rawhider

I have a couple hides that I didn't have time to soak and slip the hair, so I fleshed them and let them dry with the hair on. Now I'm getting ready to use them and I need to get the hair off. I'm thinking of getting a sharp blade (like a planer blade) and laying the hide over a fleshing beam and just start scraping hair off. Anyone got other ideas?

That is very cool. I like the neck on that.

Ben, one of Bruce Grant's books has a rope knot that I think you are refering to. It is basically a loose pineapple knot that the tail end of the rope can be looped thru, allowing you to "tie" your rope to the horn, but it also lets you get it off without having to cut your rope.

Not too bad! I would try and interweave maybe another string into the noseband on the bosal. That looks nice ans strait, but it looks a little rough. You don't want to rub any hair off the bridge of their nose. That can make the hackamore stage pretty uncomfortable. Other then that, looks real good.

Thanks. I am making my own rawhide. This hide turned out really nice, I really like the feel and it cuts like butter. Really waxy. I've got two or three coming this weekend I hope, so that should get me through the winter. All of them have been given to me, so that's a blessing.

Title pretty much says it all. Dang. Don't click on the picture, it gets huge! don't know what I did.

Mike, my most profitable braided things are like you said: Hondas and slides. Little things that look hard, but they really don't take alot of time. I do make good money with my bosals, but I have a pretty good system down that enables me to be very efficient and since I do a lot of them, I will build a bunch at a time. Stopping and starting eats up time and that is loosing money. That's why those little projects are so profitable. You can do them in one sitting and you don't really have to bounce around too much prepping string and what not. I shoe horses on the side and my most profitable customers are the trims. I can do up to 6 trims in an hour if the horses are standing good and well organized. I can shoe a horse (building new shoes) in an hour. At $110 for shoes and $40 for a trim, do the math.

I haven't been on here in a long time. Long story (had a baby, computer crashed, changed jobs, ect.) My wife, who has ridden mostly english her whole life, has expressed interest in putting her gelding in the hackamore. So I built her one. He has a huge head, so I had to modify my standard measurement a little. It's the biggest bosal I've ever made. The nosebutton is one continuous strand. A little hard at first, but I really like the results.

I'm getting ready to put my gelding up in the two rein and I'd like to make him a nice bridle headstall. Anybody have any suggestions on were to get silver dots and ferruls?

Perfect, Thanks!

Looking for some good elk hide for a nice pair of chaps. I need large hides and they need to be quality. Does anyone have any dealer recommendations? Thanks in advance!

I'm looking for 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" round leather cores for bosals, reins, quirts, ect. I need them to be as long as 48". Anyone know where I can get these? up till now I've been making my own, but if I can get them for a decent price, it's worth it to buy them. Thanks!

Those are pretty cool. I'm not a big fan of batwing style chaps, but it I was, those would be the ones!

Try being a little more specific. What exactly are you having trouble with? Don't get discouraged. All I had to start was Grants book and some cows, and if I can learn from a book, anyone can!

That's a pretty ingenious little tool there Alan! I like it. Can you bevel with it?