Mike Craw

I wouldn't know, I never got to the end...

Bruce, Carlos and I had a repair job on a saddle that needed new leathers and buckles, and it was fitted with Veach buckles. We couldn't find a source, and finally had to use Blevins on it. I'll be watching this thread to see if anybody can point us to a source. Mike

Tony, Ever since I tried to braid a lanyard at Boy Scout camp about 102 years ago, with predictable results, I have been impressed by anybody who can braid. I think those collars look great. Mike

Wow, I'm not sure that would have even been usuable for lace...

Welcome to the site! When time permits, I'd like to see more of your work and perhaps a discussion of your tooling techniques. It is unusual and very nice! Mike

This is another great topic, but one which I wish I had been a part of about a year ago, before I ran all over Southeast Georgia looking for that perfect stone. Mine is a piece of marble, the broken off bottom of a crypt door that had been thrown out in a field behind an undertaker's business. Mine was very rough, but if the one you have access to is marble, and you have a random orbit sander, you can make is smooth as silk by working down from very course to fine (240 or so) grits. Also, don't discount a free slab if it's only 12" x 18" x 1.5" or thereabouts. After wrestling my 2 foot by 2 foot by 2 1/2 inch thick prize home and sanding the entire top, I find that I only use the 18" x 12" portion right in front of me. The rest of the top could have been plywood covered with laminate or heavy polyurathane to protect it from the moisture in the leather. If it's the same level as your tooling surface, you can tool large saddle parts without worrying about them falling off the bench. Because of a back injury, I mounted mine on a table about chest height, so that I can tool standing up. Mike

Marlon, When you said "stand alone" I thought you were talking about the "sit and stitch" style. I'd say that $100 for a horse is a really good price. Mike

Hey Marlon! That's about what I paid for mine, and it sure beats the hell out of holding stuff between my knees like I used to. I takes up less room in the shop than a stitching horse, and it's sturdy enough to sew saddle parts on. There are pros and cons, but I haven't regreted my purchase. Mike

Wow Dave, that's a pretty piece of stone! Mike

Hey Chris! To parphrase an old Chevy Chase routine on Saturday Night Live, it doesn't matter how you strop, it's that you strop... I'm sure that some members could provide micrscopic evidence of the effectiveness of one over the other, but as long as your blade is stropped evenly on each side and the angles are maintained, your blade should pass smoothly through the leather. That's all we're going for! Mike

Hey Patrice! If I understand your question, you are asking where on the seam to start to lace or sew? If the seam goes all the way around the project and will finish where you started, you want to start somewhere that is not very visible when the bag is closed. In other words, you don't want to start on the front flap, because that is the first thing anyone ses when they look at the project. If you start in the back toward the bottom, then if you have an uneven lace or stitch, it won't be very noticible. I hope this actually addresses your question and helps you decide how to proceed. Mike

Hey Kate! Just wanted to be clear on the mixture. Do you mean ten drops of spirit dye from an eyedropper or ten full eyedroppers? Mike

I've got a DSL line, and I gave up after about five minutes. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I'm so computer illiterate I probably wouldn't understand the ezplanation.

There are plans available in the Stolhman books, so I would still lean toward Bill Gomer's videos. Mike

I can't tell from the photo if it is split or top grain. Seasoned Warrior would have to answer that. Mike

I agree! For the money, for the two you named, Gomer's is much better. Mike

Hey Traydaloor! I have most of the tapes and DVD's available, and for my money, Jeremiah Watt's saddle making DVD is the best for someone who knows nothing about the process. You can go to ranch2arena which is his website, and on the top right corner of the home page is a search bar. When you click on it, a list drops down and you will find the instructional DVD's there. Hope this helps. Mike

Hey Candyleather! Carlos and I made this new apron for the ferrier who does Carlos' horses. It is made out of "bullhide" which is just a a chrome tanned split. It is approximately a 4-5 oz. leather which has a sort of silver-blue color. We put a second "wear panel" on the inside of each leg where he will hold the horse's foot, since that's where most of the wear will happen. These are basically a "chink" style of chaps which are a little longer and protect a little more of the leg. If they will do more forge work on the anvil, they might want a longer style, but here in south Georgia it gets HOT, so the less material they can get away with, the better they like it. I hope this helps. Mike

Hey Freak, You don't need to appologize. I think that's an outstanding first effort. Mike

Does anybody have a source for heel shaves? I never see one on ebay, and two that I found on Google have a very narrow square blade, and were UK manufacture, I believe. I'm looking for the rounded blade (about 2" radius) with handles. I found one offered by an antiques place in the Central Time Zone last night, but they were closed when I called them. When I Google "heel shave" today, their site doesn't come up - of course! Anybody got an extra? Mike

Don, Great looking saddles! Mike

Wow is right! That's beautiful. Mike

On a weapon with a large front sight, a sight channel is OK for the first inch or so behind the sight, but much past that it's wasted work since the draw of the weapon pivots the muzzle down away from the front of the holster. I think some of these sewn-in, full length sight channels are just gimmicks to sell holsters. Look in any well-used combat holster and you won't see drag marks from the front sight in too many of them. You will be better served in perfecting your holster retention system. Mike

So, I guess that riding lawnmower you were going to get her is out...?

Hey Jordan, Nice job on the holster! I especially like the method of sewing on either side of the weapon. It's very creative. I have one suggestion to make, based on over thirty years of concealed carry and almost that many of holster making. With an IWB rig that is molded as well as yours is, having the weapon leave the holster without you asking it to is not a great concern. What is an immense concern is drawing the weapon when you desperately need it, and having that beautifully molded holster COME WITH IT. As with most things I know, I learned that the hard way. I am not a fan of metal belt clips, but whatever type of belt attachment system you use should go on easy and come off hard. Having to fight to get it off at the end of shift is a good thing. Just a suggestion for whatever it's worth. I'd say you're well on your way to having a good business in holster making if that's what you decide to do. Mike