rktaylor

I am currently focusing on these as well (among others). My background areas always seem to grow. Your work looks great. Especially the decorative cuts as noted. Randy

Thanks for the suggestions. This sheath has a welt. I have tried wet forming, but I think I need to cover more of the handle. Wet forming is a skill, like many others, that I need to work on more. Randy

Thanks for the input. I've been focused on other projects recently, but will return to this soon. I can report that v2.0 and v3.0 (not shown) lost their retention after wearing for a day. I have plans for another version, but it'll be a couple weeks before I work on it. Randy

Thanks for the feedback. Here's v2.0. Critiques are always welcome, but I will note that I'm making these from scrap leather until I settle on a pattern. Both versions have welts, but the second one covers the tip better. I like this longer version, but there's still room for improvement. I think the stitch line along the top of the knife is too close near the handle and too far away near the blade. There's still time for input before the final build. Randy

DieselTech, Thanks for the compliment. He calls this a straight trapper. I've used it on anything from leather work to field dressing deer. I also think it could be longer and have some thoughts for other changes. I thought I would get input before I made the next one. Randy

I have two of these knives from a local maker and want to make a sheath. I made this real quick based on a similar sheath for a folding knife. I'm open for suggestions to improve the design for function and comfort. Thanks, Randy

I just looked at a few saddles and most of mine are tied with 1/4 to 5/16 wide lace with about a 3/16 hole. The lace is either 3-4 oz latigo or kangaroo that is really thin. Randy

I would split that to 3-4 oz and use a 5/16" hole. Randy

Thanks. I appreciate the compliment. The hole size depends on lace thickness and width. 1/4" seems small to me. Depending on your lacing pattern, two holes could have three pieces of lace going through. Randy

I use 346 on top and 277 on bottom. RT

My good buddies would drop off a 30 pack and call it good. I have trouble pricing items, so I'm not the best source. You can price a set of billets online or at the local farm store and realize there is no way you can make them for that. You'll either give away your labor or materials or maybe some of both. However you'll make a higher quality product. Thus, I try to price items 40-50% above production items and realize, it's not going to be my bread and butter. Randy

I have used everything from 6-7 ounce to 9-10 ounce latigo. It depends on the expected use. You could just double the saddle skirting if that's what you have on hand. 1.75" is pretty standard width. Randy

I use fairly stiff veg tan lined with latigo. It shouldn't need reinforcement at the holes. Randy

I agree with Bruce. I don't think Terry is a member here, but he shouldn't be hard to find. Randy

With so many great saddle making resources available, I would caution against trying to learn much from tearing one apart. Actually, this caution is mentioned in the Stohlman books. I have had the chance to work a few production saddles that left me scratching my head over their methods. Randy

Dwight, I'm a little late to the game, but this is my pattern. The holes match the strings on saddles I build. That curve should fit a lot of saddles. You can leave the front ear off if you want. I use it to attach the bags. The saddle bags in the photo are really heavy leather. They were my first attempt. Best, Randy

Do you have a photo?

I have not used Tokonole, but the comments on Weaver's web page are positive. I will order some. Weaver only has brown at this time. I just received some tragacanth and Edge Kote that I need to test. Thanks for the tip, Randy

Here's an option: http://www.pikespeaksaddlery.com/id293.htm Randy

Those look good. Nice job. Randy

There's a lot to like about that. Can't wait to see the final product. Randy

I wanted to resurface this question. I looked at the Giardini paint and am considering an order. However, I wonder if anyone considers Fiebing's Edge Kote as a similar product? Thanks, Randy

I really like the basket weave in the scroll heart. Nice touch. Thanks for sharing the progress. Randy

I hand stitched my first five saddles before I bought a sewing machine. There's no real trick to it. It just takes a lot of time. I learned to wrap my pinky fingers in athletic tape because you are pulling a lot of stitches. Make sure your stitching pony has deep enough jaws to handle the skirts. Good luck. Randy

I'll start with saying, I have only made one set. My comments are based on what I learned in that process. I think cotton balls wild work. High density foam rubber is another choice. I have boxes of scrap woolskin so it was an easy choice. You want them to be fairly stiff with a little give. Good luck. Randy