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I've heard nothing but oohs and ahhs about sedgwick leathers. I can only imagine how good they are, but in the meantime I get my bridle leathers at Zack Whites. It's beautiful leather to work with, and I especially like the sides, they are a less refined finish than the butts. They are expensive to me (around $9), but from what I understand, about half the price of the sedgwick. From what I'm told, they're American hides tanned in Europe, and brought back. (who knows where in Europe?) I'm happy with this stuff, but would like to know if anyone has had experience comparing this type bridle with Sedgwick??? Is there that much difference?

Looks nice, Ian. The padded band makes it look sharp, and the color is perfect. Tell us how you got the measurements. Did you copy an old one, or actually measure the horse?

Jerry would be smilin'...nice job Roger. I like those final colors.

I come from a seashore town in Ma., and I worked on the water many years, so of course, I always loved the Compass Rose. Nicely done. The two tone lace is always a show stopper.

Thanx for keeping this whole thing together... Thank goodness for my BP pills!

Thanks a bunch for this link. I'm old enough to remember all these. My G'father did a lot of work in this style. These were and are quite the resource.

Very Good Post Charley! Keep up the the Good Work!!!...ROFL.

May God grant you many years to live, for sure he must be knowing, the earth has angels all too few and heaven is overflowing...

Nice job Jordan. I like the basketweaved one, and I like how you used the old x/seed stamp as a border. Hope you do well with the stall, and most of all have fun.

I am not about to get into any of the "Couple Counseling", or Gender discussions, or the therapy you guys may all need after this round of gift building...lol...but what I would do is hand the big guy Stohlman's Case books, and say.." Here maybe this will help you with your project." That's probably what I would do for any person trying to transfer their life experience to a new field. There is lots up there in the old noodle, sometimes you just need a little guidance from an outside source. After that's all said and done, more than likely that box case will never be finished, because it'll be redesigned forty seven times..frikkin engineers....! :soapbox:

Here we go again... http://www.eleatherworks.com/home.php?cat=728

Most people have gone to the airbrush for this, Singteck is right, I have six of them, and still don't use them. Here's what I do: First I apply Feibings Dye Prep with a white cloth. Next I apply a light color, usually Tan. I wipe it on a newspaper first, and apply in long light strokes. Then I use the darker dye on a white cloth. I really wipe it dry on newspaper first, until it's almost not coming off. Rub lightly along the edge in long lines, then move in a bit, and start making small circles. Reapply as many times as you want. If you want a third color in between the dark and light, do the same very dry technique. Sometimes, I'll go over the whole thing with a lt. brown antique. Lastly either Tan Kote, or Atom Wax and/or snowpruf, Pecards etc..

You can't buy that kind of teamwork. Great set, someone's going to be right proud.

There's lots of methods people use, from saddle soap, to plastic dip. Here's what I do when I get serious.... Materials: 1. canvas carpenter apron from home depot, Lowe's etc. ( I rub beeswax all over one side, keep the other side clean). 2 . dye. 3. gum trag. 4. beeswax. 5. Finisher (usually Atom Wax for shine). First I bevel, then I wet the edge, and run it through the clean side of the apron. This makes for a smoother application of the dye, instead of onto a rough edge. If it's a belt or strap, I punch a hole on one end. I have a nail on my bench to slip over. Feibing's Oil Dye the edge, and not waiting for a full dry, I grasp the apron (unwaxed side) and run the belt through one way a couple 3 times. Then starting at one end, I do fast strokes up and down about a foot each until I reach the end. On a hot day, it's quite aerobic! Especially if I'm doing reins...backing up 8', going forward 8'...etc...sheesh a 1/4 mile in no time...lol At this point it's pretty smooth, but it won't last under use. Now apply the gum, and wait 10 minutes, then back to the nail, and a rub down. That stuff seals it pretty good. But it ain't perfect yet.... Then I take a wax cake, and rub it direct to the edge, then back to the nail for another aerobic exercise. By this time, all the pores are filled and sealed, smoooooove. A little Atom Wax for gleam, thereyago... I've seen the edge finish machine working. It does a nice job of edge inking a flat straight edge strap. It seems finicky on a rounded edge. For production work (hundreds of straps)it would be the only way to go.

I get mine here. Using my tax id gets a good discount too. http://www.eleatherworks.com/home.php?cat=814 Other companies probably have em too.

IMHO 4/5 oz should be plenty heavy for maps. Double over that edge if you want to add an embellishment (like on a holster) but just sliding maps in and out, I wouldn't think it necessary. You did get me thinking though, of a simple map folder...maybe something that folded sort of like an envelope, and tied where all the pieces met. I'll give that a try this week. Good luck with yours, hope we get to see the pix soon.

Thanks for the comps everyone. Nothing any of you couldn't do better, but at least we're out here tryin'....

The local bike (Lowmaster) shop guy makes Iron Horses. Thought I try and get some trade from his people, and made up this saddle for his Norton Lowrider. I sketched for a few days, and came up with the usual skulls, and such, gave that up, and just started tooling. This is how it ended up, some kind of cross between a saddle and a tribal /sherwood forest flame thing. It turned out alright I guess, he liked it. Hopefully some tens and twenties come my way in the near future. Probably two days work, drawing/figuring, stamping, and handstitching. He didn't want padding. 8oz.belt leather top, 3oz bottom, sunburst dye job with tan first, lt brown dry rubbed edge, antique over, snowpruf finish.

Shorts, the vinegaroon will blacken uncoated metals. It doesn't do anything to galvie or zinc coated. Best test your hardware first. If it does darken the metal, maybe it would look good?

I'm still a fan of a good stamped belt. I'ld say that qualifies..Nice work.

Maynard G. Krebs had a word for that..."WORK?!" Good on ya...Friends helpin friends. Some years back, as a builder, I used to do that with new concrete jobs. At just the right point of hardening, I would sprinkle the stone on and wet it down a bit. The stone would sink to just the right level exposed but set into the mix. I think we did it the easy way...as for you...lol

I went down to the Fastenall store...no tee nuts in house, you have to order them. $15 per hundred, plus you have to get the right screws..np problem there. However, they don't show a black oxided one in the catalog. They offer services to do what you want, so you have to contact them to see what cost to blacken. Still think the vinegaroon will work pretty good. I'm redipping them for another 24 hrs to see if they blacken more.

Well, this has fascinated me, so I tried an experiment. While I was exploring the "vinegaroon" dye method, I had read that it worked on metals too. So last night, I dropped several kinds of screws into the mixture. The galvanized didn't work. The zinced didn't work, but the ordinary screws did go black. There was some rub off, but did not go back to the original color...maybe several dips might work, or add oil...needs more experimenting. I have a fastenall store just down the stret from me. I'll visit it later today, and see what they offer too.

Thanx Tom and Windy. Yeh Tom, I agree, sometimes just the leather is okay. Windy, I'll check those people. There's quite a lot of knifemakers around, just look on this board alone. I think that Bowie retails for $25...that would mean after buying at wholesale, you could sell this setup with sheath for under $100...that's a pretty good price for us average kind of guys.

Customer bought these Winchester knives...not expensive at all, but he wanted a piggyback setup for them. Nothing fancy here, but, I thought it came out nice for a simple set. Bridle Side Leather, machine stitched, brass rivets ( I wanted to use my copper ones, but they weren't long enough to go through the welt, have to get those long ones.) The knives fit very tight, so no quixdraw...lol. I may try and see if I can buy these Winchesters wholesale...this might make a nice addition for sales.