HorsehairBraider

Nice! Anyone would be proud to win that and use it on their horse! It turned out great.

Looks good, and you do have to practice a lot. My knots in horsehair used to be lop-sided, but I finally did enough that they come out even now. I like to tell people that the first 500,000 were kind of hard but after that it got easier... and you think *rawhide* is hard to work.... One thing that helps is to make sure your foundation or casa knot goes on even. If it's not even, stop and start over. And for your knot on the left where the strings don't quite cover, just keep going and increase the sequence.

What sequence did you use? Usually a braid becomes oval because of an uneven number in the sequence - such as, for example, a sequence of over one, under two. To prevent this use a core. I would think for a bit hobble it is no big deal. I would say, make it and move on!

I got some cocobolo scraps from a cabinet maker... he specialized in really cool inlays and some very fancy work. He sold me a bucket of scraps for not much, and there were some pretty decent pieces in there. And I agree with Jordan, MacBeath has good wood. I've bought from them too and been very satisfied.

I've seen this and thought it was really funny. How amazing that the dogs and herders had such good control of the sheep!

You should check over in the Braiding section... we have several threads there discussing pros and cons of various makes and models. Most people who braid cut their own lace. Not everyone of course - some prefer to buy it, but a lot of braiders want to have control over the lace they use. For me, I sometimes need good long lengths and a lot of times the stuff from Tandy and so on has splices in it, making unusable for me. But of course it's all dependent on what a person wants to do, what they make, how much space they have etc. I've got a couple of lace-cutting devices and would love to own one of these expensive jobs, I think they look really handy and nice.

I agree, usually an awl is the ticket. But not always. I use the sewing punch a lot in my work of making authentic miniature tack... this mare in the picture has a head that is 2 1/2" long: If it weren't for the sewing punch I would not be able to get this effect of holes punched in the headstall. An awl would not do it.

The difference is size. If you need to punch little tiny holes for stitching, you want the sewing punch. If you need to punch bigger holes (from just under 1/4", or 3 mm) on up, then you need the rotary punch. You would have a heck of a time punching tiny sewing holes in heavy leather, so yes, the sewing punch does work better for a lighter weight leather.

Oh - and I meant to point out - the two things are not mutually exclusive. You being crazy, and someone embroidering leather.

I hand-embroidered a pegasus on a leather back pack that I made. I used a glover's needle and regular embroidery thread... it's pretty hammered now, I used that back pack for a purse and hauled it absolutely everywhere for years and years. I don't think it's worth looking at anymore but if you want to see it I guess I could photograph it. The leather is deer skin. I've also hand-beaded leather. I did a headstall and reins for one of my horses. Again, I used one of those glover's needles that has a tip with three faces sharpened on it. In this case the leather was regular English bridle leather. This is still in excellent shape and I use it when I ride my horse Tito. It's lasted about 15 years so far. It can be done!

Gosh, I guess it depends on what you're making. If I am making something where I need strength in the lace, either to pull it through or just because it needs to be strong, I use kangaroo. Calf lace can be nice and dressy, and yes, suede will not be as strong because the top layer of skin on the hide is gone and a lot of the strength of it lies in the skin. However suede is sometimes the best choice. Same thing for latigo - it's still got the top layer of skin so it's very strong, and sometimes it is the very best choice for what you're making. It's like vehicles... there is no such thing as a "best" vehicle, it all depends what you are going to do. For example I live on a ranch and raise goats and horses. A BMW might be a great choice for someone else but it would not work for me. As far as cutting lace for the first time, I would suggest a much lighter weight of hide. Tandy sells a "petite tooling calf" that is a nice light weight for cutting lace. Once you get good at it you can cut just about anything, but the more experience you get with using your lace, the more opinions you'll start to have about what would work best for what you're making.

Well, pcord isn't the most cooperative in this type of situation, so I'd suggest either a thinner core or more strands in your braid. Sometimes when that happens, you don't have enough braid to cover the core, or too much core, however you want to look at it. Leather or rawhide might obligingly move a little to even it up when you roll your braid but pcord might be sticking to your core and not moving when you roll the braid. And if you're reading this and saying to yourself, "Roll the braid?" that could also be causing a problem... and merely rolling your braid (I think there are some pictures of that in that book) might help out. Hope that helps at least some...

Wow - that's pretty awesome, and in Santa Fe, too! But when I went online to try and see the various items, it all said "coming soon" - darn! I was hoping to get a preview. Thanks for posting!

Oh no - how sad. But to tell the truth I had been expecting to hear about this for a while. The last time I saw Ray he did not look so good... I live at a pretty high altitude and he had to have oxygen up here as he did his clinic. But he was still up on that horse, still riding better than anyone I had ever seen. He still had the best timing and the best feel for a horse. This is so sad but hopefully his many students can keep the tradition alive. He was an advocate for the horse and hopefully others will stand with Ray on the side of the horse.

If you are worried about bad things happening on an "unlucky" day... just try and notice other bad things that happen on other days. I don't know about you, but I can have a bad thing happen on just about any day.... does not need to be specially "unlucky". For example, last week about this time, I was stuck in MO on a highway in a storm and all about us were freaking out and causing completely unnecessary accidents. But no one was saying "Beware March 7th." Yet we spent 14 hours trying to go about 100 miles. Talk about unlucky. Sorry about your finger... but what people tend to do is remember the bad stuff, if they are told something bad is to happen on that day... and forget all the good stuff. The good stuff for me today were: a neighbor came over and had lunch with me; I had a great telephone conversation with another friend; I met two old friends, baked cookies for them and had a great visit with them; and we got snow in my area which we sorely need for water this spring. And of course the opposite is true: if you are told something good will happen, you will only remember the good stuff and completely ignore all the bad stuff. Well, it makes life exciting, right?

This will sound weird, but I always put it in with an old towel. The bigger the towel the better. I soak the towel in water, ring it out *well* and then put it in a plastic bag with the rawhide. Usually I let it sit for a day. But that is the way I learned and it seems to work for me.

Hey, thanks for the laugh this morning! A great way to start the day while reading tips about finishing!

Maybe because you were "dying" instead of "dyeing"? Everyone would feel sad if you died... but everyone would be glad to help if you were dyeing something. Personally, for what you are doing... I put on the finish first as a "resist". Then go on to the other steps. But, you get different results depending what you do first. It all depends what you are trying to get. If it were me, I'd do a couple of sample pieces of scrap first, trying it different ways... that will show you what look you want and how to get it.

You can buy a lace maker from Tandy for $9.99... and an Australian Strander for $24.99... Here's a link. You don't need to be rich to get a lace cutter. As for making your own, Bruce Grant's book shows a guy cutting lace with a knife and using his thumb for a guide. That's pretty low-cost, and I've actually done that. It works fine, just sharpen the heck out of the knife.

Unbelievable. What a bunch of thieves. I have a merchant account but according to the rules, I'm not allowed to store ANY credit card numbers. AT ALL. This sometimes makes people mad at me when they decide to buy something else from me and have to give me their number all over again, but I fly by the rules - if it says don't store numbers, I don't store them. Maybe the rules are different when you are a huge business. Or maybe everyone else with a merchant account just figures I'm a sucker for obeying the rules... I've never had this happen to me but would absolutely come unglued if it did. Although, Qwest tried to pull a similar stunt with me, and I won't do business with them to this day, because in my mind they are known thieves. I'd feel the exact same way about a company that just charged stuff on my card because they felt like it.

Why don't you try what they call "pliver" or "skiver". I've seen it for sale on eBay. I think it is usually lamb or pig leather, skived down really thin. Also, I needed some really thin leather and called Zack White and had them skive down some scraps for me to 1 oz. I was very happy with the result. It's probably still a little thick for your star, but perhaps they could skive it down even more. They told me it was easier to start with something really heavy and use that to skive. As a person who does origami for a hobby, I can tell you you'll have a little problem getting your folds right in something soft like leather. When I have people over for dinner I sometimes fold the napkins into lotus flowers or something, so I know this can be a problem. With the cloth, I iron the fold and that helps; I have never tried ironing leather, don't know if that would work out so well. What you might try instead, but would sure be time-consuming, is to wet down each fold and allow it to dry. It just might hold that nice crisp fold that way.

Well, here is a link about bosal use and history along with a little bit about fitting. Another rule, besides the one in that article, is two to three finger's width between the top of the mecate and the horse's jaw. Personally, I use a very un-scientific method for measure: I take a thick piece of rope that I think will be about the same diameter as my projected bosal, and put it around the intended horse's nose at the point it should sit. I hold it together under the jaw, and note where the sides would end, or where the top of the heel knot should be - however you like to think of it. I mark the rope, lay it flat, measure and braid to that length. As for shaping: You can stick a coffee can in where the nose of the horse will be, or some similarly sized and shaped article, appropriate for the size of the horse in question. A couple of pieces of 2 X 4 might do it for a smaller horse. Maybe a gallon paint can for a big one... just something that's about the right size!

I've always used a good set of smooth needle-nose pliers. Just be "calm". Don't get in a hurry, and you should be fine.

TrooperChuck, you hit the nail on the head! Most people are just normal people. They are able to view things in their own way, but they are not the "extreme" and one-sided caricatures of a "liberal" or a "conservative" that you hear bandied about. I live in a county of about 5,000 people who might be considered "liberal". Yet, they are cattle ranchers (for the most part) and carry a gun with them every day of their lives. They are fiercely independent. Just TRY and mess with them. That is completely against the stereotype of a "liberal"! Real life is always more complex and interesting than just viewing things as "black and white, period". That's what makes it so cool... For the record, I think it is just as much "parroting" or "knee-jerk reaction" to say, "All liberals want to take our guns away" as it is to say "All guns are evil". (And you now know that in my county alone, there are 5,000 "liberals" on the side of guns.) Going to the extremes like this just will not yield the truth; it is always somewhere in between. Yes, it requires more thought - but that is the glory of being human - you can THINK FOR YOURSELF. And that just thrills me to pieces!