Mike Craw

I'm not employed by, or related to, any body associated with the Journal, but for my money if you're seriously going to be involved in leatherwrok, you couldn't do any better than subscribing to the Journal right now. Once you get your subscription started, they have back issues that you can order to get specific articles that deal with the type of work you like to do. There are articles about all types of work, from the most basic to stuff we can only aspire to do. Mike

Beautiful work Dan! I especially like the job you did coloring them. I enjoy the carving and tooling, but when it comes to putting on a finish, I think I'd rather have root-canal. Yours came out great. How did you get the leather so tight over ti flask. Do you dampen it and shrinki it on, or lace the back? Mike

I wish i could do that! What if my brain's already off...

I think many, if not most of us, started off in leatherwork as a hobby. We tend to think of our work as being "craft" pieces and not really the high quality art that some of it has evolved into over the years. Nomi is probably right about some folks not minding paying top dollar for things. Jeremiah Watt talks in his saddle making video a little bit about pricing your work, and he made the point that if you work really cheap, you'll only attract cheap customers. I'm sure he's right, and I'm sure there are folks out there who would just pull out their checkbooks and write down whatever figure you told them. I'm pretty sure I don't know any of them, but they're prpbably out there. In the "Show Off" section, I posted a photo of a briefcase that I had made and mentioned that it was one of the few thing I've done that I was "fairly" satisfied with. I know in my own case that I have a certain expectation of how something should turn out, and it almost never does. My wife will get really excited about a piece of leatherwork or woodwork that I have done, and I'll think, "How can she be that happy? I can see two things I screwed up, and one thing I should have done but didn't." I'm not sure how many others of you feel that way about your work, but it makes it almost impossible to name a high price and keep a straight face! Maybe Johanna should set up a "Group Therapy" section...?

Yeah, 5K will buy a LOT of lace!

Thanks for the nice comments, folks. To tell the truth, I was just happy to get it done and shipped to him. I had never made a bag before and had only the catalog photo and description to go on, so I just made up the inside. I sewed the whole thing inside-out, with two dividers, the front and the back making three interior sections. Inside the front panel is a series of pockets for pens, pencils, and a calculator - because that's what the catalog said it had. I had a fine time with the white poster board background. If the background stayed up, the bag fell over. If the bag stayed where I put it, the background slipped. If they both stayed put, I didn't frame it right. Bottom line, I have about twelve other shots of the outside and never gave a thought to the inside. That never dawned on me until after I dropped the package off at UPS and started going through the photos.

My former neighbor came over a couple weeks before he transferred out to his agency's (my former agency) Headquarters in Washington, D.C. and handed me a King Ranch catalog. It was opened to a page with some brief cases and satchels on it, and he pointed to one that looked like a saddle bag. He asked me if I could make him one. I told him that I probably could, but it would probably cost as much or more as just ordering it from the book. He said, "I want to make a statement when I get to Headquarters, so I want it tooled!" When I asked how much of a statement he wanted to make, he just laughed and said, "Surprise me." When I mailed the bag to him, he was surprised, and he said he's made quite a statement in every meeting he has attended. He is still really happy with it, and it's one of the few thing I've done that I'm fairly happy with, too.

OK Ed, Let's make sure that I'm talking about the same thing that you are. When I say "looping" the thread when saddle stitching, I mean using two needles and one thread. I pass the left had needle through the hole, then the right hand needle through the same hole. Before I pull them tight, I wind one thread around the other twice. I pull the twisted part of the threads into the hole so that that twisted material is not visible on each stitch. Each stitch will hold by itself, but when I get to the end and go back through two (three max.) holes using the same sequence of steps, I now have four threads twisted in each of the two or three holes. They will not back out now. The surrounding leather will probably rip before those stitches let go. Besides, with my luck and shakey hands, I'd have super glue all over my work!

Hey Ed! I'm fairly new to machine stitching, since we only got a machine in the saddle shop where I help out within the last year. Prior to that, I hand stitched anything I sewed for more than twenty years. Most days I have about as much luck with that machine as I have with computers, but I make my mistakes a LOT faster! Anyway, I don't see any reason to backstitch more than a couple of holes when hand sewing because of the difference in the stitches you are making versus your machine. Your hand stitches are locking themselves in each hole if you loop them a couple of times before you pull them tight. Your machine is just looping the main and bobbin threads once per stitch, and will pull out quickly if you don't backstitch a couple of times. Mike

Bruce, I can't quote my sources, since I can't remember where I heard this, but it is my understanding that all those narrower antique saddles are a result of narrower antique horses. I've been told that modern breeding, feeding, and evolution have resulted in a much hardier horse. My experience with really old saddles is that they have all seemed much narrower through the gullet and between the bars than modern trees. I'm sure that Rod and Denise could give a more informed opinion on this, but I agree, the old saddles sure seem narrower to me. Mike

Good Morning Regg! I help my friend, Carlos Lopez in his saddle shop "Rancho No Tengo" in Kingsland, GA. My practice is to duplicate the fenders that I'm replacing as closely as possible. We generally use 13 - 15 oz. skirting leather on our saddles. If the fenders are carved, I carve the replacements using the tooling pattern and any tools we have in the shop that approximate the original tooling. As for finish, most saddles that are old enough to need the fenders replaced will be original oil dyed and finished. I combine different color oil finishes to duplicate the current color of the old fenders. I say current color because most saddles that we get for repair haven't had the most religious care as far as cleaning and yearly oiling and they're a good bit darker than when they left the maker's shop. My goal is to send the saddle out of the shop with fenders that don't attract immediate attention. If somebody says, "Wow, new fenders," then I haven't been that successful. One thing I would urge you to do is give yourself a break when you critique your work. I'd guess that your client will be happier with the job you do than you will. I'm continually amazed at how happy folks are with the repairs that we do. One of the reasons that I've never posted any photos of my saddles is that I still haven't done one that I'm satisfied with. You just do the best job you can, and I'll bet it will turn out fine. Good luck. Mike

Hey Steve! Just thought I'd add my two cents worth. I have been tooling leather since 1981, making mostly holsters and gunbelts for work. Since I retired in '05 I have gotten into saddle making. I carved for years using commonly available swivel knives (Tandy, Hidecrafters, etc.) and thought they worked fine, mostly because I didn't know the difference. I had a chance to go to Sheridan last year for Saddle Week and made a couple trips to Barry King's shop. I bought one of his swivel knives, and have also gotten one from Chuck Smith (Ol' Smoothie). Both are fantastic and light years ahead of "standard issue" knives. Both makers have several lengths and diameters of knife barrels. The main difference you will notice is how much smoother the swivel action is. The only bad news is that you won't have either one this weekend! If you have decided that leather tooling is something you plan on doing for years to come, I would urge you to spend the couple dollars extra and go 'first class'. I hope this helps. Mike

I, too, had a chance to meet and talk with Mr. King at last year's show. During our conversation I mentioned that I was building my first saddle for my daughter's wedding present, and that I was basing it on a Visalia Stock Saddle Co. saddle that I found in "The Art of the West." He said, "Have you seen the Visalias we have here?" I said I had seen one or two. He got up from his chair and took me arouond the museum and showed me every one in the collection. I don't know what astounded me more, that he would stop what he was doing and lead me around personally, or that he knew the exact location of all of them. I was heasitant about going to Sheridan for a lot of reasons. I was brand new to saddle making and I figured that "Saddle Week" was for the pros. None of my concerns turned out to be valid, and the week was fantastic. I learned a ton, I got to meet great people like Bruce Johnson, Don Butler, Al Gould, and all the other participants who shared so much. I have nothing but great memories from my trip to Sheridan, but I also have a picture to go with my memory of meeting Don King, and that is something I'll always treasure.

From the photo I'd agree that you didn't overlap quite enough, but it is consistant and neat. My advice is to keep going using the same spacing. Once you get it dyed and finished it will look great. Besides, if anybody bends way over while you're wearing it and says, "Hey, you didn't space the stamps right" well...they're already bent over... Seriously, that really doesn't compare with the stuff most of us cranked out while we were learning! Next time, you'll know. Mike Craw

Hi Ashley, I've just watched mine for the second time through at the saddle shop where I help my friend, Carlos Lopez, in Kingsland, GA. Carlos watched it for the first time. Both of us are impressed, and I saw things today that I don't remember picking up on the first time. I think you'll find that it's time well spent, but once doesn't do it justice. Mike

My DVD, Dale Harwood-The Art of Saddle Making, arrived in the mail this morning, and I just finished watching it. There were a lot of interesting points in the DVD, not only about how and why he did things the way he did, but also on his philosophy of quality construction and finish. I thought it was excellent and I will have to watch it a couple more times to get all the points that were made during the video. There were some operations, like cutting the seat ears, that I wish had been shown from a different camera angle and explained a little more thoroughly. A beginning saddle maker with no experience might not understand why Mr. Harwood was making a particular point, or why he did certain things. I think Jeremiah Watt's DVD would be better for the beginner. Mr. Harwood's is geared more toward the experienced saddle maker, and it that regard I thought it was outstanding. A request was made in another post for the contents of this DVD. Here is the line up as it appears on the disks: Disk #1 Hide Layout Gullet & Cantle Rigging Ground Seat Fork Cover Skitr Blocking The Horn Disk #2 Fitting the Seat The Jockeys Installing the Seat Fitting the Rear Jockeys Skitr Prep Stirrup Leather & Fenders Oiling Skirt Assembly OK, I'm going back to watch it again.

I just joined today, and was interested in the discussion about saddle making DVD's. I ordered the Dale Harwood DVD, and was told that it was to ship on or about the 27th of June. I haven't received mine yet, but when I do I will check and see if anyone has posted a list of topics covered. If not, I will put something on with my impressions of the DVD. If it is good as I expect, it will be great. I figured that it was as close as I'd ever get to studying with Mr. Harwood, so I didn't mind spending the money. I'll let you know.