HorsehairBraider

I do change things somewhat, and on occasion quite a lot, but there are certain parameters I must work with since I use horsehair. Sometimes though a customer comes up with a great idea, and I will use it as a new product in my line! One item in particular has turned out to be very popular. It often pays to listen carefully to the customer and see what they want. That said there are things I won't do. Sometimes people send me pictures of some other artist's work and want me to make one "just like that". I always tell them that if they really like that artist's work, they should go with that artist. There are only so many ways to make a bracelet but I don't copy someone else - there is always something different about my work. Also if the functionality is affected I won't do it, or will at least explain at length what the problem is. One lady had a horse that died and the hair was just in really bad shape - he must have been sick for a long time before he died because he did not have healthy hair. I explained to her that it would not wear well at all, and that she really should just put in a picture frame with a picture of him and enjoy it that way. She agreed... so I made the bracelet. Oh yes, and I ALWAYS charge ahead of time for any custom work. Not just half either, I MUST be fully paid BEFORE I will start the job. This is hard work and takes a lot of time. I learned long ago that if I did not have this policy, I would end up hanging on to things for a very long time. That does not work for me at all! Since I have changed my policy I STILL have so many orders I can hardly keep up with it, no matter how hard I work, so I really think it was the best thing for me to do.

I love your tooling style! It's fabulous! Your work is really great, thanks for posting some pictures and sharing your website link.

Here's a wiki link about this tree: Osage Orange tree. Somewhere on this forum, people were discussing this wood... I think it was in the tools part, about making tools from it. My Google-fu is weak at the moment, perhaps someone else can find the link.

I'd suggest the latter... that is what we did in GA when the leather got to looking like that, which seemed to take about 3 days. Pretty amazing climate to me, since I grew up in the desert. I'd just suggest to be careful not to scratch the leather. That's probably really nice leather under there.

How cool - both the horse and the bridle! I love them both.

Huh! Well, I have seen a whitish greyish film on leather before but it was something like wax, not the more exciting mildew. When I scraped it with my thumbnail it just came right off. The one time I saw mildew on leather was when I lived outside of Atlanta, GA. But that was in little patches, not a fairly consistent smooth sheet, and it was darkish, or greenish, not grey or white. So, not having seen your piece of leather, I can't say. Sorry.

Tazzman, you can braid ANYTHING. I started out with baling twine! Once I went to the thrift store and bought a very ugly crocheted shirt for $1.00. I undid all the chrocheting and braided a headstall out of the resulting yarn. Whatever is there that is easy for you to use, use it! The main thing is to just braid. We can't all afford that really nice kangaroo for braiding.... grumble grumble....

What a very cool and creative idea! It turned out GREAT! That brought a smile to my face this morning, thanks very much.

Another nice one! I love the effects you get in your paint... just really nice subtle shading, and the pearlescence on this one is great.

Wow - you guys do some cool stuff! I like to drive. Sometimes I say "I drive my horses crazy" which is probably true... but what I mean by driving is this: We're about to enter our first competition, an ADT (American Driving Trial) the end of the month. Should be really fun!

Stunning work! I love the patina you get on your gold. (I don't engrave and don't pretend to do the type of work you do, but I do work in silver and gold and put a patina on most of my pieces.) I really like your style. I'm glad you're here and look forward to the new saddle!

Kathy - GORGEOUS! Thanks so much - what a treat to see this, and NO WONDER you got chosen to be the cover! Now - did you get 50 copies or so for all your friends and family? You'll need at least that many... Very nice job, it is really beautiful.

Hurrah for the YakLady! Congratulations; could someone please scan the cover so those of use who do not have the magazine could see it too? Please just ignore the suggestion if it's not a good idea for some reason.

You know what though? When most people say "I want one just like that" they mean the color. I hope this doesn't make anyone feel bad, but usually only other braiders can tell what knots you used. So use knots you like. Although another way to look at it is, if you do that difficult knot again you will learn it better. Would it be possible to get some matching thread, and sew a tiny loop of thread through the turns on your foundation knot? I had to do that one time with horsehair; I was tying a very tricky knot in horsehair (some knots are a LOT harder in horsehair due to its nature) but I found that if I could catch up a single horsehair in the underlying braid on the turns in my braided length (where the pins would be, if you tied it on a mandrel) that I could then tie the knot. It was tricky with the hair because I had to predict ahead of time where that part of the knot would end up (you can't go back and tighten horsehair, move it around etc. you have to tie it in place at the right tightness to start with) but that made it possible for me to tie the knot. With the thread, you could do it after you tied and tightened. And I am probably the only person on earth that would even know those single hairs had been caught up; you would need magnification to tell, and most people would never think to look anyway. So I bet no one would notice on the paracord either. That *is* tricky stuff to braid. I've made headstalls out of it, but I did not have those cool colors you used. Mine was all khaki green...

Nice! And horses always react like that to new tack... They just don't appreciate all the time and effort like they should!

Ah, well. Having raised goats my entire life, and having spun many a pound of goat hair (mohair, cashmere) I can tell you with complete confidence: GOAT HAIR DOES NOT SMELL! Now, a buck in rut might smell, due to the glands on his head. However the glands on his head do not equate to the fiber on his skin. Most of the time, processing a hide will remove any residual oils or scents. If they have not been removed, it is quite easy to simply wash the hide and remove them yourself. Because of this, I conclude that your hide may well have been tanned with urine. (Unless of course you have not tried washing it ? ...) What color is it? Urine is also used in dyeing, particularly for blue colors, in other countries where a good lye solution is not readily available. I suppose I should be saying that goats smell, and hoping to scare everyone off mohair and cashmere. Then there would be more for me.

Wonderful! I love it!

I've never done this on a hide... However, the goat hair should behave just like your own hair. (I know it does _off_ the hide.) When I need to smooth out goat hair or some other fiber (like, for example, horsehair) I get it wet with very hot water, lay it out the way I want it to be and let it dry in that shape. I will sometimes use something to hold it in the right shape. In your case I would think a heavy flat weight would do it. Just make sure the hair is brushed the way you want, or you might end up having to do it again.

I just visited... I saw lots of pictures, I think you'll be able to see mine now too...

I just did one for a customer and I posted the pictures in this thread: Hatband and Stampede String however if you need it right away I am not your person. I am generally backed up with orders such that it can take me 3 to 4 weeks to get a project shipped. You might want to check out my website and see if you generally like my work, and then contact me privately if you are still interested. (There are no stampede strings on there, you would just generally be seeing if you like my work.) But again, I can be pretty backed up, and actually am right now. I like to get stuff out in only one or two weeks but that is not possible at this time. In case you or someone else does not know, you can find my website by clicking on my username and looking at my profile.

How about Whisky Marinated Flank Steak? Or Scotch Whiskey Trifle? Or Apple PIe with Whisky Soaked Cherries? There must be millions more ideas out there...

Making a saddle is a pretty complicated thing to do and would require a book... and there are some pretty good books about how to make a saddle. But for just the stirrups, usually, the stirrup leather goes up around the tree in a special groove made for it. It goes up between the seat and the tree, and then comes back out between the tree and bottom skirt. Have you got a saddle? You could just take a look at it real close and probably see this. If you don't have a saddle, do you have a friend that would let you look at their saddle?

I'm not completely sure but I think you are confusing the picture in your profile with your avatar. When I click on your profile, I do indeed see your picture - in fact the very picture you have posted. You don't appear to have an avatar uploaded. That would be the little picture that shows up under your name on all your posts. For your avatar, your picture must be smaller. Go to "My Profile" (and of course I mean go to YOUR profile, not mine!) and at the top of the page click on "My Controls". Then look at the left-hand side of the screen where you will see a list, look for "Edit Avatar" and that is where you upload your avatar. It must be fairly small. Mine is 90 pixels by 90 pixels. Upload a file of the correct size and there you are! Your avatar will now show up whenever you post.

This is what I would say: Braid, braid braid. Eventually your hands will start to have the same tension in them no matter what. You will get so you can braid about a mile of length and every last inch will have the same tension. But you don't get there without the practice. Remember all those circles and loops you had to endlessly make in school when you were learning to write? That is for the same purpose - if you just practice enough all your "o"s and "s"s will start to look the same. When you have braided enough, you never think about it, anymore than you think about making one "s" look like the next "s".

Hmmm... miniature horse? It's too big for a cat... Very nice! Make one a little smaller and it will make a dandy key fob. What a great way to pass the time!