Josh Ashman

This is my second horsehide shoulder holster and I was mostly happy with how it turned out. Functionally it should work well but visually my boneing work is subpar at best, I may have to give up trying. Thanks for looking, Josh

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. It's 6/7 HO with NF oil and a day in the sun for color sealed with 50/50 of M&G and water. Thanks for looking, Josh

Really nice work, I always enjoy seeing your gunleather and your pictures are always cool too! Best regards, Josh

They look very nice, good job Dwight!

Look in Vol. 2 of the Stohlman books. He walks you through it better than I ever could. Good luck, Josh

I sew everything by hand using a homemade stitching horse and a thin pair of leather gloves with the finger tips cut off. I've been giving a lot of thought to getting a Boss for a few years now but haven't done it yet. This is just a hobby for me and I find sewing to be relaxing but I'd take a lot more orders if I had more time. Good luck, Josh

Great job Tom, that's a heck of a nice set up! I haven't made any of Dwight's recipe but I do use Aussie Wax and Ray Hole's Saddle Butter quite a bit and that's basically what they are. It seems to me that the Aussie Wax gives a better "seal" for anything that you expect to get some good use. My favorite way to apply it is to rub it in liberally with my fingers then set the piece in the cab of a parked vehicle on a sunny day, give it a few hours and it'll soak right into the leather. If you want a little glow try a little neutral shop polish or saddle soap over the Aussie. Best regards, Josh

Here's three old Heiser holsters my Dad had me clean up for him. I figured I'd share a picture of them. Some day I hope to have it figured out as well as they did back then

Wow Keplerts, that's a really nice thing to say! Thank you very much. Josh

Hang in there Frank, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Sincerely, Josh

Thanks Keplerts! Asking what Cowboy cuffs are is a perfectly reasonable question . They are worn on your wrists above your gloves and are typically somewhere between 6 and 8 inches long. Depending on what you believe they are worn to add protection to your lower arms while riding through brush and working cattle or they're worn because lots of old time cowboys wore them and they look cool. In my mind both reasons for wearing them are equally valid. Thanks again, Josh

Thanks Murray and David! Best regards, Josh

Thank you all very much! That's some pretty nice feedback from folks whose work I really admire. Best regards, Josh

That's a great start Mike, the eagle carving is very cool! Keep up the good work, Josh

Here's a pair of cuffs I built a while back that were just sitting around when a kid asked me to make him a pair. I knocked the dust off of these and we were both happy that they were just what he was after. Since I had them cleaned up I figured I'd take a picture, along the same line of thinking I figured I'd share the picture here. Thanks for looking, Josh

So a guy I do some trading with wanted three basically identical carved/tooled western style gun belts. Two "wildbunch" type rigs for a 1911 with two double mag pouches then another for a Taurus Judge. The first two pics are the third belt, which I just finished. The lone holster is for the Taurus and the other pic shows the two 1911 rigs. I like the design and how they turned out but to be honest I'm pretty burnt out on building almost the exact same thing They are all built out of 10/11 HO from SLC with one coat of NF oil then liquid Fiebings black antique followed by 50/50 M&G/water. Thanks for looking, Josh

It's been a while since I watched the Dusty Johnson video but I was pretty sure he showed how to cut the back side to fit in the hand hole. The Stohlman books show a more involved process but they both accomplish about the same thing. Once it's cut then push as much leather as possible into the gullet then hold the head of your hammer and use the handle to pound it down. Form, push and sweat it down as close as you can get it and then start tacking it down. The first saddle I built had an association swell and I didn't split the swell cover. It took some doing but after many hours and some cussing it was done. Saddles 2 and 3 were on slick forks which are quite a bit easier. If your barrel racing saddle has leg cuts or much of a swell you may need to consider splitting the cover and putting in a welt or lacing it. There's my 2 cents, good luck! Josh

That looks really nice, great job!

That's a nice looking rig, good job! Josh

Again, I think you did a great job! Hope you all get some rain soon.

Looks great CW, nice job! I'll try to get some pictures of green grass and shady oak trees for you and Rufus James . I can say that now but last summer MO started to look like west TX too...

Looks really good Aurelie! Thanks for posting and keep up the great work. Josh

Thanks everybody!

I think that it's probably marketing. I read the difference between "bullhide" rawhide and plain ol' rawhide was that the "bullhide" was full thickness while the "plain" rawhide was split (I think that was in Harry Adams saddle building book). I'm not sure whether that's true or not but I think the "bullhide" tanned leather you're seeing is either an "industry term" for a certain tannage or a manufacturers marketing term (could be both). The vast majority of hides going through any tannery are going to be steer hides, I've never worked at a tannery but I have a hard time imagining they "sex" the hides. Maybe somebody else will chime in with a better answer based on more facts than I have. Personally, I'm using H.O. for all of my veg tan and have been for the past few years and I'm very happy with it. I have used some Chahin (US hides tanned in Mexico) in the past and I liked it too. If either tannery has a "bullhide" product I haven't noticed it before. Best regards, Josh

That's really nice George, great job!