oldtimer

This was my late dog Jack ( left me aug -08) a Bayerishe gebirg Schweisshund ( Bavarian mountain tracking dog) which I used for tracking wounded game ( roedeer and moose). ( In Sweden you are not allowed to hunt hoofed game without a dog especially trained for tracking wounded game) He also had the ability to bark at moose so I used him for active moose hunting. The speciality for this breed is tracking. Once he managed to track down a wounded bull moose 27 hours after the shot. Two hours job. I miss Jack very much as he had a great personality and was a very good hunting partner! Pics of Jack himself, and Jack barking at a moose cow back of my house a fine summer day / Knut

In Sweden moose hunting is big business. When hunting moose you need a dog that barks the moose to a stand still, and the hunter sneaks up to the moose and ( hopingly) gets a clean shot. The breed mostly used is named Jämthund, an old breed specially bred for moosehunting. Did you know that 83 000 ( eightythree thousand) moose were killed during the 2008 hunting season in Sweden ? A pic of a JÄMTHUND

Welcome home, Tina ! I hope your move to the old country goes well ! Looking forward to see you on the forum again ! / Knut

Try Shellac ( liquid) , it works ! Apply with a brush inside the holster. / Knut

Thank´s for the pics, Tim. Awesome saddle ! A portmanteau (or valise) is authentic for the period. I might make one too! I had read about "cantle bags" but it took me years to realise that it was a portmanteau that was the cantle bag. I´ll save your pics of the pony express saddle as I really like these old timey saddles. / Knut A pic of the finished saddle with stirrups and horn leather for the Hawken .54 (and a messed up shop!)

Thank´s D.A. This was quite a journey, starting from nothing, figureing out how to do it and then see the final result. Everything turned out really well and I have no hesitation of proudly presenting it it to my customer , a real Scandinavian mountain man ( www.scandinavianmountainmen.se ) The cure of my mochila headache was the plastic foam that I used to make cutting patterns, it was easy to cut and tape together, half translucent and almost like thin leather, only much cheaper. If I ever make a second mochila I´ll do exactly like I did this one. Some things I learned from this project: Think twice ( or more) - cut once, and don´t hesitate to try to do something you have never done before. Today I´ll start making a matching headstall, decorated with brass spots, deliver saddle and tack monday and then enjoy the sound of golden coins dripping into my cash register / Knut

Mochila finally finished ! / Knut

2 1/2" is my standard width and I use the Superior Quick Change buckles. / Knut

Thank´s Tim, looking forward to see the pony express mochila !

Bought here in Sweden from http://www.stampelfabriken.se/index.html?katid=sub20060530202908321∏=Brännstämplar. It is supposed to give heat imprints along with a handle similar to a soldering iron / Knut

After a long thought this morning, (two cups of coffee during complete silence) I put the poster board pattern on the leather, honed a knife and made the cuts. I then made a lace string, cut the holes and laced the seat part together. I chose a plain, simple lacing as I think that was the way a saddlemaker of 1830 made it, no fancy stuff, just plain, simple and functional. Next step, tomorrow, I ´ll case the leather and shape it , adjust the front line and attach a buckle and billet in front of the horn. / Knut So far, so good ! No big loss of leather !

I got my new maker mark this week also. I had one made by The Green Parrot, made of some kind of nylon material a couple of years ago, but I accidently dropped it on my stone and the edge around my name broke and the stamp was of no use anymore, so I ordered a new one made of engraved, solid brass. I´ll make a new handle from stainless steel. The big advantage is the square shape which makes it easy to adjust to the proper position. / Knut

My suggestion is a tool for locating and punching the holes for an eyelet, like the one in the pic ?? / Knut

Hej Ulf! Welcome to the forum ! It was nice meeting you at the High Chaparrall. At the moment I´m building a mountain man saddle ( 1830) and I´m sweating over the construction of a mochila. Vi får höras! Vilka fler är det som bygger westernsadlar förutom du o jag? / Knut

You can follow the progress in the Mochila topic. I will make a poster board template before cutting ! / Knut

I think that the problem can be solved by trying different measurements of the slits and the non- slitted portions of the harness. Looking forward for a report of your new design. / Knut

I have never been into that situation, so I can´t give you an honest answer, as I have used this harness on dogs tracking wounded game, and with only a forward gear in mind. But If the harness is correctly adjusted, not too tight or too loose, it should not slip off even when the dog hits the brakes, and you don´t as long as the forelegs are still present on the dog.. It is not sliding around with proper dimensions to the anathomy of the dog The D-ring part can slide from side to side a bit but the rest of the harness stays put. You might give it a try and give a full report here. I have made this style of harness in 4 different sizes and that will cover most breeds, except the largest and the smallest breeds / Knut

It is pretty obvious how to use the tool when you see it. You work the seam from the backside of the material to make it "turn". / Knut

a pic of the rigging

Today I started making templates for the mochila. I finally found a suitable material in a building material store, a roll of 1/8" plastic foam . To avoid wrinkles under the thigh area a lot of material must be removed from the center of the seat, and for that reason there is no way to avoid a center lacing of the seat. Packing tape and plastic foam made my day! Now I´ll make some adjustments and make a final cardboard template before cutting leather. The sun is shining today! / Knut

I have started a new project, a mountainman saddle from the fur trade era (c:a 1830) and the other day the saddle tree arrived. While waiting for the tree to be made, I cut out a pair of solid oak stirrups from a 2" oak board. The goal is to make a saddle , as authentic as possible and still comfortable to ride. The big challenge will be making a mochila that will cover the whole saddle. Never done that before, and very hard to get info about how to do, so I´ll let trial and error roam free in my shop. Time will tell ! I have a feeling that the scrap bin will be well fed for some time! I´ll post pics of the progress. Cross fingers, please! / Knut Sources: The Books of Buckskinning, UMO Cayuse handbook, They saddled the west, Saddles, TLCSJ (R Sherer) , Man made mobile.

Here are a couple of pics of a dog harness you can make from one strap of leather, one buckle and 3 rivets. For smaller dogs 1 inch width (7/8 oz) is good , for larger dogs 1 1/2" width (10/12 oz) will be fine. This is a harness often used on tracking dogs for wounded game in Sweden. I have made maybe a hundred of them and the customers are always happy. (I think the dogs are ever more happy with this harness) Some pics of the harness on my brothers jack Russel "Palle" . This harness will never choke the dog if he pulls hard in the leash. Good luck / Knut

You can find patterns and instructions here : http://womenofthefur...com/page11.html I think this will give you a more authentic result than from a Tandy pattern Smoked buckskin will make the best material for moccasins Good luck / Knut

Here you can find manuals to download for free : http://www.singermachines.co.uk/Parts_&amp.../indstbooks.htm

I wonder if there is a scaled up version for moose and bear? I would really need one ! :-)