Mike Craw

Hey Barra! Man that was quick!! Thanks so much for the information. Mike

Carlos Lopez from Rancho No Tengo saddle shop is working on making a Civil War era McClellan replica, and the guy he's making it for wants it EXACT! One of the things he said was that saddles from that era had iron, not brass, fittings and that they were "Japaned" which we understand to be black varnished. Does anyone know what the formula for that stuff is/was or does any company currently offer it? Mike

My buddy Carlos called me from the Rancho No Tengo saddle shop with a question. He was looking through the Weaver catalog and one type of leather was described as being good for Gig saddles. He never heard of them and neither have I. Can anybody give us a clue? Mike

Hey Dave! Your work is always awsome, on a par for bikes as what Bobby does for Sheridan style. I have had several requests to do some bike seats as a result of some seat and scabbard work I did for a modern twist on the 1943 WLA as a fund raiser for the Wounded Warrior Project. I'll post some shots of the bike when it's done, but I have really hesitated accepting any of the inquiries, partly because this was the first bike seat I ever did and the results fell far short of your work. Building saddles and building motorcycle seats are really different animals! The other thing I've noticed is that there is a reduced response in most of the catagories. I think part of it, in the case of your work, is that once somebody has written "fantastic" there ain't much left to be said. It may also be that folks are so busy in their own working life that it's like a brief time-out to look at some photos of great work and then back to the grind. Whichever it is, it's pretty general and not just about biker gear. Anyway, thanks for posting and keeping me out of the bike seat game Mike

I have never sewn on a Cowboy, but I can tell you from personal experience about the quiet, power, and customer service of the Cobra. All of my previous sewing had been done on an Artisan 3000, and I followed the advice of Pepper and others on this forum and Leather Pros and went with a Cobra 4. When I got mine, I experienced some problems which I attributed to lack of familiarity with the machine. I sewed some more and didn't improve much, so I called Steve. The first night, he spent over an hour with me on the phone, talking me through various operations on re-threading, tensioning, and lubrication of the machine. I didn't seem to be having much luck in the following days, and Steve called me back on a Saturday night to see how things were going. He spent another hour that Saturday working through various diagnostics. I emailed hom a couple of days later and told him that I'd about decided that I was too old and set in my "hand sewing" ways and probably didn't have any business owning a high-tech machine! Steve called me on the phone that night and asked that I ship the machine head back to him in California, and that he would pay for the shipping! I did, and I had the machine back within a week. Steve called to tell me that he had reset the timing and changed a part. This thing sews like nothing I've ever seen. It even makes me look like I know what I'm doing (and that ain't easy.) You won't do any better in terms of quality than with Cobra, and I'm betting that you'd be hard pressed to match the customer service anywhere. Hope this addresses some of your questions.

Sorry Ed, I looked at your avitar and it still said SC, so I figured you were coming this way. Nothing wrong with the weather in the Florida Panhandle either!! Mike

Hey Bearman! Welcome to the Low Country! Mike

C'mon Shooter, you know the only time you can have too much ammo is when you're swimming Mike

Hey Blackey! I'm looking for information on the M-1916 military holster and I tried your suggestion of doing a search for the Ordinance Order. I pulled up some Statutes for the purchase of small arms holsters, but no plates. It's the cutting patterns I really want to find. Did I miss a step? Could you provide additional information on researching Ordinance Orders? Thanks. Mike

Thanks to both of you for the quick replies! Mike

Hey Guys! I've been messing with leather for more than 30 years now, but it's all been veg tanned saddle skirting. Now I have a former student who wants me to make her Mom a special bridle for her horse, and the idea I came up with requires some tooling. My question, to those of you who routinely use bridle leather is, can it be tooled or should I make it out of saddle strapping? Thanks for the input! Mike

Hey Jim! Welcome back. I was flipping through an old Hidecrafter's catalog when I saw all of your pattern books and I realized we hadn't heard from you in a long while. I hope your absence was for something fun and exciting and not helping a bunch of doctors pay off their big foreign cars!! Mike

Paul, I stand in awe of anyone who would even attempt to post a video on YouTube, let alone get away with it! I will stand by awaiting your inevitable success... Mike

I appreciate it Paul! I'm at the same disadvantage as you I'd guess, plus I get a little antsy when I get asked a bunch of personal stuff in order to do or see something on the web. I'm at the point where, the less people know about me the better I like it. Still would like to see your TV apperance though... Thanks again, Mike

Is there any way to see the video without joining facebook? Mike

Hey Jimbob! You're right, going across the top or bottom will show some stitches...If you look closely enough. That said, did you see any in the movie? You put cartridges in those loops and nobody will notice the stitches. As my Daddy used to say, "On a trotting horse, you'll never see it!" Mike

Hey James! John Bianchi has an outstanding DVD out about making a Western style holster and gunbelt rig. I have done them by hand and using a machine, and Johns way of using a machine is MUCH easier! Figure out what size loops you want and how many. I take a piece of loop strip and place one side down on a piece of pattern cardboard, put a cartidge down, wrap the strip over and mark the cardboard on each side where the strip comes down and mark those same spots on either side of the strip. Mark the gunbelt with the measurement from the cardboard and mark the strip with a corresponding number of spaces from the strip to account for the number of loops you want. Sew down the first end and sew diagonally across to the top or bottom of the space where the strip material will lay. Loop the strip and place the first mark on the strip to the first mark on the gunbelt and sew straight up or down (depending on where you started) to form the first loop. Pull the strip material out of the way and sew diagonally across to the next mark on the gunbelt and loop the strip back to line up the second set of marks and sew straight up or down again. This is a little less complicated than it sounds. When Will Ghormley made the hoster for Russell Crowe in "3:10 to Yuma" he sewed up one side of the loop, straight across to the next mark, down to the bottom of the loop, straight across, up the next, straight across, etc. He's a member on this site and posted really detailed instructions on building that rig for all of us to use. That would be less sewing if you're going to sew by hand, and either technique will give you a great looking, functional rig. Hope this helps. Mike

When I was with Metro-Dade in the early to mid-70's, the Motor Squad Officers carried clamshells. One day the Director was on an inspection and he was reviewing the old crusty bike cops. The Sgt. called for "Inspection Arms" and everybody drew. The guy the director was facing had an AD a put one in the floor beween the Director's feet. Guys who were there said the Boss barely flinched and then told the cop, "You missed." All of the motorcycle units had new holsters before the week was out, and I haven't see one since. Mike

Hey mmirob! Blade-Tech has them on their website for $10.99. Mike

Hey Jerry! Your last sentence pretty much sums up the problem of forming tooled holsters. The technique I use (after accepting the fact that a highly formed and boned holster isn't an option with tooling) is to tool the holster, sew, and then moisten only the INSIDE of the holster a little at a time so that the moisture doesn't come out through the tooling. Some forming, using the tools that you stamped your design with, can be done at this point, but the majority of the forming should be done on the back (non-tooled) side. Hope this helps. Mike

They want you to turn a seat order around in seven days but they want to pay you in thirty to sixty days? What's wrong with this picture?? Mike

Hey Ken! I understand the Disney folks don't have much of a sense of humor when it comes to use of their images, but since yours are one of a kind and you're not making them for profit, even they should love the job you did. I'm sure your Grandkids will. Great job, and have a wonderful time making memories for all involved. Mike

Thank you both! Mike