in the wrong place on the neck which can affect the way your dallys run. This is not always the case but it is something to consider when covering the horn. Also the horn cover is something that can take a lot of abuse, therefore it is something that may need to be replaced in the future, the cap & wrap styles make a much better repair job. And one of the main reasons behind a wood post horn is roping, so your dallys can slide on a horn with a large circumference with a mulehide type wrap, then your mulehide wrap will cover up all the hard work you did on a wing wrap. So for many reasons I feel the cap & wrap is the way to go on wood post horns, metal horns are the place for wing wraps. I don't believe that anyone should do a cap & wrap with out a mulehide style horn wrap as they do not look as finished, but then whats the point of building on a wood post horn without putting a mulehide wrap on it anyways. On a side note, just a little suggestion in how to ask a question, there are many polite ways of asking for help, maybe starting off a question by saying that something that many of us do is "copping out" when we are actually doing something that just plain makes sense, might not be the best way to ask for help, it comes off as abrasive, I am sure that was not your intent but that is how it reads on my end. hope the info helps. Steve

Howdy Jon; very nice rig, good clean lines, everything is very smooth, great carve job and design, great workmanship. The only thing I see is using rawhide for your horn and cantle bind etc, my reason for this is many years ago when I apprenticed at King's I saw the results of using rawhide horn and cantle binds. King's had used rawhide binds for quite a few years on the majority of the saddles that they were making at the time, when I showed up a lot of the saddles were coming back with wore out horn binds mainly and a few cantle binds also, so I got lots of experience putting leather binds back on saddles, but it was not so good for the saddle shop having to replace so many horn binds, they stopped using rawhide binds while I was there, not sure what they do now since all the saddle maker I knew there are dead and gone. I have seen a lot of saddles with leather horn binds instead of rawhide that have been roped out of for many years and the leather will not wear out, yet if they are covered with rawhide it seems that they will wear out quite quickly. I have seen this many times over the years, but this is just one mans opinion as many top saddle makers still use rawhide horn binds. But on my saddles I will solve the problem before it is created by not putting rawhide binds on my own rigs. A little side note with these binds, a local cowboy has been after me to build him a saddle for close to 15 years, the only thing stopping the order is that I will not build him a saddle with rawhide binds and he only wants a saddle with rawhide binds, so we have been having a Mexican standoff for the last 15 years, every time I see him he asks if I will take his order yet, I always tell that I will as soon as he drops the idea of rawhide binds I will, so no saddle order from him yet.

Greg; are they still around, I can't find any contact info for them. Steve

Howdy; I was just asked by a local leather worker who is just starting out where he can get a steel maker marker. I have one but it has been so long since I got mine made I can't remember where I got it. So do any of you know who all is making steel maker stamps. thanks much

Howdy; Thanks for the tips on the hardware, I have a pair of 5053's ordered from bork and a pair of severe plate (777's) and 19 dees from Boise foundry. When I get them I will pick the best of them and build on them if they look good enough. If not I Guess I will have to make a pair. Thanks Again. Steve

Howdy; I am building a miniature saddle to 1/2 scale. I wonder if any of you know where to get 1/2 sized rigging hardware. I may have to put a ring riggin in but I would prefer to put in a plate rig if possible. I have called boise foundry, but have not heard back from them yet. I see that the 1/2 sized saddles that Harwood did for the TCAA have plate rigs in them, any idea where he got the hardware? I can get stirrups to 1/2 scale, but I will still need cinches, any ideas? thanks much Steve

Shipping is included either to Canada or the US Steve

Howdy; I have a Ben Swanke tree that I am offering for sale. The tree specs are :16" seat, 8 1/2" swell, cantle 4 1/2" X 12" X 1 1/4" dish, wood post horn 3" high X 4" cap, 7 1/2" gullet, 4 1/4" X90* bars. I am asking $450 US funds, if you are in Canada give me a call. Thanks Much Steve

Nice work Steve, you sure do have that "california" look to your saddles, which I like very much. Just one question, what did you use on the stirrup leathers, does not look like blevins or laced? Steve

here are a couple hondos, the first is made by vern balantyne (spelling??) this is a hondo that I have braided.

Nice Work Elton!!!

Howdy Alan; If you have a look at my saddle blog and go back in the archives I have a couple tutorials on there, they are not very detailed, but they will give you a brief look at some of the steps I take in making a saddle or stamping and carving. I have not done much on the blog for a while as I have had to much work on my bench. Steve

Any of you ever trade a saddle for a horse before? Just kind of curious if anyone has done it or has entertained the thought as I may be doing so in the near future. Steve

Howdy Steve, Nice lookin rig you made there. I think Keith hit the nail right on the head, people buy what they see. For example, I did not hardly make any saddles with eight button seats and exposed leathers for a long time, then I made up a spec saddle with them and all of a sudden I start getting orders for them. I think the potential customers see a saddle you just made and they like what they see so they order something similar. Steve

If you are wanting to build a reata, I would strongly suggest that you buy the DVD "FOUR STRANDS OF RAWHIDE The finest tape done yet on the making of a four strand rawhide reata. Cowboy, braider Randy Rieman along with mentor Bill Dorrance have teamed up to make this 2 tape set a classic. Straight forward braiding information that is presented in a clear and concise format, backed up by interviews and shots of Bill Dorrance using and discussing the making of a reata." this video will show you just about everything you need to know to build a reata, from making the strings to braiding the hondo. If you google "FOUR STRANDS OF RAWHIDE" you will find a few websites that sell the DVD, it sells for $130 and is worth the money. Steve

Bob are those Watts buck roll inserts? When I have done stingray buck rolls I did not use the stingray for the welts, but from looking yours I see no reason not to. Steve ps ; when you get your stand made with clints bracket would you send me a photo.

Good stuff bob; I have never used WC, how do you like it compared to H O? that stingray makes a nice inlay don't it. ps; I have not got around to taking those photos for you yet, when I do I'll send them to ya steve

Howdy Steve; As I have said before, I sure like your saddles, you have a great style or line to them, very California, which I like. The same goes for your carving. Very Nice work. Steve

Ben; I just wanted to clarify my comments on your carving, I really like the carve job you did, it has the sheridan style to the stamping but the layout is much more interesting that a lot of the typical sheridan style carving I see. I like all the crossover's etc, not just plain old circle after circle. Good Job.

Brian, you build a very top notch saddle, awesome carve job, the line are right on the money, I have an order coming up with square skirts, I will be referring to your photos when I build it. In regards to buttons, I also try to get my buttons lined up, especially on an eight button seat, after reading this topic I had a look at the TCAA website, it looks as if the only one of those guys whose buttons are always lined up is Chuck Stormes, the others are very close but Chucks are right on. I think where I deviate from this rule is on a six button seat, if I put my buck roll screw parallel to my ear button the screw looks way to low, also I am not sure if I want my buck roll that low when the screw is even with the ear. Hope what I am writing makes sense to you all, I am definitely not a wordsmith. Steve