rawhide1

Rod It was KAW who posted that and I believe he took a 50 gallon drum and filled it with water. He then brought it up to 145 degrees with the hide in it. He used a propane burner. I think he said for no longer than 3 or 4 min. I may be and probally am wrong on the temp and time. But thats about all I remember. I haven't seen him on here for awhile maybe pm him. Hope this helped a little. Mike

If I had one I would but I'm a long way from that point. And plus I don't know a dang thing about computers!! Maybe one of these days. Mike

rdb Nice looking site!! I really like the how to page. Mike

Mr Morris Thank you for sharing!! Thats a pretty neat way of tying a fiador. Mike

nice looking clock!! How bout the cats beating Ku in b-ball YEA Go wildcats!!!!!!!! Mike

Alan Thanks for the info. How do ya figure the length for your strings and I take it it's a o1, u1 seq. going down. Thanks Mike

skinner I've never done that but it sounds pretty neat! Do ya remember how long his strings were. I think it would be pretty cool to try. I wonder if a fella could do that on anything that required a multi string knot. Let me know if you remember any more of the details. Thanks Mike

Corter Nice looking work. The braiding looks nice and tight. IMO if ya would ad a pineapple knot at the lower end to finish it off and maybe a spanish ring knot to hold them together at the top. I think that would really put over the top. Thanks for sharing Mike

Its been awhile but I finally got the data card. All I can say is wow!! and holy crap!! It is so nice to be out of the dark ages known as dial up. I'm running about 780kbps with only 1 bar. Compared to 26-36kbps with dail up. It is so nice to be able to watch videos and download pictures so fast. It will drop the connection every great once in awhile but so what. As soon as this girl I know moves into town i'm goin to get her signal booster and hopefully solve that problem. Mike

Freak I don't know much(nuthing) about carving, tooling but that looks very nice. Especially the leaves and the background. Mike

Skipknives My hats off to ya sir!! There are way to many people in this world who have dreams and never go after them. So congragulations on going after yours. Mike

Victor Another very nice whip. I have a couple of ?s if it's not a bother. What book would you recomend for learning to come up with patterns in the handle. And I was wondering on the above handle where it loks like you went over six or seven with the gold. Will those string edges want to roll over or become distorted with time and use. Thank You Mike

Maeshin IMO ya need to get a good old osborne drawgauge. I mean a Osborne with wood handles not the all metal handles. I've picked them up off ebay for 50-60 dollars. Not very often but if you take your time and wait one will come along for that price. But you my also try sharping your blade just because it's new doesn't make it sharp. It still wont be easy to cut leather of that weight. But a good drawgauge and a very sharp blade will make it a heck of a lot easier. Mike

leatheroo I always cut my strings 1and1/2 times the length of my finished product. So 12" finished braid I would cut my string 18" long. It will vary from braider to braider on how you need to add. Because everyone will braid at a differnt angle and tightness. But I would say 1 and 1/2 times would be the least amount to start with. Hope this helps. Mike

Hello all Here is a little braiding fid I just got done for myself. Mike

Whipit Very nice work!! You whip makers amaze me with the patterns ya put in your handles. Mike

HorsehairBraider Thanks i'm going have to start writing these down. Mike

rdb All I can say is people are nuts!! And to think I got pissed when the wife spent $100.00 on a purse. I mean whats wrong with a Dillions sack!! Mike

Drac I think I better get alot better for I try showing anyone how to do anything!! Maybe we can talk Victor into doing one! Mike

Victor Once again outstanding work!! Do you use any kind of finish on your work. Thanks Mike

Victor Right now I have several hunderd feet of 1/4" precut rawhide. I just split it and cut it to the width I need. But I soon as I can save up some cash I'm going to get some sides. My plans are to cut my thin stuff out of a calf oval. And for thicker strings all use a draw gauge to cut 3/4" from around a cow hide. I will then split to desired thickness and cut to width. Seeing how my computer skills are less than my braiding skills (hard to believe) what does BTW stand for. Thanks Mike

Victor That whip is a thing of pure beauty!!! Thank You for sharing. Mike

Whipit I think they look nice with the siver. But since I like rawhide so much I would use that for my interweaves. Either way they will look good. Just my .02 cents worth. Mike

Drac Nice looking work. It's always nice to see other methods people use. Thanks for sharing Mike

I want to thank ya'll for your comments. Both my wife and me wear this type of bracelet and they wear good. I was just wondering if different knots or more color in the interweaves would improve the looks. I apologize for the cornfusion. Thank You again for your time.