HorsehairBraider

Wow - gorgeous!

Even the best people, with the best of intentions, can get sidelined so that they forget or just do not pay. They don't mean to! That's just how life goes sometimes. They might move, get a divorce, have their toe run over by a bus etc. I've had many overseas customers, and I've had no problem convincing them to send me money. In fact if they want my product that is the only way to get it, capitalist pig that I am! On the other hand I never have to be upset with my customers. Our relations are always sweetness and light. I'm really glad this worked out for you! That is a beautiful strap and the guy would have to some kind of nutjob not to want it.

Yeah - those names are close, I had to do a double-take! :biggrin: I don't think there is any difference other than color. I don't think that one is "better" than the other, just that one is more likely to leave your strings whiter. At least, I have never been able to discern a difference.

Wow - very nice! As a braider I *love* seeing knots on things. It's nice and wide too so it would support the weight of the guitar really well. That would really get to me, being treated like that, and I might even sit down and start looking at those initials real creatively and try and make them into "something" else - maybe not initials just something. The bulk of my work is custom and I DO NOT start until I am paid IN FULL. PERIOD. I started out doing that 50% down thing, but then you end up waiting on that second half... and waiting... and waiting... I said forget that! And you know what - people always pay me up front and don't even grumble. Hey, I don't wait around to do their work, they should not wait around to pay me, and they are getting a custom item just like they want. And in your case, a really nice custom item!

That's right CharlieR - I taught myself to braid leather and rawhide by slowly taking apart old pieces of gear and writing down the overs and unders... and if I was careful I could then re-make the knot or whatever. Then I simply started doing the exact same thing with horsehair. Once I had taught myself in this very hard way, I found out there were books about this - ! Talk about DUH! So my horsehair braiding is just like what a lot of people do in leather or rawhide. Now, hitching is an entirely different technique. I don't hitch myself but I do admire the work. I'm really looking forward to talking to some of the real experienced braiders here. I was sure happy to find this forum, there aren't many people who you can talk to about this stuff and who understand the work that it requires. Also I find the many photos really inspiring. There is some awesome talent here.

Hi Don - sorry I was not clear, I spent my life making and repairing tack for actual horses and that was how I got started in making the miniatures for collectors. This is a pic of me from my website and the mare is wearing a headstall I made out of horsehair. It's all braided, not hitched. I've got a real nice headstall here that is leather with black and white horsehair knots that I use on my Paso Fino mare but I don't have a good picture of it right now.

Well this isn't real specific, but this is how I look at it. Imagine that after you sell this vest, the guy comes back and says, "Wow! That was great - I need 1,000 more. How quick can you get 'em done?" Now imagine you have to make 1,000 of those suckers. Suddenly your overhead is going to start to matter. After all, staying where you do is not free. (Even if you still live with your mom and dad you should at least be paying rent!) Your power and heat are not free. Your food to keep yourself alive to do this is not free. Clothes are not free. And so on. You have to come up with a price that helps to pay for all of that, and that is high enough you don't end up being a person who simply hands the money from the customer to the guy who sells food (or shoes, or heat, or electricity etc.). If you can't make a profit you'll go out of business, and that is no help to anyone. For those who say, "But I don't do this for a living!" Well, maybe not NOW you don't - ! If the guy actually *does* come back and ask you for 1,000, you might just be in business - but you won't be for long if you have not thought about all this stuff. The customer will not be happy if you radically change the price upwards AFTER he has already bought from you. You can always come down!

Wow - yak hair! How cool is that? :biggrin: That's a Breyer size model. It's an artist resin so it's not a Breyer but basically the same thing. Yeah, there aren't many people who braid horsehair. (Most people have better sense!) So alas, there are no horsehair braiding forums to join. That makes me doubly glad to be here.

Honest, I work leather too! But what I mainly do, day in and day out, is braid horsehair. So I hope it's OK to join in and post... I live in New Mexico and started making braided tack as a teenager and that was a pretty long time ago. Then I moved on to repairing and fixing up saddles and so on, and finally started braiding horsehair. Now I have a business where I braid horsehair and design and make horse jewelry, and I also make miniature tack for collectors. I've been lurking for a few days and thought I would join in. It seems like a friendly bunch of people with a great deal of knowledge! I look forward to getting to know everyone better and learning from you all. Here's a miniature bridle and set of romal reins I made from leather... all metal parts were hand fabricated in sterling silver by Yours Truly...