Fowlingpiece

Open All Hours, Last of the Summer Wine, Etc.

I sometimes use a concoction of hide glue and water and stain to color match the job. Gives a solid, harder glasslike finish for some applications.

Pm sent

Ditto

I have a Bldanchard clamp that has had a wooden screw added to be able to use it upright. No leg pressure is needed. I really never use it as I use the upright self sprung styles. I agree with the above poster that the issue is with not going in the leather the same with every awl push. That is a skill to be developed as well as cord tension and other techniques that must habitually become repeatable.

For custom requests I start with cast sheet, size in the rolling mil and then cut and file, and file, and file. For everything else they are cast from originals.

A matching set of double shoulder pouch, belt, belt pouch, gun sling, leg garters, powder flask strap, knife sheaths. All buckles are handmade. Sorry for the poor photography.

I made them out of cut nails for years with good success.

Good to have you aboard here Wick! This is one fantastic piece of work. You are one of those people whose work has inspired me to fabricate everything I can on some projects.

It's a russet skirting IIRC. I also dyed with a concoction of diluted spirit dyes and burnished heavily. Wick, Great to see you on this board and thanks for the compliment. Means a lot from someone whose work I so admire. I knew Chuck Burrows is on here as well. It is so nice to be inspired by the talents and the experience of you guys. James

Andrew, That bag was made with vegetable tanned bovine.

Thanks. This is the largest bag I have ever made. Steve also makes double sided nets for this type of bag as well.

Thank you. It was a fun project.

Spring-catch, framed bags date back as far as the medieval period in Europe. They continued to see use for sporting/hunting purposes through the 18th century and in later periods elements of the design continued for women’s purses. Upon first glance, those who have not studied this design immediately associate them with the smaller Scottish sporran but period paintings and images depict the English, Dutch, German and French utilizing this style. All hardware for this bag was completely hand fabricated excepting the period style cast brass tacks. Predominately, spring-catch bags have their latch button located on the top. The originals that inspired this frame have the latch button located on the front. Those original bags were found in the Netherlands. From examining other Dutch frames from the 18th and 19th centuries that latch system seems most common to that area. The hinged frame with all its moving components is a fairly close representation of the original in materials, design, functionality, arc and dimensions. Following a shell motif theme, the calfskin bag displays scallop shaped impressions and arcs that were applied to the leather with heated tools. The tools used for this process were also hand fabricated. The pleated front panel assists in adding dimension to the finished product. The bag is divided internally into two sections. The divider is attached to the hinge system, allowing the divider to be moved forward or backward to access each compartment. The bag has been given various processes to give a mellowed, used look. The brass belt clip takes on the shape of a shell. It was inspired by the shell guards found on some early swords of Dutch origin. Detailed file work on the perimeter and engraved lines accentuate this effect. Made of one piece of brass, it was annealed many times to allow it to be bent over on itself. Most all period depictions show these bags worn on a waist belt. In an effort to make this pouch more versatile, a shoulder belt with frog was designed. Following the shell theme once again, the frog is designed with the lobes of a clam shell or scallop. The belt clip can be securely fastened to the frog for shoulder wear while retaining its ability to fully function on a waist belt. The harness style shoulder strap is embossed with the same tooling that was created for the designs on the body of the bag. The brass buckle was fabricated based on the shape of a large, early harness buckle from the Colonial Williamsburg collection.

This is a game bag I made recently. It is of Netherlandish design with more German than French influence. I used raised embossing on this pouch. This technique involves raising the leather in form from the back and then detailing from the front. The "hollow" in the back is then filled with a hide glue/leather scrap mixture to retain shape. This bag has a removable net bag that is backed in linen. The netting front was made by my friend Steve Radosevich in Montana.

I , like Chuck have always used Isopropyl 70 for about 30 years. It was not until we got a wallyworld in town that I found an option for percentages so I usually go with the 90 now. I try to reserve my denatured for my spirit lamp.

I would guess a problem with the vinegroon.

IMO a sewn on keeper is best quality work if the stitching is quality as well.

They are pricking irons for me and not for punching thru. The awl is what goes thru the leather and they work in conjunction.

Ken is top notch!!

I am not telling you to do anything really. I am just agreeing with the other fellow that those types of things were passed from master to apprentice in many professional shops TRADITIONALLY, in the past, long ago and continued into the present with some. I know that more than one shop could in the 1950's trace these types of passed down teachings at least as far back as the mid 19h century. I dont think he required you or anyone to conform and I am certainly not. My post was simply to agree that those practices were taught TRADITIONALLY and not just "totally incorrect...period". Are there variations? Sure. Methods varied then as now with different masters to achieve the same end. Cabin fever??

I am on the west side of the Atlantic and agree with Oakside : ) What he is relaying is the old traditional accepted practice of the professional saddler.

A traditional English upright saddler's clam.

Agreed. Two different animals and two different products as well.