woody2shoes

Thanks all the same Cheryl. If you can think of anything else I need to know, please don't hesitate. Seems there is a lot to learn here.

Hi Yuliya, I am a complete newbie at making show leads so have been fishing around for all sorts of info too. I plan to use paracord as my lead cores. I think it's very strong from what I've heard and inexpensive to buy. Here's a tutorial I found on making a 4 strand round braided lead using a core. It shows how to finish the wrist strap. You may find it useful. I imagine you could start your core at the snap end the same way she does the wrist strap - whipping with waxed thread - then braid over the top of it. I would think that this would give the whole unit a lot of strength, especially if you then use kangaroo lacing and back braid well at the wrist strap. It's a simple design but I think it would like quite nice in the conformation ring too if you used fine lace and nice colours/beads. http://myriam.dakotabraiding.com/Tutorials/Leash/Leash.html Cheers.

Lovely job Brian. I really like that. Beautiful. Now, I managed to find the other three books on Amazon but I have yet to locate the Tom Hall book you recommend. I will keep on searching. If I want to be able to dye my own lacing, I guess that opens up a whole new can of worms? I am into pretty colours and so are most of the showies I hope to appeal to. Cheers and thanks so much again for all your help. I would love to be able to braid like you one day. And don't worry, giving up is not an option. Trying to take baby steps...now that might be another matter altogther. Teresa

Thanks Caroline. Well, don't I feel stupid! I guess better that I find out now than later duh! What an amazing gadget that one. So, does the one tool split and bevel? It was hard to tell if it was one and the same tool I'm afraid. And, is the Craftool lace cutter that I bought adequate for cutting roo hide lacing? Thanks again for your help! Thanks for the tip cw! Cheers!

Probably just as well it's not til 2013 Caroline. Not sure I could have made it this year, as much as I'd love to. If I was to buy leather for lace cutting, can you recommend what I should get eg. weight etc.? From a cost-saving point of view especially, I would love to cut and dye my own lace. Thanks. Teresa

Thanks heaps Brian! Regarding the books geared specifically to Rawhide, can the techniques be adapted to using Kangaroo Lace? Are Turks Heads the most popular knots used with braided dog leads or are their others? Is there somewhere that I could see some of the leads made by forum members so I can get my head around the different braiding/knotting techniques available? Also, is there a book on how to braid buttons? I saw photos of leads from one of the forum members (Maeve, from memory) and was fascinated by the detail of the workmanship and how lovely they looked. That sort of attention to detail is right up my alley. Sorry for all the questions but I have a gazillion of them and am trying hard not to ask too many at once! Cheers and many thanks again. Teresa ,

Thanks guys! That's loads of info already. Bullwhip, can you please tell me what you would call "thin enough" lace? The finest Kangaroo Lace I've been able to find online here is 3mm (1/8 of an inch). Is this thin enough? Also, is lace normally a certain weight or can this vary as well? I've had a go at cutting my own lace from some leather that I have here the other night and it's a lot of fun but sadly, my leather's not good enough. Most of it is too soft for braiding so I will be buying some kangaroo lace and eventually, when I know what's what, I will buy some leather pieces and cut my own lace from that. Could you please recommend which size bevelerl is best for show lead lacing or is this just a matter of personal opininon? Also, how do you sharpen a beveler? Tandy have a tutorial video on their site which shows how to make your own strop and bevel sharpener but I was wondering if there was any other way to keep a beveler sharp. When you say splitting, do you mean that you can cut lacing into even narrower lace eg. 1/8" into 1/16"? I would love to be able to do that! Hi Lightingale! Great to find someone so like minded on here. I love salukis and if I didn't live in the country with masses of grass seeds in the spring, I would love to have one of my own. I have a few whippets and can't wait to get them all dressed up in their hand made show leads and personalised sighthound collars/lead sets. I make whippet/greyhound coats too so this leatherwork is hopefully going to complement the other side of my interess. I have ordered Fine Braiding with Leather by D.W. Morgan and will look at getting some others as well. Thanks heaps for the tips. I'd love to have a whole library of books on leather work but baby steps I think! I bought myself a Size 2 Craftool Edge Beveler online from the Tandy store here in Australia but I think it may be a bit fine for what I would like. They are less than AUS$20 so it was not a big outlay. I figure if I need a different one, I will just get it. I'm sure they won't go astraty! The lace cutter is the Craftool Lace Cutter from Tandy and it works like a charm on leather that's firm enough. It's great to use and quite easy once you get the angle right and the leather starts to spin. It is amazing how much lacing comes out of a relatively small piece of leather! Here I was thinking I was going to need 12' pieces of leather hahahahaha! Thanks for the tips on the beads. I'm holding off on getting any til I get my head around what size opening I will need and how best to anchor the beads. Need to learn how to make some nice knots first!!! Any tips please?????? Take care and definitely, let's keep in touch and compare notes/pics/ideas etc. Oh, and I found that same back braiding guide too! It's a good one I think and quite easy to follow. Cheers!! Teresa

Thanks for all of that Caroline! I had a look at packerdirect and the link to the leather conference. I would LOVE to go along. Now how to work that into everything else I have to do....hmmmmm! I am using youtube a lot and will continue to so thanks for giving me that info. Cheers! Teresa

Hi Ron and Caroline! Thanks for getting back to me. I've been a bit snowed under at home/work so only just managing to send some replies during my lunchbreak. I've ordered a few things from Tandy Ron and they arrived on Monday. Just waiting on my braiding book now which is currently out of stock. Otherwise, I am very happy with what I have so far. Just have to learn how to use the tools properly. I will be sure to email you in the near future Ron as I know I will have loads more questions especially about how to recognise good leather and what's best to order. It's not as simple as you think, that's for sure. Congrats on your 2nd prize! Wooo hooo! Is there a picture of it anywhere so I can take a look? Caroline, I had a look at your blog and wow!!!!! I am in awe of your work. LOVE your masks!!!!! Gorgeous. I have had a good look at Lefflers and I have to agree. Their website is not very user friendly but I did manage to find their roo thonging so will no doubt order some as they have a great range of colours. Cheers!

Hi everyone, your forum is fantastic and full of information. I am only new at braiding and I don't understand a lot of the leather jargon so I'm hoping someone will be able to help me with some specific answers. I live in Australia so it's been quite a journey finding a site like this that can hopefully give me some guidance even if most of you are on the other side of the world. I have had a go at 4 strand round braiding and am having a ball. The end result is that I would like to learn how to make top quality 4 & 6 strand rolled leather show leads, most likely with beading in time...and I'd love to learn to braid buttons too. I've ordered a book on braiding, I've purchased a fid, lace cutter, bevel and lacing needles online and should have these in the next few days. So my first question is, what sort of leather lacing should I get for braiding my leads? Secondly, is there a book/DVD/YouTube tutorial/website or combination of all or any of these which gives details on how to actually create a show lead, especially the beading, making of the wrist strap, back braiding etc. etc. Thanks in advance for all and any feedback. I am really keen to hone my skills and look forward to sharing my projects in time. Cheers, Teresa

Hi Dirtclod, it will be a while before I am game to put photos of anything on here (I am very new to all this) but I hope I will have something worth showing one day. Hi Ron! A fellow Aussie...awesome! I was worried I might be the only one on here Great to meet you! We live on the Vic/NSW border. I'd love to know where you source your leather and tools if you have somewhere you can recommend? Cheers!

Thanks Cheryl. I appreciate your advice. I have now ordered a lace cutter, bevel, fid, lacing needles and a book on braiding so hopefully I am off to some sort of start. I will see how the leather I have behaves and if I have no luck cutting lace or beveling it, I guess i will simply have to order roo lace. No biggy!

Hi everyone, my name is Teresa and I live in Australia in a small country town. I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed this forum since stumbling across it. I am a little overawed by the quality of work being shown on here but hopefully, in time, I might be able to produce something nice enough to use or maybe give away as gifts or even sell to someone. I am passionate about my dogs (field trial labs and show whippets) and have had horses most of my life so leather goods just seem to go hand in hand with these hobbies. I've always loved quality leather collars and leads and have owned some lovely horse gear. It's my interest in showing whippets that has finally inspired me to stop admiring and actually have a go at making some of these items for myself, specifically sighthound collars and braided/beaded show leads. I've just ordered some tools and goods online and once they arrive, there will be no stopping me for good or bad! I look forward to asking lots of questions and hope that there will be plenty of feedback to help me along. Cheers! Teresa

Thanks for your feedback! Kangaroo lace is definitely plentiful here and from what I've read, it does make nice leads so I may well see about getting some in time. I am still hoping I can use the leather from my son since I can get it for nothing and that is a huge bonus of course. But, at the end of the day, I want to make high end leads once I get good enough so I will do what I have to as far as sourcing the right materials. I've seen some of the beautiful braidwork on this forum already and it is awe inspiring. I hope I can get half that good in time!!! Take care. Teresa

Thanks for your reply Cheryl. I appreciate your time. The leather I have is, as you quite rightly point out, soft and it does have some stretch. I am not convinced that it will lend itself to beveling but I will try. The underside is quite rough and 'hairy' (sorry, don't know what the correct term is) so it really does need to be neatened if I hope to use it. I will attempt to cut proper lace too as I have been doing it by hand with sharp shears to date! Yes, I really do have to get myself some proper leather working tools! The reason I planned to use a paracord core was to give my leads added strength and stability. In their current state, ie. without a core, the braids I've made have quite a bit of give in them and I don't believe they will last. I guess this is all trial and error - if my leather doesn't work, I will simply purchase some roo lacing and use that instead. I have loads more questions but I will reserve them for another time. Don't want to overdo my welcome lol! Thanks again and I will be sure to post again once I have made some advances (hopefully!) Teresa

Hi, I am very new to leather work but have always been fascinated by it. As an offshoot to making whippet coats, I am now embarking on making leather whippet collars and, hopefully, leather braided/beaded show leads for all breeds. I realise this topic has been done before (I did a search on this forum) so my questions are of a more general nature relating to the materials I actually hope to use. My son can supply me with endless quantities of various coloured furniture grade leather offcuts. So my question is, can I use this leather to braid leads with? My son produces high end custom furniture so the leather he can get me is very soft. It braids easily - these were my first two attempts several nights ago... ...but I am conscious that I would like to cut my own lacing from the offcuts in time, and ultimately be able to bevel for a professional finish. Am I completely off-beam even thinking of using this leather? If so, and if I really do need to buy kangaroo lacing, what width is ideal for top end, quality braided show leads? Suppliers over here (I am in Australia) sell 'roo thonging' by the hank or roll starting at minimum 3mm wide or round thonging starting at .5mm diameter Also, I would like to use paracord as cores for my leads. What diameter paracord should I use? Any advice would be very greatly appreciated. Cheers, w2s