Josh Ashman

Looks awesome Robert, great job! Josh

Thanks again everybody! I've buttoned up the mag pouches and started tooling the holster this morning. Barring any catastrophes I should be done by Friday. I'll post a few more pics when it's all done. Best regards, Josh

Looks nice, good job! Josh

Hey Dan, There's nothing silly about that question at all. Friction keeps the sheath above in place, the loops are very tight and I dampen the "skirt" piece before putting it together and sort of mold it in place. By the time it dries there is no movement at all. It's a little hit and miss and I do worry that they'll work out OK when I make holsters or sheaths this way, especially if I haven't done one for a while. My rough rule of thumb is that the slots are 1/8" longer than the main body when I make the pattern. The 1/8 is measured with everything laying flat. Another thing I sometimes do, especially on "half breed" holsters is to tie a lace through the main body and skirt with a bleed knot (like a saddle string). I noticed Bobby (Treed) did that and it has worked well for me. Good luck, Josh

Those all look really nice Frank, great job! I'm excited to see the case for the 94, please post pictures! Have a great day, Josh

Thanks again Bobby, I really appreciate that. Rudi, you're certainly welcome. Best regards, Josh

Thanks Don, that's really nice of you to say. I am probably not the best guy to ask for pricing, especially on knife sheaths. I struggle to find what seems like a happy balance on them myself. My price for a plain simple fixed blade sheath is $35, tooling, spots, conchos etc. add to that. I sold the sheath above for $60 which was probably too cheap, $80 might have been a little closer. As far as time I probably have between 3 and 4 hours in it. Doing the math $80 might be too cheap . Best regards, Josh

I've had pretty decent luck bringing some life back into old saddles by soaking the pieces in water until they're thoroughly wet. Then cleaning them with a little Murphy's Oil Soap mixed in water, roughly a 1/2 cut per gallon. Then I hang the piece to dry, once it's about half way dry I thoroughly rub it with more Murphy's, I use a lot of it. I'll let that soak in for a day or so then a little NF oil and saddle soap. I don't know what would have made the leather stiffen up and I've never tried the hid rejuvenator. Here's a before and after pic of an old Hamley saddle I cleaned in the manner described above. Good Luck, Josh

Thanks Bobby, if I could carve half as nice as you then I'd be getting somewhere. I've had a lot of guys showing interest in western rigs for autos too, not just 1911's but wonder nines too. How's things with Hamley's? Best regards, Josh

Thanks everybody, I appreciate the kind words and I'm glad you like it. LederRudi, I pretty much always go in the following order; cut, bevel, background, shade, cam/veiner, mulesfoot then decorative cuts. Aside from a few books on the subject and this site I'm self taught so I don't know if anybody else uses that order or not. It works OK for me. Best regards, Josh

Thanks!

Hey everybody, I just finished the belt portion of a fully carved/tooled wild bunch type rig. This will carry a full frame 1911, 2 mag pouches and maybe a few other goodies. I kept the camera at my bench and took a few progress pictures along the way. Does anybody else have a hard time getting good pictures of belts? For those that like to know, 10-11 oz HO, 1 coat of NF oil, then Fiebings liquid antique black, hit it with liquid glycerin soap on a scrap of sheepskin then 50/50 mop & glo. Thanks for looking and have a good Easter weekend! Josh

That looks nice and your craftsmanship looks great. It's a whole different thing from the kind of tack I make and use but I'm sure you'll have a lot of demand from folks that are more stylish than me Good job, Josh

I use a 14 oz. poly mallet for stamping, a 19 oz. mallet for punching holes and slots and a 22 oz. maul for larger stamps and slots. I just checked in Weaver's catalog, buying all three would run around $70. I've been using the 14 oz. mallet for 3 or 4 years and it's about due to be replaced, for an investment of less than $20 I don't have any complaints. I do like the Barry King mallets but the Garland ones are much cheaper, they're also American made and they work good for me. That's my 2 cents. Have a good day, Josh

Those look nice Chis, good job. I've had problems with large stamps "bouncing" a heavier mallet and better base (granite slab, steel plate, etc.) helped me. With the cam tool you used I kind of doubt that's what's happened to you though. For most of my tooling that size I use a small poly mallet on a 2" granite slab. Good luck, Josh

Looks good to me, keep up the good work. Josh

You nailed it Kevin, the back and skirt is all one piece and there is a welt. Thanks Haystacker! Have a good day, Josh

Hey Bob, the saddle looks great and seeing it on the mule is even better. What a cool story about Ann Stohlman, thanks for sharing! Best regards, Josh

Thanks Robert & Zooker!

Nice job!

Blingy double loop knife sheath finished today. 10-11 HO Fiebings antique black liquid over two light coats of NF oil with 50/50 M&G-water. Thanks for looking, Josh

Mac, Personally I like 16" seats in both slick fork and swell fork saddles. I'd say there's probably a little more room in a slick fork until you put bucking rolls on it then it may fit a little tighter than a swell fork but that's a very generalized statement. The size and shape of the swell or bucking roll would play a pretty big part as would the shape of the slick fork (short and stout like a more modern type wade or taller and leaner like an old time slick fork). I'm 6'-1 or so and try to keep under 210 lbs, I've been riding a saddle I built for about 2 years now it has a 15-1/2" finished seat and decent sized bucking rolls. There's things I wished I'd have done better on the saddle but I really like the size of the seat and the size and shape of the bucking rolls. I've been starting a 3 year old gelding this spring and he's a little bucky, nothing too hard to stick mostly straight ahead jumps and kicks but he moves around pretty good. I feel like my saddle helps me stay on top with him. Here's a picture of the horse and saddle, I'm sure you'll get different opinions from somebody else, everybody's a little different. Good luck, Josh

Thanks guys! Best regards, Josh

That looks really nice CW! Great job, Josh

Thanks Doug! I measure with a cloth tape to where the center of the rings should be for the front and back piece then rivet/snap the heel strap in place. If I don't have the persons boots I'll just use one of my wife's or daughter's that's close to the same style. Seems like 7-1/2" center of ring to center of ring on the front and 8-1/2" center to center on the back works for the chunky roper type boots. I add 1-1/2" overall to allow for riveting to the rings. For the heel strap I rivet one side and fit it in place to determine where to place the snap. Best regards, Josh